Malaysian opposition shrugs off defections to ruling party

Malaysian opposition shrugs off defections to ruling party
30 May, 2008

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) — Malaysia's opposition on Thursday shrugged off a rash of defections to the ruling party, which have come as a much-needed boost for embattled Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

Ezam Mohamad Nor, a former senior member of opposition figurehead Anwar Ibrahim's Keadilan party, is the most prominent of the six who are being welcomed back into the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO).

He left UMNO in 1999 after the sacking of Anwar, a one-time deputy premier who spent six years in jail on corruption and sex charges before being freed and storming back onto the political scene.

Ezam, who had served as Anwar's political secretary, quit Keadilan last year reputedly after a power struggle with another top party official.

"Ezam's decision will have little impact on the party. We are on an upward trend now," said Keadilan information chief Tian Chua.

Chua said the five others joining UMNO were associates of Ezam who had been "hanging in limbo".

"A few of them have nowhere to go, and UMNO desperately needs some event to show that they can reverse the trend of people leaving and the relevance of UMNO waning," he told AFP.

The three-party opposition alliance dealt a severe blow to the UMNO-led coalition in March 8 general elections, seizing control of five states and a third of parliamentary seats in an unprecedented result.

Anwar has said he is confident of attracting enough defecting lawmakers to topple Abdullah's administration, which has been thrown into crisis by the election drubbing.

"There have been even worse betrayals. I don't think this will affect Anwar that much ... UMNO is a sinking boat," Chua said.

Ezam's return to UMNO was splashed in the government-linked media Thursday, with prominent photographs of him handing his membership registration form to Abdullah.

"No conditions are attached to Ezam's readmission. He does not get any special treatment or privileges. He has also not sought any position. He just wants to serve and struggle for the party," Abdullah reportedly said.