Opposition parties DAP (Democratic Action Party),PKR (People's Justice Party) and PAS (Islamic Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party) are made major solid gains in Saturday's general elections, taking control of five out of 13 states, including Penang.Anwar's Keadilan party won 31 seats, the Chinese-based Democratic Action Party (DAP) won 28 and the Islamic party PAS won 23.
The loss of Penang comes as a personal blow to Abdullah who hails from the Chinese-majority state, and underscores deep anger among Malaysia's minority Chinese.The National Front coalition (Barisan Nasional) also lost control of assemblies of Selangor, Kedah and Perak states for the first time. Apart from these four states, the opposition won in Kelantan.
The opposition also denied Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's National Front coalition a two-thirds majority in Parliament for the first time in four decades. The government has become too arrogant and people are unhappy. Malaysians have finally woken up from their slumber and made history on 2008 General Election. The main issues that lead to downfall of National Front coalition are racial inequalities by ethnic Indians and rise in crime and corruption plus rising living cost.
The 2008 Malaysian election is the worst setback that the coalition has suffered since it gained control of the government at independence from Britain in 1957.
The arrogant National Front coalition was sure it would win these elections but "people power" (makkal sakthi- in tamil) showed that Malaysian citezens regarless race,religion show their angerness on National Front coalition.
The government cracked down the protests held by BERSIH and Hindraf, which it said were illegal, using water cannon and tear gas on unarmed public. Hindraf protest organizers are now in jail.
M Manoharan, one of the five detained leaders of non-governmental Hindraf spearheading protests against alleged marginalisation of ethnic Indians, contested the polls under the opposition DAP ticket and won convincingly. The is a request from Hindraf leader Vythamoorthy to announced M Manoharan as deputy chief minister in Selangor.
The largest of the minority groups, the Chinese, also delivered a strong blow on the ruling coalition. The northern Malaysian state of Penang - where ethnic Chinese make up a majority - was among those that went to the opposition.
Malaysia's lone ethnic Tamil Minister Samy Velu, President of Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC), a component of ruling Barisan Nasional coalition, lost his Sungei Siput parliamentary seat in Perak state in Saturday's elections for parliament and 12 state legislatures.The departing chief minister, or governor, of Penang, Koh Tsu Koon, lost his seat on Saturday to a dissident university professor, P. Ramasamy.
Malaysia's victorious opposition in weekend polls assured foreign investors that pro-business policies would remain intact in Penang, one of Asia's biggest manufacturing hubs.
The prime minister said today he won't resign because he has the support of UMNO leaders and isn't under any pressure to quit, according to the state-owned Bernama news agency.
Veteran leader Mahathir Mohamad, who ruled for two decades before handing over to his chosen successor Abdullah in 2003, accused the prime minister of "destroying" the coalition and suggested he should quit.
"I think he should accept responsibility for this. He should accept 100 percent responsibility," he said. "I am sorry but I apparently made the wrong choice."
