Mahathir win no surprise<\/p>\n
Even before the results were announced many political analysts
\nand observers had already reached the conclusion that Prime
\nMinister Mahathir Mohamad's National Front coalition was sure to
\nwin Malaysia's ninth general election.<\/p>\n
This was predictable, because Mahathir and his government have
\nprovided the Malaysian people with much desired robust economic
\ngrowth and political stability. For the past seven years
\nMalaysia's economy has continued to flourish and has achieved a
\nformidable record of more than eight percent annual growth.<\/p>\n
What they did not predict, however, was that Mahathir and his
\ncoalition could sweep 162 of the 192 seats in the Dewan Rakyat
\n(parliament) and retain a firm grip on 12 of the country's 13
\nstates.<\/p>\n
\"This is our biggest victory since independence and many new
\nrecords have been created,\" the jubilant 69-year-old Mahathir was
\nquoted as saying moments after the results of the election were
\nannounced on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
The landslide victory, obviously, shows the great trust the
\nnine million voters have in Mahathir and his plan called \"Vision
\n2020\" which is expected to make Malaysia one of the world's
\nindustrialized countries by the turn of the century.<\/p>\n
More importantly, however, is that the overwhelming win also
\nsignals the people's refusal of the racial and sectarian politics
\nof the opposition, the Chinese-based Democratic Action Party,
\nwhich won nine parliamentary seats, and the All-Malaysian Islamic
\nParty, which got only seven seats.<\/p>\n
This, again, shows that Malaysia's multi-ethnic population of
\n19 million, made up of 59 percent Malay, 32 percent Chinese and
\nnine percent Indian, feels satisfied with what the country has
\nachieved under Mahathir.<\/p>\n
Under Mahathir's administration, the United Malay National
\nOrganization has taken steps to restrict the power of the
\nmonarchy. The position of king is rotated among hereditary rulers
\nfrom nine of the country's 13 states.<\/p>\n
Besides, the National Front coalition, which represents the
\ndifferent ethnic groups, seems to be the only political force
\nthat can ensure stability in the country.<\/p>\n
Mahathir's New Development Plan, which signals a departure
\nfrom the use of racial quotas to benefit the Malays as a basis
\nfor national development, acknowledges that many of the goals of
\nthe previous New Economic Policy, such as greater participation
\nin the economy by Malays, have been achieved. Together with
\n\"Vision 2020\", the new plan provides a blueprint for turning
\nMalaysia into an advanced industrial nation by the year 2020.<\/p>\n
In light of this, it was by no means exaggerating when
\npolitical analysts commented that \"the win was a victory for
\nMahathir and for his vision and not for the National Front
\ncoalition\".<\/p>\n
In fact, one of the National Front leaders, as was reported by
\nthe media, unveiled a plague which says \"Well Done Mahathir\".<\/p>\n
It is understandable if the prime minister is so dominant and
\nloved by his followers because he enhanced his reputation as
\nspokesman of the Third World at the Earth Summit in Rio de
\nJaneiro, where he defended the policies of the developing
\ncountries and challenged the developed states to clean up their
\nown environments.<\/p>\n
Despite all the successes, Malaysia will unavoidably face
\nchallenges in the years ahead, such as possible stalled growth
\ndue to bottlenecks created by poor infrastructure.<\/p>\n
Judging from Mahathir's performance thus far, however, we are
\nfully confident that Kuala Lumpur will be able to tackle all the
\nproblems well, including the eventual transfer of power to their
\nyounger generation of leaders, considering that Malaysia already
\nhas a well established democratic system.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/mahathir-win-no-surprise-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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