When hundreds of women gathered on the streets of Kuala Lumpur to call for equal rights in Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's self-proclaimed "new Malaysia", they were met with an unexpected response: a police investigation.[SINGAPORE] When hundreds of women gathered on the streets of Kuala Lumpur to call for equal rights in Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's self-proclaimed"new Malaysia", they were met with an unexpected response: a police investigation.
"A lot of people feel cheated by Pakatan Harapan," said Siti Kasim, a 56-year-old criminal lawyer and political commentator who was among the 5.78 million of Malaysians who voted for Mr Mahathir last May and one of the protesters who took to the streets in March."And if Pakatan Harapan don't see who their supporters are, they will lose the next election."Ms Kasim is not alone.
While the new government had originally pledged to end decades of corruption in the top rungs of power, it last year abandoned a pledge to adopt a United Nations treaty against racial discrimination. "Every issue that can be made into a racial one to prove that Malay rights have been infringed will be blown up that way, and perpetuated through social media to the rural outskirts," said Serina Abdul Rahman, an academic fellow at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore.
But perhaps more than race and religion, the government's failure to quickly bring down Malaysia's high the cost of living and move the country towards an economic recovery following decades of building debt is hurting it the most. "The government still lacks political support or buy-in from the Malay community and if this remains unattended could have an adverse electoral impact for Pakatan Harapan," said Asrul Hadi Abdullah Sani, director of political consultancy firm Bower Group Asia's Malaysia office.
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Source: The Straits Times - 🏆 8. / 63 Read more »