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.