The rhetoric in on the other side of the Pacific Ocean is starting to ramp up — with November polls looming, Barack Obama and Mitt Romney have entered the final stage in their respective campaigns. It is no exaggeration to say that this intensifying heat is being felt all over the world. Malaysia is no exception.
If anything, the US presidential election is a reminder for Malaysians that Prime Minister Najib Razak inches his way closer to the end of his five year electoral mandate. The media has speculated that Najib would call a snap election since his elevation in 2009, yet Najib is now six months away from his deadline and still the topic of the 13th general election remains speculation.
Malaysia’s next general election is set to be as vigorously contested as the American election. The primary parallel between the two are visible: a clear-cut winner has yet to emerge, even if the incumbents (Barack Obama and Najib Razak) appear to hold the advantage for now.
THE PERPETUAL PRIME MINISTER IN WAITING
Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim — at 65 still sporting the well-coiffed, polished look of Mitt Romney — remains a charismatic, combative figure and his chances should not be underestimated yet.
For this perpetual prime minister-in-waiting, the next election holds particular importance. Anwar has gone on record saying that he would retire if he lost this election. Asked about his political future, Anwar responded, “I will try my best. I am confident we will win. But if not, I will step down,” in a livestreamed Google Hangout interview in August.
Anwar is more well-known outside Malaysia owing to his time as deputy prime minister as well as international attention to the two sodomy cases widely held by Malaysians to be trumped-up charges.
He spearheaded the 2008 political tsunami which saw opposition parties take five states and deny the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition a two-thirds majority. The Opposition, now aligned together as Pakatan Rakyat, the people’s pact, has held firm in the last four years despite constant fraying as a result of conflicting ideologies between the three component parties — the Anwarist PKR, the Islamist PAS, and the socialist DAP.
Pakatan Rakyat’s record in power has been somewhat spotty. The DAP administration of Penang, helmed by Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, has won plaudits from national and international media. Meanwhile, PAS-ruled Kedah remains on shaky ground with the protracted internal struggle within state PAS over the status of embattled Chief Minister Azizan Abdul Razak, who is said to be in poor health.
Now is a crucial time for the Opposition. If they intend on forming the next federal government, Anwar and his partners must capitalize on Barisan Nasional’s failings, of which there are many.
UNREFORMED REFORMS
Najib has been banking his campaign on a number of platforms, including the reforms he has introduced, including repealing the much-hated Internal Security Act. Critics have accused Najib of merely replacing these laws with new ones. The world is watching.
The Wall Street Journal declared that the Security Offences (Special Measures) Bill tabled in April was “real progress” but could still be abused for political purposes — as the ISA had been.
The Peaceful Assembly Act, hailed by Najib as being “revolutionary” when debating in November 2011, was proposed with the intention of safeguarding the right to regulated public protests in Malaysia. Opposition critics assert that the new law would crackdown on the right to protest, rather than allow it. Indeed, Anwar Ibrahim was charged under the Peaceful Assembly Act after the Bersih 3.0 protest in April.
The latest legal controversy for Najib lies in the Section 114A amendment to the Evidence Act, which sparked public outrage. Section 11A allows for the presumption that the owner of a device, computer or WiFi network can be presumed to be the publisher of any defamatory content traced to it. Critics, including Suhakam chairman Tan Sri Hasmy Agam, believe that the new law violates the human rights principle of freedom of expression.
De facto Law Minister Nazri Aziz has repeatedly stated that there were no plans by the government to review the law.
FREEDOM IN THE LAND OF FREEDOM
Legislation with the potential to restrict freedom of expression on the Internet have hurt the United States government before as well. The introduction of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) saw massive protests by users and corporations over the bill’s empowering of law enforcement agencies to intellectual property infringements.
Like Section 114A in Malaysia, attempts to muzzle the Internet can lead to damaging results. Congress pulled the legislation following the outcry. President Obama recently restated his support for Internet freedom. At this stage of election fever, SOPA-style legislation is likely to alienate him from his young, Internet-dependent liberal base.
A TALE OF TWO ELECTIONS
As Malaysians swing their attention between the American presidential race on November 6 and Malaysia’s own upcoming general election — likely to also fall in November — studying the key issues in both elections might find common ground. Like Americans, Malaysians worry about the growing religious right in the form of extremist Islam. Racial harmony matters deeply, with both nations’ populations famously comprising a cosmopolitan mix. Voters in both countries now have the task of choosing a leader who will be able to fulfill the promises made in the run-up the election — be it Obama, Najib, Romney or Anwar.
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