Malaysia Inside Out

In this, the first of a weekly round up of the top stories in Malaysia and views from Asia, I am in the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka. Yet it’s hard to miss, or ignore, the events unfolding in Malaysia this week surrounding the death of Teoh Beng Hock, 30 year old political secretary to Selangor state executive councillor Ean Yong Hean Wah.

Not only is this a tragedy for a grieving family and Beng Hock’s pregnant fiance, the repercussions will be felt for a long time to come. Reports suggest that he fell to his death from the building housing the MACC (Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission) in Shah Alam, where he had been held for interview until 3.45am that night. No one can be sure what happened after that. Politicians are calling for a Royal Commission of Inquiry.

On Saturday, police reported that Beng Hock died as a result of a high fall. His death was classified as ‘sudden death’. The reason why he fell has yet to be determined, and dozens of questions are waiting to be answered.

What is known so far? According to Malaysiakini,

‘Teoh, 30, was found dead last Friday [17th July] . He had been picked up on Thursday about 5pm for questioning by the Selangor MACC   in relation to a probe into the spending of constituency funds. His body was found at about 1.30pm the next day on the fifth floor balcony at the building in which the MACC is housed in Shah Alam.’ (Malaysiakini, July 21st)

The Star Online reports that Teoh Beng Hock was a key witness in the probe against several state assemblymen who allegedly misused allocation funds.

An uneasy public clearly wants their questions answered, as a forum held in Penang yesterday evening shows.

Malaysiakini.tv: Tribute to Teoh Beng Hock

Anyone who has a seen a newspaper or browsed the internet recently can’t have failed to notice a lot of buzz about by-elections. No less than three, in fact, were held simultaneously yesterday in Perak, Kedah and Sarawak. By-elections have the potential to generate political storms when a critical seat is in question, but few have caused the political fervor witnessed in Malaysia during the last two months. The outcomes of today’s by-election will have repercussions around the country, linked as they are to a dozen separate issues rampaging around the Malaysian media at the moment.

So what’s going on, and where did all this start?

It could be argued that today’s tumult has its origins back in March 2008, when the opposition coalition, Pakatan Rakyat, or the People’s Alliance, had its first major breakthrough in 50 years, gaining power in 5 states and putting an end to the two-thirds parliamentary majority enjoyed by the ruling coalition Barisan Nasional (BN) since Independence. This was a groundbreaking victory, of such magnitude to the Malaysian electorate that it is compared in metaphor to one of the most powerful and devastating natural disasters the region has witnessed – no less than a political ‘tsunami’. It was an event that has rocked BN to its foundations, culminating in the events of last week, when Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi stepped down as PM to make way for his Deputy and successor, Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

In February 2009, BN saw an opportunity to regain power in at least one of the opposition states – Perak. Despite their win in March 2008, PR held the state assembly by a narrow majority. When four assemblymen from the PR defected to join BN, the balance swung in favour of BN, who swiftly moved in to claim the state as theirs, seeking advice from the Sultan of Perak to formalize a new state government, and physically preventing the Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Nizar Jamaluddin from entering his office, now occupied by BN’s Zambry Abdul Kadir. But the implications of the defections had a wider reach, increasing the majority in parliament for BN to 31 against 28 for the opposition PR.

Turmoil in Perak followed as the PR refused to step down, against the decision of Sultan Azlan Shah, the monarch of Perak. Protests, riots and tear gas continued throughout much of February. BN currently holds power in the state.

But, you may well ask ‘What has this got to do with the by-election in Bukit Gantang in Perak?’ The current by-election was after all brought about by the death of PAS Member of Parliament Roslan Shaharum (pan-Malaysian Islamic Party, a member of the opposition coalition) on 9^th February 2009. Seen by Mohd Nizar and others as a referendum on the BN takeover in Perak yesterday, Nizar’s win won’t reinstate PR in Perak, but it will send a strong message to BN and the new PM where the sentiments of the electorate lie, despite the ruling of the Sultan. A double success for PR in Perak and Kedah and the weak outcome for BN may lead to shows of strength by Najib Abdul Razak as he establishes himself as the country’s new leader.

Mohd Nizar won the Bukit Gantang by-election on 7th April by a majority of 2,789 votes and takes the parliamentary seat for Perak.