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.