Elections in Malaysia often provoke disproportionate interest for a country of just over 30 million. This time, though, the polls due on May 9 have aroused particular focus because they will pit the incumbent prime minister Najib Tun Razak against his predecessor but one, Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who not only owes his political career to Mr Najib's father (Malaysia's second premier) but was also the country's leader for 22 years until 2003. He would also be the world's oldest prime minister if he won at the age of 92, having jumped ship and become the opposition's candidate for PM.
Western analysis of Malaysian politics has long been over-simplistic. The decades-ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition is considered to be conservative, overly attentive to special interests and – especially during Dr Mahathir's period in office – marked by a strong authoritarian streak.
The opposition, by contrast, are painted as liberal reformers, particularly since the 1998 sacking and subsequent jailing of Dr Mahathir's then deputy, Anwar Ibrahim, after which Anwar became the opposition's leader and, to boosters like the noted neo-con Paul Wolfowitz, a human rights icon.
The truth is more complex. The BN is a coalition of race-based parties led by the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO). Since all parties on both sides are more or less dependent on a particular ethnic vote, the BN has practised a more communal, communitarian and less liberal politics than western critics might like but it is one that the Malaysian people have consistently voted for nevertheless.
That aside, as BN leader and in office since 2009, Mr Najib has a track record on which he can be judged – and he would like Malaysians to do so. He points to the creation of 2.7 million jobs, growth of nearly 6 per cent last year, the near-elimination of poverty and a host of other statistics which explain why the World Bank and the IMF issue such glowing reports every time they visit the country.
Voters and international investors know what they will get if the BN are returned – the kind of pro-business policies that led Air Asia’s Tony Fernandes to dub Mr Najib “the father of low-cost travel”; an emphasis on innovation and female empowerment; a strong relationship with China and an outward-facing foreign policy and a determination to counter radicalisation and terrorism that India’s Narendra Modi has described as “an inspiration for the entire region”.
What can be expected if the opposition Pakatan Harapan (PH, or Alliance of Hope) win is unclear as they have never won a general election, although their predecessor Pakatan Rakyat (PR, the People’s Alliance), has governed the wealthy states of Selangor and Penang reasonably competently since 2008.
Anwar was leader of PR until very recently (even though he has been in prison for sodomy since February 2015) and managed to project a moderate, modern image to international observers willing to overlook his past as an Islamist leader and his long-term associations with the likes of Yusuf Al Qaradawi and Tariq Ramadan (the latter frequently accused, as was Anwar, of presenting one face to western audiences and another more radical one to non-western ones).
The trouble, however, was never far below the surface. The alliance contained Anwar’s Malay-dominated PKR (People’s Justice Party), the leftist Chinese DAP (Democratic Action Party) and the Islamist PAS. They each had their own appeals but all had very different and contradictory visions for Malaysia. As the left-wing columnist and author Martin Jacques put it, this was “a combination of incongruous, incoherent and uneasy bedfellows. The opposition’s credibility is seriously flawed”.
Eventually the DAP broke up the coalition in opposition to PAS’s desire to strengthen sharia. A new party, Amanah, splintered from PAS and joined PKR and the DAP. Then Dr Mahathir, who had been trying to eject Mr Najib from the premiership for several years (long before anyone had heard of 1MDB), crossed to the opposition and founded a new party. Contrary to the much-touted multiracialism of the opposition, however, Dr Mahathir’s new vehicle was for Malays only.
So the new coalition contains Malay supremacists, Chinese progressives, moderate Islamists, Indian socialists, as well as a contingent of disaffected ex-UMNO politicians. The incongruity and incoherence remain.
There are idealistic and impressive politicians in PH. But overall, their talk of reforming institutions rings hollow when PH is now led by Dr Mahathir, the man whom the opposition accused of undermining them in the first place. Economists have widely derided their manifesto, with a subsidiary of Fitch saying “all of its promises” were “populist”, detrimental for the country and “could strain ties with China”.
And above all, there is the fact that many of Dr Mahathir’s new allies were imprisoned under his rule. Both he and his fellow leaders have a very long history of calling each other racists, accusing each other of enriching their cronies and of vehemently opposing each others’ policies.
Less than five years ago, the DAP’s Lim Kit Siang was writing “Mahathir wants me dead”, accusing him of “gutter-politics of the most despicable and immoral kind”. Three years later, Dr Mahathir was complaining of Anwar’s “immoral behaviour” and said that at 68, Anwar was too old to become prime minister.
Now the three are apparently the best of friends and will secure Anwar a royal pardon should PH win so that he can take over the top job from a 92-year-old.
Opinion polling is sparse in Malaysia and the next election is further complicated by the fact that PAS is putting up candidates in more than half the constituencies, turning these polls into an unpredictable three-way contest. But if it is true that “oppositions don’t win elections – governments lose them”, it is quite possible that Malaysia’s forthcoming vote might prove the opposite. Not for nothing did one sympathetic commentator once label Malaysia’s opposition “the gang that couldn’t shoot straight” – and their aim is not looking any more accurate this time.
Sholto Byrnes is a senior fellow at the Institute of Strategic and International Studies Malaysia
Sinopharm vaccine explained
The Sinopharm vaccine was created using techniques that have been around for decades.
“This is an inactivated vaccine. Simply what it means is that the virus is taken, cultured and inactivated," said Dr Nawal Al Kaabi, chair of the UAE's National Covid-19 Clinical Management Committee.
"What is left is a skeleton of the virus so it looks like a virus, but it is not live."
This is then injected into the body.
"The body will recognise it and form antibodies but because it is inactive, we will need more than one dose. The body will not develop immunity with one dose," she said.
"You have to be exposed more than one time to what we call the antigen."
The vaccine should offer protection for at least months, but no one knows how long beyond that.
Dr Al Kaabi said early vaccine volunteers in China were given shots last spring and still have antibodies today.
“Since it is inactivated, it will not last forever," she said.
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
RESULTS
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Sarfira
Director: Sudha Kongara Prasad
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Radhika Madan, Paresh Rawal
Rating: 2/5
THE BIO
Mr Al Qassimi is 37 and lives in Dubai
He is a keen drummer and loves gardening
His favourite way to unwind is spending time with his two children and cooking
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
The specS: 2018 Toyota Camry
Price: base / as tested: Dh91,000 / Dh114,000
Engine: 3.5-litre V6
Gearbox: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 298hp @ 6,600rpm
Torque: 356Nm @ 4,700rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 7.0L / 100km
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
Company%20Profile
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Top%2010%20most%20competitive%20economies
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Company profile
Date started: 2015
Founder: John Tsioris and Ioanna Angelidaki
Based: Dubai
Sector: Online grocery delivery
Staff: 200
Funding: Undisclosed, but investors include the Jabbar Internet Group and Venture Friends
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
VEZEETA PROFILE
Date started: 2012
Founder: Amir Barsoum
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: HealthTech / MedTech
Size: 300 employees
Funding: $22.6 million (as of September 2018)
Investors: Technology Development Fund, Silicon Badia, Beco Capital, Vostok New Ventures, Endeavour Catalyst, Crescent Enterprises’ CE-Ventures, Saudi Technology Ventures and IFC
Panipat
Director Ashutosh Gowariker
Produced Ashutosh Gowariker, Rohit Shelatkar, Reliance Entertainment
Cast Arjun Kapoor, Sanjay Dutt, Kriti Sanon, Mohnish Behl, Padmini Kolhapure, Zeenat Aman
Rating 3 /5 stars
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Schedule
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'Cheb%20Khaled'
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Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Titanium Escrow profile
Started: December 2016
Founder: Ibrahim Kamalmaz
Based: UAE
Sector: Finance / legal
Size: 3 employees, pre-revenue
Stage: Early stage
Investors: Founder's friends and Family
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
What is graphene?
Graphene is extracted from graphite and is made up of pure carbon.
It is 200 times more resistant than steel and five times lighter than aluminum.
It conducts electricity better than any other material at room temperature.
It is thought that graphene could boost the useful life of batteries by 10 per cent.
Graphene can also detect cancer cells in the early stages of the disease.
The material was first discovered when Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov were 'playing' with graphite at the University of Manchester in 2004.
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How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
- Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
- Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
- The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
- Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269
*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year
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