Mahathir retains power in decisive election victory

Mahathir retains power in decisive election victory

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad
on Tuesday celebrated an emphatic poll victory which secured his
legacy as Asia's longest-serving elected leader but also saw big
gains by an Islamic opposition.

Despite predictions of a major backlash over the Anwar Ibrahim
affair, Mahathir's National Front coalition won 148 of the 193
parliamentary seats and kept power in nine of 11 state
assemblies.

The Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS) and not the secular
opposition parties proved the biggest winner from the issue of
ex-deputy premier Anwar, whose sacking and treatment last year
divided the sympathies of ethnic Malays.

PAS more than tripled its parliamentary seats to 27, kept
control of Kelantan state assembly in the northern Malay
heartland and captured neighboring Terengganu.

Biggest loser was the Chinese-dominated Democratic Action
Party (DAP), which in its leader's words had been for three
decades "the outspoken, courageous lone political voice for a
democratic and secular Malaysia."

The National Justice Party (Keadilan) won five seats. It was
formed by Anwar's wife Azizah Ismail just before he was jailed
for six years in April for abusing his powers.

PAS, the DAP, Keadilan and the small Malaysian People's Party
are part of the Alternative Front alliance. Anwar was its
candidate for premier.

Some analysts said the result indicated widening divisions
among the Malays who make up more than half the country's 22
million population. Chinese account for some 30 percent and
Indians 10 percent.

"The Malay world is in turmoil and nothing has made that more
evident than this general election," the pro-government Sun
newspaper said in an editorial.

It said the result erased any doubt about Mahathir's command
of the political scene with an emphatic win in his fifth and
probably last election at age 73.

But as the premier cut a cake early on Tuesday to cheers and
shouts of Mahathir boleh (Mahathir can), the daily warned PAS
gains signaled a "dissatisfied, protesting Malay multitude." It
said the ruling party must now find ways to unite the community.

DAP leader Lim Kit Siang, who lost his own seat, described the
election as "a historic opportunity missed" to end the National
Front's political domination.

"It has set the country on an uncertain and perilous course,"
he said.

Mahathir's United Malays National Organization (UMNO), the
backbone of the National Front, will be "under great pressure to
respond to the PAS challenge by competing on Islamization
policies to win back the Malay heartland," he added.

Azizah hailed the opposition's achievement but blamed "scare
tactics" by pro-government media and the exclusion of 680,000 new
voters from the electoral roll for the failure to make a
breakthrough.

Hoarse after days of successful campaigning to capture Anwar's
old seat, she told AFP: "We have reduced their majority
considerably. A little edge would have given us victory. We have
to work a little harder."

Azizah said her seven-month-old party had "done a lot."

"Malays have given us support -- our support was mainly from
Malay areas."

PAS president Fadzil Noor said his party would bring the
people development and ensure its two state governments were
clean and free of corruption.

The Bangkok-based Asian Network for Free Election, which
deployed observers at polling stations in eight states, said it
found traces of fraud such as phantom voters and could not
conclude the election was "free and fair."

Sunai Phasuk, a member of the watchdog, said migrants from the
Philippines were given identity cards on condition they vote for
the National Front. Watchdogs also received reports of the use of
fake identity cards in other states.

The group said the irregularities did not mean the overall
result of the poll was invalid.

State Bernama news agency said Mahathir was expected to meet
the king early on Wednesday to brief him on the formation of a
new government.