Malaysia: stealing thunder

Malaysia's self-proclaimed 'alternative government' is expected to set out its policy platform this week. Almost two months after elections transformed the political landscape, de facto opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim will be vying to steal the thunder permanently from the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN).

A ban on Anwar playing a formal political role has expired (the former deputy prime minister was toppled from power in the late 1990s amid charges of corruption and sodomy, the latter later overturned). Anwar now believes he will be prime minister within three years; he claims that he can hammer the final nail into the BN coffin with the defection of legislators from the states of Sabah and Sarawak.

Three opposition parties are working together to undermine the government further. They have diverse interests, but can together be expected to continue a focus on welfare and overcoming ethnic tensions. They have already vowed to rethink long-established and contentious rules that guarantee preferential treatment of ethnic Malays.

Malaysians are frustrated by the economy, inflation, crime and ethnic tensions. The opposition is operating from a position of unprecedented strength (it controls over one third of parliamentary seats and five states). But incumbent powers will be hard to shift, and moves to overturn the status quo may prompt a backlash.