The pursuit of the non-Malay vote in Malaysia's general election

Producer: Yvonne Gomez
First broadcast: 16 Mar 04, Radio Singapore International

The struggle between Malaysia's ruling Barisan Nasional, or BN, coalition and the Islamic conservatives, Parti Islam SeMalaysia, or PAS, for the Malay votes in the election this weekend has received much publicity.

But also of significance are moves by the ruling party and the opposition to win the votes of the Chinese and Indian population, as well.

On its part, PAS has downplayed its call for an Islamic state, concentrating instead on non-religious issues like lowering taxes, providing cheaper cars and getting rid of road tolls.

The Chinese are a powerful group of voters, despite making up only 26% of Malaysia's population. They contribute significantly to Malaysia's economy, owning about 40% of corporate equity.

Yvonne Gomez speaks to Dr P Ramasamy from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, and first asked him about the significance of the Chinese vote in the
coming election.

PR: Well, certainly, after the Malay vote, the Chinese vote is very significant, you know.

Taking into account the domestic scene since the last elections in 1999, how much support do you think the BN will get from the Chinese voters?

PR: It seems to be a foregone conclusion that the bulk of the Chinese will vote for the BN, and so will the Indians. I don't think there will be much difference in terms of the Chinese voting, compared to the last election. In the last election, it was the Chinese who actually made it possible for UMNO to win many number of seats. I think the bulk of Chinese votes will go to the BN.

Analysts have said that a strong economy, pro-business policies, the anti-corruption drive and a moderate Islamic image is what the non-Malays, particularly the Chinese, want for Malaysia. How does PAS's strategy fall
within this context?

PR: From the very beginning, the Chinese and Indian voters have not been very comfortable with PAS, especially with PAS's notion of an Islamic state. In the last election, the DAP (Democratic Action Party) lost its Chinese support because of its association with PAS and the Barisan alternative. DAP is no more in the Barisan alternative, and is contesting by itself now. So I think the Chinese and Indians are very sensitive and don't really trust PAS. Perhaps they'll be more comfortable with Barisan's notion of a moderate, Islamic state, with inter-racial integration and so on. It's very clear that the Chinese will go for Barisan Nasional.

You mentioned an Islamic state, and there've been reports that PAS has toned down its call for an Islamic state. To what extent is this a move to win more non-Malay votes?

PR: Compared to the last elections, at least there was some pretence on the part of PAS to woo the non-Muslim votes. But I don't see it in this coming election at all. And I think PAS is very clear that they may not get the support of the non-Muslims, so why bother. They may as well go for the Malay-Muslim votes. And I think this is precisely what they've done. They understand the situation very well, and this is the reason why even before the election, they were not really trying to dilute the Islamic state. Of course when they had the Barisan alternative manifesto, I think they downplayed the Islamic state, because they were cooperating with the Keadilan and the Keadilan was supposed to give a multi-racial image. I think it's very difficult to expect PAS to tone down its quest for an Islamic state, because that is the bastion of PAS's propaganda in terms of wooing Muslims.

Although Chinese and Indian Malaysians may have concerns about the privileges given to the Malays in business and education, many believe they are still more likely to vote for the BN than PAS. Why is this?

PR: Well, I think it's not that the Chinese and the Indians are really euphoric or gung-ho about Barisan Nasional. It's really a question of alternatives, and I think in this respect, they probably consider the Barisan Nasional a lesser evil than PAS. Since Barisan Nasional has been in power since the time of independence, they might not agree with all of its policies, but certainly given the lack of alternatives, I think it's their best bet to go along with the ruling party. So I think it's not really a question of choice, but a question of the lack of alternatives and making the right choice, given the limited number of alternatives.