Internal party trouble for Malaysia's PM

Updated September 24, 2008 13:50:32

On shaky ground: Even Malaysian prime minister Abdullah Badawi's own UMNO party is pressuring him to resign. [Reuters]

Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi is under intense pressure to resign, following rare criticism from within his cabinet.

Radio Australia's Connect Asia program reports last week, four ministers spoke out against Mr Abdullah at a meeting of the ruling Malay UMNO party, urging him to consider an early exit.

The prime minister had nominated a quiet handover to his deputy, Najib Razak by mid-2010, but that's not soon enough for some.

To add to his woes, opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim continues to claim he has the numbers to sack the government.

Southeast Asia specialist Professor Bridget Welsh from Johns Hopkins University in Washington says Malaysian voters are more sophisticated.

"I think there are broad transitions that are taking place in Malaysia, a more sophisticated electorate... speaking out on wanting change," she told Radio Australia.

"Abdullah promised reforms and he failed to deliver on them and the public is saying enough is enough and they've said that twice in one by-election and an election in March.

"They are tired of racial politics, and Abdullah has, under his period of almost five years in office, really not addressed race relations.

"In fact in some ways they've gotten worse.

"Abdullah has let everybody speak out but not provided clear direction in terms of allowing racial issues to be addressed in an equitable fashion," she said.

Race-based politics backfires

Professor Welsh says the ruling coalition relies on the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) and the larger Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) for support, but Mr Abdullah has left them out in the cold.

"Unfortunately for both the MIC and MCA, Abdullah really sacrificed them by not allowing them to have an effective voice within the Barisan Nasional coalition during his first term in office," she said.

"In fact when they spoke out on issues of religious rights he ignored their points of view, he basically made them lose face in public and they lost support among their constituency base in part because their credibility relies on the fact that they believe and they have articulated it, that having a voice within the system is actually going to allow racial issues to be expressed equitably and in a fair fashion.

"Abdullah did not deliver on that," she said.

Professor Welsh says the Mr Abdullah's own party, UMNO, will be hardest hit by the crisis because of its history.

"UMNO has relied heavily on race, and it's really traditionally relied on the fact that it can deliver in governance, and these are areas that Abdullah has been lacking in," she said.

"There is a deep arrogance and I think it's based on racial issues as opposed to a sense of leadership and statesmanship.

"In fairness there have been a lot of great UMNO leaders in Malaysian politics who have really seen Malaysia as a nation, Malaysia as a country that has moved forward and developed the country, but you haven't seen that in the last few years."

She says, however, it was the legacy of previous long-time leader, Mahathir Mohammad, which has failed Mr Abdullah.

"Mahathir left a legacy where a lot of leaders came into the system, were brought in to issues of money politics and greed and really their own arrogance became unchecked.

"You have a Malay elite that really doesn't connect to its own community, and that's where UMNO is losing its face.

"It has to change, and I think there are leaders in UMNO who recognise that but unfortunately Abdullah is not one of them."