The race is on. Malaysia will see a massive and perhaps controversial issue soon, in this coming April 2008. The future is set to be unpredictable, as both sides in the Barisan Rakyat and the Barisan Nasional are racing against the clock to reach the finishing line first. But the race won’t be easy.
What’s the race about? It’s about Anwar vs Tengku Razaleigh. Read on to find out more.
Anwar Ibrahim and the East Malaysian Support
Anwar Ibrahim, who used to be the Deputy Prime Minister during the Mahathir era, was charged with an extremely controversial sodomy case flanked by corruption allegations that took him out of the cabinet and straight into the iron cage in 1999. The Golden Boy of Malaysia was released from prison in 2004, but he could not contest in the March 8 2008 General Election because under the laws of Malaysia he is not allowed to participate in political endeavors until 15th of April on that same year.
But this is where his resourcefulness shows. On March 9th he travelled to Sabah and subsequently Sarawak after the news of the Barisan Rakyat’s massive win in the Malaysian Peninsular, allegedly to woo the BN MPs in East Malaysia to join his cause. To quote an analysis by Raja Petra Kamaluddin:
As it now stands, the opposition has won 82 seats in Parliament and all it needs is another 30 to give it a two-seat majority over Barisan Nasional. 30 seats would make the score 112:110, all that is needed for His Majesty to do what the Federal Constitution of Malaysia requires him to do. And what His Majesty the Agong would have to do would be to appoint a new Prime Minister from amongst any of the 222 Members of the House who, in His Majesty’s opinion, commands the confidence of the majority of the Member of the House. - Source
What he needs to do is to get the 38 MP from Sabah and Sarawak to join his side, and he would have been able to launch a “no-confidence” vote in the Parliament to take down Pak Lah. But to do so first he has to become a member of the parliament first.
To do so, comes April 15th, one PKR MP will voluntarily relinquish his or her post, and a by-election will result with Anwar as the candidate. And judging from the approval of the opposition in these few months, I doubt he would lose against any powerhouse candidates the BN can manage.
Once that happens, Malaysia will change. But on the horizon, another force is competing for the top spot…
Tengku Razaleigh and the inside power
It is undeniable that Pak Lah himself has lost support from the UMNO wings after the humiliating loss in the polls. Tengku Razaleigh came out, among the others like Mukhriz Mahathir, and called for Pak Lah’s resignation, which fell of deaf ears expectantly.
This is the man who once challenged Mahathir and broke off to form his own party Semangat 46 in 1989, and one that had always aspired for the top post, plotting and planning in the dark to await for an opportunity like this to stroll by.
Already he is in motion, meeting and talking to UMNO division chiefs in Malaysia to garner support for the eventual coup he will be leading against Pak Lah. To quote again on the same source:
Tengku Razaleigh is going a slightly different route though. While Anwar is working on a ‘no confidence’ vote in Parliament, Tengku Razaleigh is working on the 193 Umno divisions. And he, thus far, has 74 Umno divisions with him. He needs at least 58 nominations to be able to contest against the party President cum Prime Minister. But that is only if he wishes to contest the August 2008 party elections, which Abdullah is trying to postpone till 2009. - Source
Unlike Anwar, Tengku Razaleigh is proposing himself as an alternative to UMNO personnel as the “alternative” to a complete takeover by the Barisan Rakyat, a notion that seems better than the eventual demise of Pak Lah’s glory days had they done nothing at all. Will they follow this man to an unknown future?
Malaysia’s Future
I believe that in the next couple of months drastic things will happen. Will the government resort to heavy handed tactics and dirty tricks to put Anwar out of comission? Will Tengku Razaleigh be sidelined and disposed off by conspiracies hatched by the Pak Lah administration? Will Khairy Jamaluddin sit still and watch his golden egg be taken away from him?
Dangerous clouds are brewing in the horizon, and this year might see the greatest change Malaysia would ever see. And to tell the truth, I am excited to be part of it.
Makkal Sakthi!
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