Malaysia’s “Silicon Valley”, the island state of Penang, has become a hotbed of discontent among ethnic Chinese voters who are chafing under the dominance of the Malay-led government.
Opposition parties are hoping to capitalise on the mood to deny the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition a two-thirds majority for the first time in history in Saturday’s elections, both nationally and in the Penang state parliament.
Toh Kin Woon, a senior figure in the Gerakan party which leads the coalition state government, admitted there is “a lot of frustration among Chinese voters” in the state, the only one in Malaysia where they are in the majority.
“The battle for votes here is heating up. The Chinese feel they are being sidelined in the country’s development. They do not see the growth trickling down to them,” he told AFP in an interview.
Malaysia’s population is dominated by Muslim Malays, with 26 percent ethnic Chinese and seven percent Indians, but in Penang the Chinese community rises to some 45 percent — making them an electoral force to be reckoned with.
The island, a showpiece of Malaysian development, is home to top electronics companies like Sony and Intel, and many Chinese living here are in business or professions and less dependent on government aid.
Malaysia’s affirmative action New Economic Policy, introduced from 1970 following race riots in an effort to bridge an economic divide between Malays and Chinese, is viewed with increasing resentment here.
To be able to bid for government contracts, non-Malays need to have a Malay business partner and in such a business-minded state, many feel left out of the nation’s economic development.
The government refuses to heed calls to dismantle the policies, arguing that Malays and indigenous people at about 65 percent of the population own just 18.9 percent of national wealth, while Chinese control some 39 percent.
The Chinese-based opposition Democratic Action Party is making a strong stand in Penang, fielding a number of high-profile candidates as it attempts to break the coalition’s stranglehold.
Toh admitted that voters are keen to see the opposition given a more prominent role to act as a curb on corruption, which is a major headache for business here.
“They want a strong opposition to play the role of check and balance against abuses,” he said, adding that the coalition needed to be honest about its problems.
Albert Lim, a 51-year-old equity investor in Penang, said that apart from abuse of the New Economic Policy, high inflation and the creeping “Islamisation” of Malaysia were also concerns for Chinese voters.
“If you are a member of the ruling party, you get all the business. I will vote for the opposition,” he told AFP.
At the other end of the social scale, on a busy junction of Jelutong Road which is home to many low-income Chinese, 40-year-old newspaper vendor Goh Hock Chuan said he would also vote for the opposition on Saturday.
“Life is tough. The cost of living is going up and crime is rampant. Politicians are just filling their pockets instead of taking care of the welfare of the people,” he told AFP.
“The government is saying the economy is doing well. But many of my friends have lost their jobs as the factories they work at have shifted elsewhere,” he said.
The Barisan Nasional has a formidable election machine and pollsters say that despite a range of negative factors, on ballot day voters may be reluctant to abandon the government that has been in power for half a century.
“It is hard to predict the outcome.
“If this happens, the Chinese and Indians would be stuck,” said Rita Sim, deputy chairman of the Institute of Strategic Analysis and Policy Research, a local think-tank linked to a ruling Chinese party.
Three days before polling day, former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad told voters that the country needs an opposition that can hold up a mirror to the government.
Chinese voters in Selangor are advised to think twice about who they intend to vote for.
