Malaysia ruling coalition retains power in disputed elections

May 07, 2013

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KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – Prime Minister Najib Razak was sworn in to a second term Monday (May 6th), AFP reported. His ruling coalition, which has governed Malaysia since independence in 1957, held off a spirited opposition challenge to retain a firm parliamentary majority. However, it did not win a majority of the popular vote.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, centre, his wife Rosmah Mansor and Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin celebrate the Barisan Nasional coalition electoral victory Monday (May 6th) in Kuala Lumpur. [Roslan Rahman/AFP]

Meanwhile, supporters of the three-party Pakatan Rakyat (People's Pact) opposition alliance were left bitter and despondent. Many had hoped the election would result in a historic change of government, but instead the opposition scored only modest gains.

Barisan won 133 seats in the 222-member parliament, two fewer than in the last parliament. The opposition alliance won 89 seats, an increase of 14, largely at the expense of non-aligned candidates.

But the ruling bloc won just 48% of the popular vote compared to nearly 52% for the opposition. Critics say the results show the electoral system is skewed unfairly.

While Najib had vowed to hold free and fair elections, allegations of irregularities continued to surface. Outraged voters took to the Internet to complain that indelible ink touted as a guarantee against multiple voting was found to easily wash off.

Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, charging that massive electoral fraud took place, is calling for a demonstration Wednesday at a stadium on the outskirts Kuala Lumpur. "The government has lost its legitimacy," Anwar said.

Najib has rejected those allegations and insists his side won fairly.

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- Syarif
  
  May 8, 2013 @ 09:05:25PM
- Malaysian institutions have determined that the political party that succeeds in acquiring the majority of the people's votes has the right to establish a government. However, what has happened is that BN with a minority vote of 48% have established a government despite the fact that they know the majority of Malaysia's people gave their votes to the Coalition which received 52 % in the election. I do not think that this was brought about by an unjust system, but rather, a lack of morality. A person with a high moral standing would feel ashamed of taking that which rightfully belongs to someone else. Only those without dignity would brazenly take what rightfully belongs to others.
- Thuan Poe Poh
  
  May 7, 2013 @ 05:05:37PM
- This article gives a clear and exact account of the local political scene. To me it is refreshing, as the Malaysian media only gives biased and distorted reports.