Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08KUALALUMPUR140
2008-02-28 09:43:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Kuala Lumpur
Cable title:  

MALAYSIA'S ELECTION CAMPAIGN UNDER WAY

Tags:  PGOV PREL KDEM KISL MY 
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VZCZCXRO9557
PP RUEHCHI RUEHHM RUEHNH
DE RUEHKL #0140/01 0590943
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 280943Z FEB 08
FM AMEMBASSY KUALA LUMPUR
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0601
INFO RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA PRIORITY 2474
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 0386
RHHMUNA/CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI PRIORITY
RHHMUNB/JIATF WEST PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 KUALA LUMPUR 000140 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/28/2018
TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM KISL MY
SUBJECT: MALAYSIA'S ELECTION CAMPAIGN UNDER WAY

REF: A. KUALA LUMPUR 90 - ELECTION PRIMER


B. KUALA LUMPUR 95 - ELECTION DATE SET

C. 07 KUALA LUMPUR 1733 - UMNO'S ANNUAL MEETING

D. 07 KUALA LUMPUR 1613 - BERSIH'S STREET PROTEST

Classified By: Political Section Chief Mark D. Clark
for reasons 1.4 (b, d).

Summary
-------

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 KUALA LUMPUR 000140

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/28/2018
TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM KISL MY
SUBJECT: MALAYSIA'S ELECTION CAMPAIGN UNDER WAY

REF: A. KUALA LUMPUR 90 - ELECTION PRIMER


B. KUALA LUMPUR 95 - ELECTION DATE SET

C. 07 KUALA LUMPUR 1733 - UMNO'S ANNUAL MEETING

D. 07 KUALA LUMPUR 1613 - BERSIH'S STREET PROTEST

Classified By: Political Section Chief Mark D. Clark
for reasons 1.4 (b, d).

Summary
--------------


1. (C) Malaysia's 12th general election campaign kicked off
on February 24 after more than 1,500 candidates filed
nomination papers for the 222 parliament and 505 state seats.
Cooperation among Malaysia's opposition parties ensured some
94 percent of all the seats will see head-to-head contests
between one candidate from the ruling National Front
coalition and one opposition candidate. The dominant United
Malays National Organization (UMNO) fielded 117 parliamentary
seats with the other 105 seats split among the ruling
coalition's 13 other parties. Even before Election Day, the
National Front secured eight parliamentary seats and two
state assembly seats in contests in which there was only one
candidate, while the opposition Islamic Party of Malaysia
(PAS) took one state assembly seat in Kelantan. Both the
ruling coalition and the major opposition parties focused the
start of the campaign period with highly publicized releases
of party platforms known locally as election manifestos. All
the parties focused on common themes of unity, racial
harmony, and national prosperity. Pending decreases in
national subsidies and the corresponding rises in gasoline
and commodity prices dominated the early days of the
campaign. The longer campaign period seems to have led the
National Front to alter their campaign strategy incorporating
more door to door campaigning and living-room chats,
presenting a friendlier, more intimate approach to politics.
Aided by the mainstream media's blatant bias for the ruling
coalition and a dominant grassroots organization, the
National Front has moved slowly and methodological at the
beginning to the 13-day campaign period, confident it will
collect the spoils on election day. End Summary.

Straight Fights in Majority of Seats

--------------


2. (SBU) Malaysia's 12th general election campaign kicked off
on February 24 after more than 1,500 candidates filed
nomination papers for the 222 parliament and 505 state seats.
The nomination process officially marked the start of a
13-day campaigning period ahead of the polling day on March

8. The 14-member National Front (Barisan Nasional or BN)
coalition is contesting in all the seats. The opposition,
for the first time, has managed to avoid almost all
three-cornered fights by fielding only one candidate in 94%
of the 222 parliament seats, except in the East Malaysian
Borneo states of Sabah and Sarawak where the opposition
parties failed to reach an agreement. Through this
arrangement, former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's
Peoples Justice Party (PKR) is contesting in 97 parliament
seats, Islamic opposition party PAS in 66 and the Democratic
Action Party (DAP) in 47 with the balance by other minor
political parties especially in Sarawak. In the last general
election held in 2004, BN won 199 of 219 parliamentary seats
and the opposition 20 including 12 by DAP, 6 by PAS, 1 by PKR
and another by an independent candidate.


3. (SBU) The dominant United Malays National Organization
(UMNO) got the lion's share of the 222 Parliament seats
contested by the National Front coalition with 117
parliamentary seats, followed by the Malaysian Chinese
Association (MCA) (40),United Sarawak Native Inheritance
Party (PBB) (14),People's Movement Party (Gerakan) (12),
Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) (9),and the other coalition
members sharing the balance. The nominations also saw both
the BN component and opposition parties dropping around 35
percent of their incumbents, which is typical in Malaysia's
electoral cycle. However, the opposition parties seem to
have fielded more youth and women candidates. In fact for
the first time, the Islamic opposition party PAS is fielding
12 women candidates for parliamentary seats. The BN component
parties allocated around 26 percent of the 222 parliament
seats and 27 percent of the 505 state seats to the youth and
women's wing of their respective parties. While this
historically has been the norm for parliamentary seats, the
nation is seeing significantly more women candidates in state
assembly races.


KUALA LUMP 00000140 002 OF 004



4. (SBU) On nomination day, the National Front secured seven
parliamentary and two state seats uncontested while PAS won a
state seat in Kelantan when the UMNO candidate was
disqualified for being a bankrupt. The PAS victory in
Kelantan was a psychological setback for UMNO as the party
has launched a major campaign to wrest the state from PAS,
which has controlled the state since 1990 (ref A). Commenting
on the walkover victories, Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi
described it as a "sign of confidence in the BN" and added
that it was an indication that the coalition will be able to
retain its two-thirds majority in parliament. The BN
coalition gained another parliament on February 26 when one
of the independent candidates in a parliament seat in Sarawak
withdrew his nomination, paving the way for the sole BN
candidate in that constituency to win the seat uncontested.
According to Malaysian election laws, candidates are allowed
to withdraw their nomination 72 hours after the nomination
day.

Campaigns begin with pledges of unity
--------------


5. (SBU) Following the completion of nominations on the
morning of February 24, each of the parties' campaign
machines swung into full gear. National Front coalition
parties took a more reserved and methodological approach as
they focused their first few days on the release of the
coalition's campaign platform known locally as its
"manifesto," while opposition parties immediately hit to the
streets for nightly political rallies. By February 26, all
major political parties had released their own campaign
manifestos laying out their promises to the electorate, each
focusing on common themes of unity, racial harmony, and
national prosperity.


6. (SBU) The National Front's 21-page campaign manifesto
promised "security, peace and prosperity" and, unlike the
2004 manifesto, outlined the coalition's successes since the
last election. Predictably, the manifesto focused on past
and future economic development for the country, education,
law and order, unity and religion, foreign policy, public
services, and on reducing corruption and improving
governance. It called for unity among the nation's ethnic
groups, and promised to soothe the grievances of the Indian
and Chinese communities over religious and education rights.
In launching the platform on February 25, coalition president
and Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi promised: "The basis
of our struggle is our commitment, which cannot be defeated
by challenges. It has worked for 50 years. . .we will face
the future with greater commitment."


7. (U) The opposition Democratic Action Party (DAP) also
released its manifesto entitled "Malaysia Can Do Better!" on
February 25, emphasizing the need for "equality for all."
Returning to its socialist roots, DAP's manifesto proposed
the use of half of the profits of the national oil company,
Petronas, to finance a RM 35 billion fiscal stimulus plan to
enhance living standards by giving a RM 6,000 yearly
allowance to the nation's poor. Party secretary general Lim
Guan Eng explained: "This will kill two birds with one stone.
It will help the needy families and the plan will help in
economic recovery because it encourages spending in the
domestic market." Focused on eight tenets, DAP's plan called
for higher living standards, a Malaysia first economic
policy, education, the environment, gender equality, youth
empowerment, good governance, and greater democratic freedoms.


8. (U) The conservative Islamic Party of Malaysia (PAS),
released its election platform with the slogan "a nation of
care and opportunity" by promising lower fuel prices, a
minimum wage, free university education and more affordable
health care. Interestingly, the Islamic party dropped from
its manifesto a pledge to create a theocratic state that has
been the central theme in its previous election platforms.
One academic commented that the Islamic party "has realized
that by focusing on 'bread and butter issues' the party will
be attractive to non-Muslims" as well as Muslims. Party
President Abdul Hadi Awang told reporters that the Islamic
agenda was not mentioned in the current manifesto because "it
was already understood by supporters and non-Muslims and did
not need to be mentioned again specifically." The party also
released a supplementary election manifesto for Kelantan
entitled "Development In Line With Islam - Spearheading
Changes for Blessings," in which the party promised business
growth schemes and tourism projects. It also reached out to
women through promises to extend maternity leave to 90 days,
commitments to placing women in community leadership roles of

KUALA LUMP 00000140 003 OF 004


all towns and villages, and pledges to promote matchmaking
services for women marrying later in life. The platform
pledged that, for non-Muslims, their rights would be
guaranteed without discrimination and that the party would
have village heads to represent each ethnic group in a
community.


9. (U) Not to be outdone, Anwar Ibrahim's People's Justice
Party (PKR) also released a 20-page manifesto on February 26
with the slogan a "new dawn for Malaysia" and promised a
constitutional state, vibrant economy, safer streets,
affordable livelihood, and better education for all. Echoing
many of the party's recent themes, PKR's manifesto focused on
the rule of law and a clean judiciary; an end to racially
discriminative policies; security through good governance;
and a more consumer friendly use of the nation's oil revenues
to lower prices on petrol and other essential goods. In its
clearest departure from other parties, PKR pledged to end the
nation's New Economic Policy and ensure social justice for
all races.

Petrol prices to the front
--------------


10. (SBU) Before the ink was even dry on all the nomination
forms, opposition parties jumped to the attack and warned
voters of impending price hikes in gasoline and other
essential items once the National Front was re-elected. At
nightly political rallies around Kuala Lumpur poloffs have
observed every opposition party campaigning against the
National Front's "mismanagement" of the country's resources
and the government's impending reduction in gasoline
subsidies (ref C). To counter the opposition's argument, the
National Front published full page advertisements in local
newspapers on February 25 contending that Malaysia had lower
gasoline and commodity prices than its neighbors Singapore,
Thailand, the Philippines and Indonesia. Trying to fend off
public concern over fuel prices, National Front Deputy
President and Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak could
only offer a half-hearted, "No, it doesn't necessarily mean
price hike," when asked if a coalition win would result in
lower fuel subsidies.

13 days allows change of tactics
--------------


11. (SBU) When Malaysia's Election Commission (EC) announced
a 13-day campaign period (ref B),opposition parties were
pleasantly surprised at the length of the campaign period,
the nation's longest since 1982, and National Front leaders
promised to use the time wisely to remind the nation of all
the progress the country has seen under the coalition. The
extended campaign period has created, however, an apparent
lack of urgency among National Front candidates, but more
interestingly, it has brought a change of tactics. In an
almost unorthodox approach in Malaysian politics, National
Front candidates have so far abandoned the use of nightly
political rallies and opted instead for living room chats and
door to door canvassing of their state assembly and
parliamentary districts. Rather than waiting for sunset to
host street rallies known locally as "ceramahs," coalition
candidates regularly walk business districts and
neighborhoods throughout the day, shaking more hands and
talking to voters.


12. (SBU) Despite the coalition's change of tactics,
opposition candidates are hitting the traditional, nightly
ceramah circuit, and cooperation among opposition parties
remains high. Most rallies that we have observed have
included speakers from different opposition parties
supporting each other in their quests to unseat their
coalition opponents. Predictably PKR and PAS are often
observed actively campaigning for each other's candidates,
but PKR also has served as a bridge between DAP and PAS.
Previous cooperation between DAP and PAS under the Coalition
for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih) (see ref D),has also
served in bringing the two parties closer together. Anwar
Ibrahim has actively campaigned for DAP candidates at the
same rally for which he is campaigning for PKR candidates.
Although we have yet to observe PAS and DAP working closely
at the nightly ceramahs, this appears to be more a
consequence of seat allocation than intransigence.

Media coverage focuses on BN
--------------


13. (C) Unchanged, however, is the paltry coverage the

KUALA LUMP 00000140 004 OF 004


mainstream media provides to opposition party events. Most
Malaysians receive their news from television. While the
opposition generally does not complain about limited air-time
from private companies such as the NST, TV3 or NTV7, it has
become a constant refrain for opposition candidates to lament
that the government television stations RTM1 and RTM2 are
also used as pawns of the National Front. The two government
TV stations run constant campaign commercials for the
National Front during the evening news hours, and the news
broadcasts are replete with criticism of opposition politics
and candidates. Following the release of BN's election
manifesto, every daily newspaper provided in depth coverage
and top billing for the coalition's new platform. In a
contrasting example of coverage, the New Straits Times (NST)
printed five lead pages of stories highlighting the
coalition's new platform, but relegated both DAP and PAS's
party platforms, released on the same day, to two short
stories on the top third of page 27. Notwithstanding the
limitations the opposition parties face in the main stream
media, PAS, DAP and PKR have fully incorporated online media
and news portals in their campaign strategy. Foremost is
PAS's Harakah Daily website which remains one of Malaysia's
most sophisticated internet news sites.

Comment
--------------


14. (C) Nomination day provided no real surprises, and
despite the normal squabbles over technical details of the
candidates' papers, the day remained calm and entirely
predictable. Most striking, however, is the National Front's
slow, methodological beginning to the 13-day campaign period.
One journalist asked if the country was merely facing the
calm before the storm, or had voters already decided which
way they would vote? Perhaps an alternate reason BN has
moved so slowly out of the box is that while the opposition
parties are strong on issues and ideas, they are very weak on
organization and financing. Such a reality eases most
serious threats to National Front candidates, and allows the
coalition to depend heavily on its base and strong grassroots
organization to get out the votes on election day. To
counter this, the opposition parties necessarily depend on
each other to attract voters who will vote for "anyone but
BN," but 50 years of incumbency remains very hard to overcome.
KEITH