Thumbs up for Badawi's moderate governance

Thumbs up for Badawi's moderate governance

Suhaini Aznam, The Star, Asia News Network, Selangor, Malaysia

Two trends emerged from this election. First, Parti Islam
SeMalaysia (PAS) lost its stranglehold over Kelantan and
Terengganu, putting paid to its dream of an Islamic state -- at
least for now.

Secondly, the Democratic Action Party (DAP), which had almost
been wiped out in 1999, regained some ground in Chinese-majority
areas, especially in the Kinta Valley.

This, however, has been an endorsement of Prime Minister
Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's stamp of moderate governance. It has been
his election -- his first as prime minister after just four
months and 21 days in office in which he had to prove he was able
to win the "mandate", a word much bandied around in the last
several days. Hence, candidates were less important this time:
Abdullah was Barisan's selling point.

Indeed, he has proven himself -- his fight against corruption,
his insistence on public accountability and his shift from
corporate mega-projects to emphasis on agro-based, rural projects
have gone down very well with every community of the Malaysian
electorate, and that support has been translated into votes.

Yet, the overwhelming win was unexpected and so there was
initial disbelief at the Barisan Nasional center in Putra World
Trade Centre before jubilation erupted: Terengganu had "returned"
to the Barisan fold, while Kelantan came close.

In Terengganu, it had won all eight parliamentary seats and 28
of the 32 state seats. Elation followed news that Terengganu
Mentri Besar Abdul Hadi Awang had lost his parliamentary seat of
Marang but managed to retain his state seat of Ru Rendang.

Several reasons may have contributed to PAS' immense loss. For
one, PAS, which had confidently ruled Kelantan and Terengganu
since 1990 and 1999 respectively, shifted its attention to Malay-
majority seats in Kedah and Perlis which it had lost by narrow
margins in the previous general election.

That strategy has proven to be costly. PAS president Abdul
Hadi as well as murshidul am (spiritual leader) Nik Aziz Nik Mat
will have a great deal to answer at the next party muktamar
(assembly) later this year. And while Abdul Hadi may well make a
comeback five years down the road, this may well hasten Nik
Aziz's retirement from politics.

In 1999, the Malays were split over the sacking of then deputy
prime minister Anwar Ibrahim, the popular UMNO deputy president
who commanded a very strong following. The drama around his trial
and imprisonment was the talk of the nation for months.

This time round, the Anwar factor had all but disappeared. In
his home constituency of Permatang Pauh, his posters smiled back
at voters alongside those of his wife, Parti Keadilan Nasional
president Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.

The Barisan is very proficient at national governance, macro-
managing national and international issues. But state seats are
different. Audiences get bored when their leaders speak at length
on economic performance or exports. PAS' strength lies in
resolving the periuk nasi (rice bowl) issues that trouble kampung
residents. Small, very localized grievances are diligently
attended to by PAS representatives.

This was a lesson that Barisan finally learnt and it
instructed its candidates to attend to such nitty-gritty details.
And Abdullah himself introduced the tri-monthly report card
system whereby he could check whether Barisan MPs and assemblymen
were doing their work.

As noted by many, this has been an election without
substantive issues. The economy is robust, with several "feel-
good" announcements made in the business pages of the newspapers
in the run-up to polling day.

For the past three months, corporate profits have been
excellent. Since the beginning of the year, the Kuala Lumpur
Stock Exchange has risen by 14 percent. The Amanah Saham Malaysia
gave out 7 percent returns. And the stock market broke its
psychological barrier of 900 points just three days before
polling day.

Pak Lah's endorsement has been resounding: Both Kelantan and
Terengganu recorded turnouts of over 70 percent. It was only in
urban Kuala Lumpur and Selangor that voter turnout stood at 50
percent despite a huge effort to push first-time voters to the
ballot box.

Certainly, the erosion of Barisan wins in several Chinese-
majority seats in no way detracts from the Barisan's landslide
victory. Sarawak, Sabah and Johor all delivered the traditional
base upon which to build its two-thirds majority in Parliament,
with only Kuching going to the DAP.

But most of all, the Malays have reunited behind Abdullah.

On the road, Pak Lah has shown himself to be less a distant
prime minister and more the kindly father figure: Sincere, caring
for the ordinary people and moderate in his interpretation and
implementation of Islam. Several voters, even in PAS' stronghold
of Kelantan, had said they would vote Barisan this time because
of him.

Amid the elation over Malay unity is thoughtful concern that
more work has to be done to reach the Chinese voters who, in any
case, have traditionally been pro-opposition.

It appears the Chinese feel they would like to have the DAP
back in Parliament to champion their causes. In particular, they
would like to have DAP chairman Lim Kit Siang and deputy chairman
Karpal Singh speak up for them.

A little opposition, however, is not necessarily a bad thing,
especially in Parliament. It keeps the government on its toes and
is the best system of checks and balances. This election has
proven that democracy is thriving in Malaysia.