Word: malaysia
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...outcome of Malaysia's general election on Saturday was expected to be the usual landslide for the country's ruling political bloc. After all, for as long as the Southeast Asian nation has been independent, the National Front alliance has been in power. Even opposition leaders admitted they wouldn't win control of the federal government. Instead, most viewed the voting as a referendum on the leadership of Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, whose popularity has been hurt by higher living costs and rising racial tensions in this multiethnic nation...
...send Abdullah a message-a strongly worded one. While the National Front maintained a simple majority in parliament, it lost the crucial two-thirds control Abdullah had promised in pre-election campaigning that his coalition would maintain. Even more stunning: the ruling alliance lost power in four of Malaysia's 13 states. Before the polls, only one state, Kelantan, was controlled by the opposition. By the time the dust settled on Saturday, three heartland states-Kedah, Perak and Kelantan-along with manufacturing-based states Selangor and Penang were all in the hands of the opposition. All of these states will...
...that Abdullah's critics aren't trying. Yes, farmer's incomes have increased, they say, but so has the cost of living, particularly in urban areas. Furthermore, a U.S. recession could upset Malaysia's export-led economy. Meanwhile, the Chinese and Indian populations are speaking out against a national affirmative-action plan that favors Malays in everything from education to government contracts. Indians, who are Malaysia's poorest ethnicity, are so frustrated that they have marched by the thousands in Kuala Lumpur in recent months. "We respected [the National Front] for a long time, but they haven't helped...
...ethnic Indians make up less than 10% of Malaysia's electorate. For the opposition to really score big, it must lure more Malays and Chinese. In previous elections, the opposition Islamist party PAS has had some success portraying its religious values as an antidote to rising crime and drug use. Back in 2004, 30% of Kepala Batas voters actually chose the PAS parliamentary candidate over Abdullah. (In a complicated twist of family history, Abdullah's father served as a PAS youth leader, before the party fully broke with UMNO.) This election season, PAS's green-and-white flags flutter throughout...
...Abdullah has little need for concern. "It doesn't matter if it's Abdullah or someone else," says the mobile phone-shop owner. "As long as we support the government, there will be stability, and that's good for business." Not a ringing hometown endorsement, but it's all Malaysia's accidental Prime Minister needs...