General Election 2008 - A Two-Front System Seemingly In The Making

The political hurricane has obviously changed the local political scenario, from that of a one-sided single-front system to that of a more balanced two-front system. If nothing crops up, the shape is definitely there!

The 12th General Election saw not only a massive exodus of Chinese and Indian votes to the opposition front, but also a big chunk of Malay votes, traditionally staying steadfast behind UMNO, crossing over to the non-BN camp. The results threw a lot of political pundits off balance.

This represents a marked difference between this election and the previous ones in 1990 and 1999 when the opposition parties similarly teamed up in a coalition to wrestle with BN.

In 1990, Tunku Razali called for an alternative front to wage a challenge against BN. But Malay voters backed away from the front for fear of losing their dominant political power at the last minute. As such, the AF failed to gather the momentum to get through.

1999 witnessed an upsurge of anti-Mahathir sentiment in Malay groups. However, the Chinese and Indians chose to to consolidate under BN. As a result, the wind of change blew to a futile end.

2008 saw a wind blown with might to shake the BN's base, laying foundation for a probable two-front system in Malaysia.

The picture shows Tun Dr. Mahathir at a press conference one day after the election.