Malaysia's Anwar faces critical vote after 'dirty tricks' campaign

by M. Jegathesan 24 Aug, 2008

PENANG, Malaysia (AFP) - Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim's political future hinges on a by-election this week which has been marred by violence and accusations of dirty tricks.

Anwar is expected to win the ballot Tuesday in his home state of Penang, and return to parliament in a step towards his goal of seizing power after March general elections that saw his opposition alliance gain significant ground.

But his Keadilan party is concerned the government's bare-knuckle tactics could cut his winning margin, in a vote seen as a test of his popularity after he was accused of sodomy -- the same charge that saw him jailed a decade ago.

The 10-day campaign period has become extremely tense, forcing police to draft in another 1,500 officers for a force of 4,500 to guard the normally sleepy electorate of Permatang Pauh.

Keadilan information chief Tian Chua said Anwar had hoped for a landslide victory but is worried that turnout could be low -- partly because the government has made the highly unusual decision to hold the vote on a weekday.

"This election is going to be decisive. Definitely, if Anwar wins, we will be one step closer to taking over the government," he said.

"From our assessment, we are leading. We have to win big. It will mean the people reject racial politics."

Both sides have hurled accusations of misdeeds during the campaign, many centring on the spectre of racial tensions in Malaysia which is dominated by Muslim Malays but also home to large ethnic Chinese and Indian voters.

Anwar has accused the government of painting him as a "Chinese agent", and Tian said a banner had been sighted depicting Anwar with the face of a pig, together with the young man who has accused him of sodomy.

The government meanwhile says its supporters have been subjected to abuse, and deputy premier Najib Razak has been taunted over alleged links with a Mongolian woman murdered in 2006.

Huge crowds turned out to support Anwar on Saturday when he was formally nominated to contest the ballot in Permatang Pauh, which he held from 1982-1999 until he was sacked as deputy premier and jailed for sodomy and corruption.

Two photographers were attacked by a group wearing Keadilan shirts, but party officials said they suspected they were planted by political opponents.

Last week, three Keadilan members were arrested for graft, triggering more accusations of "dirty tricks" by the party which said the trio had been set up.

There have also been allegations of vote-buying in Permatang Pauh, and the government has been forced to deny that a cut in national fuel prices announced Friday was a gimmick to drum up support in the by-election.

Meanwhile, Anwar has been mounting an intense campaign, visiting markets and local communities during the day, and drawing large crowds at nightly rallies.

His opponent from the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), Arif Shah Omar Shah, has been running a low-key campaign and newspaper reports have said the ruling party has been riven by factional splits.

Some UMNO officials have warned the party could be harmed by the focus on the sodomy allegations -- which polls show the majority of Malaysians do not believe -- and the attempt to portray Anwar as a traitor to Muslim Malays.

"It is un-Malay to make these allegations. Anwar has a family and he has five daughters," one party official in Penang told AFP.

"Politics is one thing but you are shaming a family man. I am afraid that if we go overboard in attacking him and accusing him of anti-Malay, it will backfire. We will lose votes. We saw that happen in the March polls," he said.

The general elections saw the UMNO-led coalition lose five states and a third of parliamentary seats to the three-member opposition alliance, in an unprecedented loss that has shaken the government.

Most voters interviewed in Permatang Pauh in recent days said they favoured the opposition and were unimpressed by the government's focus on the sodomy accusation which Anwar says has been concocted to sideline him.

"These UMNO leaders are doing nothing but splitting the people further. They have taken this campaign to an all-time low by harping on the sodomy allegations," said Mohamad Mansur Ismail, 56, a roadside stallholder.