Anwar's win, Badawi's loss

Updated August 27, 2008 20:04:25

Malaysia's Islamist party, a key partner in Anwar Ibrahim's opposition coalition, has already endorsed him, removing a major obstacle in his push to win power. It's a push which the opposition is hoping will get stronger as more Malaysians express their disatisafction with the Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi.

Presenter: Corinne Podger
Speakers: Political analyst Professor Bridget Welsh, John Hopkins University.

WELSH: I think this was more a vote for what Anwar stands for and change, and there are three key elements that I would highlight. First, they are tired of the corruption and they want better governance. Malaysians speak loudly about this. Ethnic minorities, particularly Chinese and Indians, who faced also intimidation at the polls, want a sense of inclusion and Anwar Ibrahim has done that through his party, and it's not just his party, I want to point out.

This victory was a victory for Parti Rakyat Alliance. Anwar would not have done so well without the cooperation of the Islamic Party who work the ground in the Malay areas and in the Democratic Action Party that made Tuesday a state holiday to make sure there were enough voters to be able to actually have that turnout. So the questions associated with governance, inclusion and important the sense of direction ambition and this is really a question about Abdullah and his deputy is really crucial.

Abdullah has not provided a sense of vision for the country. When he came in 2003 and co-opted the reform agenda in 2004, he promised to deliver some sort of reform. None of those were delivered, and so you saw a protest vote as well as an embrace of a different agenda in the March polls, but you have seen that reinforced. And what's interesting about Permatang Pauh, this particular constitutency, it's very representative of Malaysia as a whole, because it has a combination of urban and rural. Similiar ethnic composition to the, to the Peninsula and I think in a sense, it's actually a microcosm of what Malaysians want. They want a different system.

PODGER; Just briefly Professor Walsh, last night Bernama newsagency said Mr Badawi plans to adjourn parliament from Friday until the Muslim fasting period, Ramadan ends in October. What does that mean for Mr Anwar's hopes of getting the numbers to overturn government by mid-September?

WELSH: Well, the first thing, as you mentioned in your report, he has to be able to get sworn into parliament. Normally this can be done within one day. There are clearly indications that this may not happen before Friday. I think there is some clear reservations on the part of the BN of wanting to not have him be able to sit in parliament.

They are tabling the budget for a day, and essentially closing parliament for almost six weeks, as of course this is for the religious holiday, but it also puts a period where there actually the elites will no longer be in town, and so there is not a viable opportunity to actually meet them in Kuala Lumpur. But I do think you are going to have a situation during this religious period, where there is going to be intensive back room elite politics going on.