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KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's coalition has ended an opposition winning streak with a thumping by-election victory, but critics said it had discredited itself by fielding a popular but graft-tainted candidate.
The ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition had lost seven out of eight special votes held since disastrous 2008 national elections that saw it dealt its worst results in the half-century it has governed Malaysia.
But it scored a convincing win in a special vote for a seat in the parliament of central Negeri Sembilan state on Sunday, more than doubling its majority in the electorate of Bagan Pinang.
"It is certainly sweet, especially after suffering defeat in almost all by-elections before this one," Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said according to state news agency Bernama.
Muhyiddin said support came from all ethnic groups, including Muslim Malays who dominate the national population, as well as ethnic Chinese and Indians whose support the government is struggling to reclaim.
"It is a very encouraging sign," he said.
However, the opposition and elements within the ruling party UMNO, which leads the coalition, criticised the decision to field Mohamad Isa Abdul Samad for the critical vote, saying it would be a hollow victory.
Isa, a former cabinet minister, was suspended from the party for three years from 2005 after being found guilty of buying votes in internal polls for party posts.
Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, a senior member of UMNO who has led calls for reform, said a win by Isa would be seen as "an endorsement of corruption-as-usual within the party and the government that it leads".
"I am afraid what the nation needs is for UMNO to lose again. This is because again we have fielded a candidate proven to be corrupt," he said ahead of the vote.
Located near the seaside resort of Port Dickson, Bagan Pinang is a stronghold for the coalition, which lost its two-thirds parliamentary majority and control of five states in the 2008 national polls.
New premier Najib Razak came to power in April with plans to regain support by tackling corruption and reaching out to ethnic Chinese and Indians who are feeling increasingly alienated in a country dominated by Muslim Malays.
However, a recent survey found his popularity had dropped to 56 per cent from 65 per cent in June, as excitement over his appointment six months ago fades.
- AFP/so
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