KL's new political landscape

KL's new political landscape
K. Kesavapany
Straits Times - 22 March 2008

VISITING Malaysia for the first time since the general election was like touring a foreign country for the first time. Nothing in my years as a former Malaysian - and later, as Singapore's High Commissioner in Kuala Lumpur - prepared me for what I saw.

I saw a political landscape that has changed beyond recognition. Peninsular Malaysia, from Selangor up to the Thai-Malaysian border, with the exception of the tiny state of Perlis, is now opposition territory. Former Barisan Nasional (BN) strongholds like Perak, Selangor and the Federal Territory have become opposition strongholds.

The hotly contested state of Penang has gone to the Democratic Action Party (DAP), a prize that the opposition party had hankered after for a long time. Indeed, if not for the BN's hold on Sabah and Sarawak, the political complexion of the Federal government itself would have been open to question.

Before my eyes lay the new reality of Malaysia. Race-based politics lay eroded. Voters had rejected that politics in large numbers and crossed racial lines. This change was marked in Penang, where disgruntled Indian voters had voted overwhelmingly in the DAP's favour, with the Chinese and some Malays joining in.

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