Apathy, Key Voter in Malaysian Polls

Many Malaysians say the outcome is too predictable to vote. (Reuters)

"I'm not voting because to me, there seems to be no choice," Akmal Hakim, a 29-year-old waiter at a fast food outlet, told Agence France Presse (AFP) on Thursday, March 6.

"We should have a right to make a choice."

The March 8 election will see three opposition parties running against the ruling Barisan Nasional, which has governed Malaysia in various forms since its 1957 independence.  

The elections, the 12 th in the country's history, will determine the make-up of the national legislature and twelve state assemblies.

Many Malaysians say the outcome is too predictable to vote.

"What is the point? We all know who is going to win," said a 23-year-old taxi driver.

He angrily cites the opposition's share of radio and TV broadcasts compared to that of the ruling coalition.

"Why can't we see the speeches of the other candidates on TV?

"Where is the democracy?"

Some 10.9 million people are registered voters but political researchers estimate that 25 percent of them will not cast their vote this year.

Scenarios   

For others, discontent with the government's performance in the past years fuels apathy.

"I am not a registered voter. I don't care what happens in Malaysian politics," said Nigel Wong, a 29-year-old software engineer.

The Election Commission said last year that among Malaysia's 27 million people, some 4.9 million above the voting age of 21 years have not registered to vote.

"This country holds no promise for me and neither does the government," fumed Nigel.

"And this is coming from a person who used to be very patriotic."

Analysts say that amid the public frustration, the ruling coalition should brace for some unpleasant surprises.

"Every party in the Barisan, especially the key component parties, will face a reckoning as a result of this election," Bridget Welsh, a political scientist of Johns Hopkins University who is in Malaysia for the election, told Reuters.

Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's coalition won a landslide victory in 2004, controlling 199 of the national assembly's 219 seats.

But this time it faces a stronger fight from the opposition, particularly the Parti Islam Se Malaysia (PAS).

Welsh believes the coalition won't be able to keep a two-thirds majority in the new parliament.

He expects it might lose as many as 40 seats for the opposition.

The last time the coalition failed to attain a two-thirds majority was in the 1969 polls.

The election results then spurred race riots and a state of emergency that lasted for three years.

"They (Barisan) will panic if the opposition gets 40 seats," predicts Zainon Ahmad, political editor of the Sun newspaper.

"I don't think that's going to happen…but if BN loses 50 seats, it's a remarkable gain by the opposition and the BN have to review some of the policies and tone down the Malay agenda."