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Mahathir’s Party Wins Election |
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June 12, 2000
KUALA
LUMPUR, JUNE 11 (AP) - Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's ruling
coalition rejoiced Sunday over its victory in a keenly watched
parliamentary by-election, while opposition leaders warned that Chinese
ethnic support for the government was waning.
The
ruling National Front coalition saw its majority almost halved
in the Teluk Kemang constituency in southwestern Negri Sembilan state,
where 44,079 voters cast ballots Saturday for a new parliamentary
representative.
The
National Front's candidate, S. Sothinathan, polled exactly 24,500
votes, 5,972 votes more than his rival, Ruslan Kassim of the opposition
National Justice Party. There were 1,051 spoilt ballots.
During
last November's general election, the National Front trounced
the opposition in Teluk Kemang with a majority of 9,942 votes. The
victorious candidate died earlier this year, forcing a by-election
in the constituency.
While
Mahathir launched a weeklong official trip to Japan last Tuesday,
thousands of government and opposition loyalists descended on Teluk Kemang
for several days of vigorous campaigning.
Local
media on Sunday reported that the National Front performed badly
in predominantly Chinese ethnic areas of Teluk Kemang.
Most
of the voters in these areas were farmers who went bankrupt after
a disease believed to be transmitted through close contact with infected
pigs killed dozens of villagers and crippled the pork industry
last year.
Many
farmers say the government failed to compensate them sufficiently
after authorities ordered nearly a million hogs to be massacred to stop
the disease from spreading.
"The
outcome of this by-election shows that the government can no
longer be sure of Chinese support," Tian Chua, vice-president of the
Justice Party, told The Associated Press.
"The
government's popularity is still dwindling, and this will be
reflected during the next general election," Chua said.
More
than half of Malaysia's 22 million people are ethnic Malays. Ethnic
Chinese comprise 30 percent, while 10 percent are ethnic Indian.
Mahathir's
National Front relied heavily on Chinese ethnic backing
to retain its two-thirds majority in Parliament during last November's
general vote.
Many
of Mahathir's traditional Malay supporters were said to be upset
with the prime minister's sacking of his former deputy Anwar Ibrahim in
1998.
After
Anwar was sentenced to six years imprisonment for corruption,
his wife Azizah Ismail founded the Justice Party and united the fractured
opposition to challenge the government which she
claims framed her husband.
Saturday's
results, however, marked the second by-election victory
for the National Front since November's general vote. In April, the
coalition retained the Sanggang state seat in eastern Pahang state with an
increased majority. |