Fundamentalism a key issue in Malaysia's election

Fundamentalism a key issue in Malaysia's election

Lawrence Bartlett
Agence France-Presse
Kuala Lumpur

Malaysia's upcoming elections will be watched closely for signs
that Islamic fundamentalism is gaining ground in one of the
Muslim world's most economically-advanced states.

The date for Malaysia's national elections will be announced
on Friday, the Election Commission said after parliament was
dissolved on Thursday on the orders of Prime Minister Abdullah
Ahmad Badawi.

By law the vote must be held within 60 days of the dissolution
of parliament, but is widely expected before the end of this
month, with pundits predicting March 20 as polling day.

The vote will pit the government against a conservative
Islamic opposition that made sweeping gains in the last poll five
years ago.

That success has been put down by ruling party supporters to
anger over the treatment of popular former deputy prime minister
Anwar Ibrahim, who was sacked in 1998 and jailed on what critics
say were trumped-up charges of corruption and sodomy.

With Anwar's plight now fading as an issue, voters who ditched
the ruling United Malays National Organization (UMNO) for the
hardline Islamic Party (PAS) will return to the fold, according
to this theory.

Describing them as "refugee voters", former deputy premier
Musa Hitam said: "They did not switch over to the opposition out
of political conviction but out of frustration over the Anwar
Ibrahim issue.

"But they don't feel this anymore. At this general election I
expect these refugees to be back."

PAS sees it differently, believing its call for religious rule
along the lines of Afghanistan's ousted Taliban fundamentalists
resonates with Muslims sickened by what they see as government
corruption and decadence associated with economic development.

PAS tripled its parliamentary seats in the 1999 elections,
took power in a second out of 13 states and aims to win control
of a further four states in the upcoming vote.

But UMNO is counting on a change of leadership from veteran
premier Mahathir Mohamad to turn the tide.

Prime Minister Abdullah, who took over when Mahathir retired
last October, majored in Islamic studies at university and has a
less confrontational style than his predecessor.

"With Abdullah's impeccable Islamic credentials PAS will find
it harder to attack him from the religious angle, although it
will still try to convince its supporters that UMNO is
unacceptable as far as religion is concerned," analyst Wong Chun
Wai wrote in The Star.

Islam is the official religion in Malaysia, but the
constitution calls for a secular government in this multi-racial
nation with large Buddhist, Christian and Hindu minorities among
the ethnic Chinese and Indians who make up more than a third of
the 25 million population.

"The election will be a referendum on the new prime minister,"
an Asian diplomat told AFP. "The challenge is in the vulnerable
Malay states up north and whether he can deliver the goods."
Apart from his religious credentials, Abdullah has given priority
to issues close to the hearts of rural Malays -- ending
government corruption and promoting agriculture.

"There will be a swing of votes, quite substantially, back to
UMNO," said National University lecturer Mohamad Agus Yusoff.

"The economy is in good shape and there is a lack of issues,
so this is to the advantage of the National Front," he said.

The National Front is a coalition of 14 parties led by UMNO,
which crucially includes the main parties representing the
interests of the Chinese and the Indians who shun the Islamic
fundamentalism of PAS.

More than 10 million voters will choose 219 representatives
for the federal parliament and 505 lawmakers for 12 state
assemblies for a new five-year term.