Four years after he assumed office, Malaysia's Prime Minister Badawi is obliged to prove he is right for the job, writes Gamal Nkrumah Reformasi (political reform in the national language Bahasa Malaysia) is the buzzword in one of Southeast Asia's most dynamic economies these days. However, is the Malaysian populace psychologically prepared for change? The ruling coalition Barisan Nasional (BN), or National Front, has governed this federated kingdom since its independence from Britain in 1957. Many Malaysians believe that it exclusively advances the interests of the ethnic Malay population -- the indigenous Muslim "sons of the soil". The triumph at the polls of Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi was assured, since the ethnic Malays constitute a majority of the population, some 60 per cent by some estimates. This time round, Badawi's BN got 64 per cent of the vote, a relatively poor showing compared to the sweeping victories of the 1999 and 2004 general elections, giving it 140 of 222 seats in the House of Representatives. The implication here is that only Malays voted for the BN, undermining its credibility as a "national" party. Anwar Ibrahim, the controversial former deputy prime minister and leader of the People's Justice Party, is trying to stake out this claim to represent all Malaysians. He argues that Malaysia's 27 million people are ready for radical change. "The unexpected margin of our victory caught the nation and the region by surprise," he said after winning two key states -- Penang and Selangor -- among Malaysia's most prosperous economic powerhouses that also happen to be ethnic Chinese dominated. That is no small achievement -- an ethnic Malay politician who captured the Chinese vote. One of Malaysia's 13 states, Kelantan, is already controlled by the Islamist Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS). The stage is now set for rival ideological perspectives to come into play. The spectre of racial conflict once more haunts Malaysia, recalling the racial riots of the 1960s. Those were bloody and tense days which augured ill for the country's future at the time. That was also at the pinnacle of the Cold War and Communist China under Mao Tse-Tung was on the warpath. The large ethnic Chinese Malaysian community was restive and was systematically turned into the veritable scapegoat. The Chinese arrived in Malaysia in the 19th century as indentured labourers, derisively called "coolies" by the British colonial authorities. Most hailed from Fujian and Guandong provinces in southern China. From humble beginnings they now virtually control vital sectors of the Malaysian economy. The ethnic Chinese community in Malaysia, some seven million strong, constitutes roughly a quarter of the country's population, though politically they are marginalised. However, the phenomenon that characterised the 2008 Malaysian elections was not the protest by Chinese, but rather the uprising of the country's ethnic Indians, who bitterly complain of political, social and economic peripheralisation. They, too, were brought by the British colonial authorities as indentured labourers. However, they have not prospered as the Chinese have done. The country enjoys an impressive economic growth rate of six per cent annually, but inflation and the slowdown of the American economy threatens Malaysia's export-driven economy. It was expected that Badawi would not achieve the success of the 2004 election, when his BN garnered 90 per cent of Malaysia's parliament seats, though BN is credited with creating one of Asia's most dynamic economic tigers. In the short term this matters because many non-Malays believe it is time for change. The Malaysian voters, especially the ethnic Chinese and Indian minorities, are ready for reform from the next prime minister. The Chinese are not content with economic power alone, and now have their eyes on political influence. The Indians just want to have a say in the decision- making process, better economic conditions and less social and economic discrimination in the public arena. To be fair to Badawi, he has argued that he is the leader of all Malaysians and not just of the ethnic Malays. He ran an uninspired campaign, promising not to shake up Malaysia's ossified and centralised bureaucracy too much. This is perhaps ironic in that Malays dominate the bureaucracy. Badawi focussed on the economy. He is not a politician to hunt with the hounds and run with the hares. He sticks to tested sureties. His problems relate to the race-based political system of the multi-ethnic country. Nowhere is this more evident than in the island city-state of Penang dominated by ethnic Chinese. A flourishing economic hub, Penang voters favoured Ibrahim. However, Ibrahim failed to make serious inroads among his own people the Malays. For him it was a poignant, even painful affair. He did feel vindicated. Badawi's victory was not decisive, and though he controls the BN, his grip on the national political scene is anything but firm. Some tough bargaining remains to be done. The deep differences between the ethnic Malays, who dominate the Malaysian political establishment, and the ethnic Indian and Chinese minorities will not disappear. Into this battle has stepped the disgruntled Indians who constitute eight per cent of the Malaysian population. They, too, opted for Ibrahim. The ethnic Indian component of the BN, the Malaysian Indian Congress, fared poorly. Badawi has called passionately for Malaysia to unite. A pragmatist but no populist, he knows that much of the stale rhetoric and outdated slogans don't wash with the sophisticated contemporary Malaysian electorate. But unwittingly, his approach is to polarise. The political establishment does not believe that this is the time for reinventing Malaysia's national identity. Still, Ibrahim leads a new generation of Malaysians. There is a thirst for change and he has an agenda for change though he is accused of being manipulated by ethnic minorities. This, too, is a matter of emphasis. The region as a whole is a massive recipient of capital. Behind the fog of Southeast Asian politics Malaysian business has shown itself to be exceptionally good at globalisation. The question now is whether Badawi can reverse his fortunes and achieve the same prestige with the Malaysians as did his predecessor Mahathir Mohamed, who was re-elected for more than two decades.
