ASIA/MALAYSIA - Election results show the rise of the opposition; government is called to work for dialogue, equality, and respect among the diverse ethnic communities

Kuala Lumpur (Agenzia Fides) - General elections in Malaysia have sealed the victory for the National Front coalition, led by Adullah Balawi. The coalition, which until now, has held a strong two-thirds majority in Parliament, won only 139 of the 222 seats of Parliament, a net downfall in comparison to prior legislation figures. Instead, the opposition, led by Anwar Ibrahim, has gained ground with an acquisition of 19 more seats in Parliament, for a grand total of 80 seats.
Despite his loss of support in the polls and amidst constant requests for his resignation from the opposition and even from within his own party, the Malaysian Prime Minister Adullah Badawi has taken the reigns in governing the country. The opposition has won the majority in five of the Malaysian states: Selangor, Perak, Kedah, Penang, and Kelantan, revealing the decline in general consensus regarding the National Front, on a local level.
According to experts on the area, the National Front, which is predominantly Malay, has not been successful in convincing the other ethnic communities of the Malaysian society (the Indian and the Chinese - which together form 35% of the population). Moreover, they have more rigorously defined their differences and have paid the price in this election.
Furthermore, this election, which has been held ahead of its scheduled time of May 2009, has been considered a sort of referendum on Badawi’s government. Malaysian citizens have expressed their discontent for the rise in prices, the religious disputes, and the corruption affairs that have marked the scene of national politics.
Malaysia has been, since the end of its colonial era, a multi-ethnic society with all the challenges that implies. The Indian and Chinese communities, who have enjoyed full citizenship for generations, will no longer tolerate discrimination. Meanwhile, as well, there is the Islamic factor at work.
Anwar Ibrahim, a modern Muslim, in his electoral campaign often insisted on the importance of freedom of religion and of the legitimate right of minorities to have representation. His perspectives on these issues have gained him support. Social discontent has been in the air for months: in 2007, Indian and Chinese Malaysians led protests in the capital, Kuala Lumpur, denouncing the government’s discrimination of them.
A new phase seems to be opening for Malaysia and observers hope that it will not all end in tensions and social conflict. The Catholic Church, as well as the other Christian churches present in Malaysia, have always insisted on the need to work for social harmony and for reconciliation among the different ethnic communities, in dialogue, equal rights and duties, and in mutual respect. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 10/03/2008 righe 36, parole 431)