Post by turkmenbashy on Mar 17, 2004 19:34:23 GMT -5
Just to let all of you know that elections in Malaysia are going to be held on the 21st of March. I'll give you guys a brief background.
Barisan Nasional has been ruling the country from day 1. A patchwork of smaller component parties representing each Malaysian ethnic group, although totally dominated by the United Malay National Organisation (UMNO), its achievements and also its excesses reached their peak under the tenure of Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, fourth Prime Minister of Malaysia. He brought rapid development to Malaysia, making it known as one of the Asian Tigers and giving it South East Asia's second best standard of living (Singapore is 1st) and a solid middle class, but at the same time he strictly curtailed political freedoms; his imprisonment of former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on corruption and sodomy charges was seen as a political move to prevent him from getting too powerful. This meant that the 1999 elections were the second worst in BN's history. Now however, Dr.Mahathir has retired and our new Prime Minister, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, is regarded as being a safe and clean pair of hands. There has been an attempt to clean up the political system but most people feel that it hasn't gone far enough. PAS claim his Islamic credentials don't match up to theirs, when in fact he holds a degree in Islamic Studies. However, the rest of the party is not held in such high esteem. Many members are dead weight left from the Mahathir administration, and are known to have been blatantly corrupt, siphoning millions of Ringgit from government contracts and millions more from bribes (US$1=RM3.80). Also, the non-Malay component parties are totally irrelevant in the decision making process, and as a result, talent has not flowed into the non-Malay parties, which means that only hardcore political animals with no thought for the betterment of the people. It is widely accepted that although Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi has trimmed a few of these from his ranks, the vast majority of the corrupt members are still contesting in this election.
Parti Islam se-Malaysia (PAS) is the Islamic party, voted in mostly by uneducated village folk. Notorious for their hardcore 'Islamism', they are held in deep distrust by the non-Muslims of Malaysia, as they have pledged to install an Islamic theocracy (e.g. Iran, Taliban Afghanistan) if they ever take power. They currently rule in two states (Kelantan and Terengganu), and they have already implemented some facets of what they consider to be Islamic law. These two states are now the poorest in Malaysia.
The Democratic Action Party (DAP) is one of the oldest opposition parties in Malaysia. They are an offshoot of the Singaporean People's Action Party, and have previously been the official opposition party. They have taken recent hits, though, as their credibility was tarnished, perhaps irreparably, among their mostly non-Muslim electorate when they teamed up with PAS for the 1999 elections, and as their (unseated) leaders are seen to be too old to continue their efforts properly. As a result of the 1999 elections, they are no longer the official opposition, and they are seen not only to have betrayed the interests of the non-Muslims, but also to have run out of ideas and energy.
Keadilan (Justice) is the party that had been formed as a result of the Anwar jailing. Its president is Anwar's wife, and when they first contested in the 1999 elections, they were seen as a very up and coming party with a lot to offer. Sadly, the party has been uninspired, and it is seen to be more and more Malay-dominated as potential non-Malay members are deterred by its close association with PAS. Also, the relevance of the Anwar issue has cooled considerably, making Keadilan's struggle an uphill one, as its symbol has lost his importance. It is felt that Keadilan will NOT make a strong showing this election.
Barisan Nasional has been ruling the country from day 1. A patchwork of smaller component parties representing each Malaysian ethnic group, although totally dominated by the United Malay National Organisation (UMNO), its achievements and also its excesses reached their peak under the tenure of Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, fourth Prime Minister of Malaysia. He brought rapid development to Malaysia, making it known as one of the Asian Tigers and giving it South East Asia's second best standard of living (Singapore is 1st) and a solid middle class, but at the same time he strictly curtailed political freedoms; his imprisonment of former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on corruption and sodomy charges was seen as a political move to prevent him from getting too powerful. This meant that the 1999 elections were the second worst in BN's history. Now however, Dr.Mahathir has retired and our new Prime Minister, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, is regarded as being a safe and clean pair of hands. There has been an attempt to clean up the political system but most people feel that it hasn't gone far enough. PAS claim his Islamic credentials don't match up to theirs, when in fact he holds a degree in Islamic Studies. However, the rest of the party is not held in such high esteem. Many members are dead weight left from the Mahathir administration, and are known to have been blatantly corrupt, siphoning millions of Ringgit from government contracts and millions more from bribes (US$1=RM3.80). Also, the non-Malay component parties are totally irrelevant in the decision making process, and as a result, talent has not flowed into the non-Malay parties, which means that only hardcore political animals with no thought for the betterment of the people. It is widely accepted that although Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi has trimmed a few of these from his ranks, the vast majority of the corrupt members are still contesting in this election.
Parti Islam se-Malaysia (PAS) is the Islamic party, voted in mostly by uneducated village folk. Notorious for their hardcore 'Islamism', they are held in deep distrust by the non-Muslims of Malaysia, as they have pledged to install an Islamic theocracy (e.g. Iran, Taliban Afghanistan) if they ever take power. They currently rule in two states (Kelantan and Terengganu), and they have already implemented some facets of what they consider to be Islamic law. These two states are now the poorest in Malaysia.
The Democratic Action Party (DAP) is one of the oldest opposition parties in Malaysia. They are an offshoot of the Singaporean People's Action Party, and have previously been the official opposition party. They have taken recent hits, though, as their credibility was tarnished, perhaps irreparably, among their mostly non-Muslim electorate when they teamed up with PAS for the 1999 elections, and as their (unseated) leaders are seen to be too old to continue their efforts properly. As a result of the 1999 elections, they are no longer the official opposition, and they are seen not only to have betrayed the interests of the non-Muslims, but also to have run out of ideas and energy.
Keadilan (Justice) is the party that had been formed as a result of the Anwar jailing. Its president is Anwar's wife, and when they first contested in the 1999 elections, they were seen as a very up and coming party with a lot to offer. Sadly, the party has been uninspired, and it is seen to be more and more Malay-dominated as potential non-Malay members are deterred by its close association with PAS. Also, the relevance of the Anwar issue has cooled considerably, making Keadilan's struggle an uphill one, as its symbol has lost his importance. It is felt that Keadilan will NOT make a strong showing this election.
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