ONE evening in mid-July Anwar Ibrahim was deep in the rubber-tapping state of Kelantan in northern Malaysia, urging a crowd of rural folk to vote for a devout fishmonger. The candidate was from the conservative Islamic Party (PAS). A tiny by-election for the state assembly PAS already dominates is ordinarily small beer (or would be, if PAS allowed such a beverage, which it does not). But Mr Anwar needs PAS. For the paradox is that without the Islamists, the alliance he leads of Malay modernisers, Indians and secular Chinese has little chance of driving the ruling United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) from power. The coalition that UMNO dominates has ruled Malaysia since independence in 1957. Mr Anwar longs for UMNO’s destruction. The feeling is mutual. More...
Don't miss:
- Malaysia: Anwar Ibrahim, "sodomized" again...
- Malaysian student accuses cops of beating him up...
- Dirty politics in Malaysia forces nude photo opposition member to quit...
- Rajeswari, or how the Malaysian govt. screwed up the life of one of its citizens.
- Malaysia: ethnic minorities, "sons of the soil," and religion...
- Sordid sex-murder affair in Malaysia: who killed Altantuya Shaariibuu?
No comments:
Post a Comment