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Malaysia Opposition, Led by 92-Year-Old, Wins Upset Victory
- baybal2 8y agoWhat a surprise. I was certain that when Najib Razak will be cornered, he would've resorted to election rigging. Looks like his rating tanked so hard, that even foul play on a level available to him did not gained much for him. Congratulating Malaysian people.
- rorykoehler 8y agoI have no idea why you have been down voted. That was on practically everyones minds in Malaysia. Today if you type in "where" on Google search Malaysia the first suggestion is "Where is Najib", the second is "Where is Najib now" and so on
- yen223 8y agoThe sheer number of ads and propaganda by the ruling party actually convinced me that the elections weren't going to be rigged. No one in their right mind would have invested so much time and effort winning a battle that has already been won
- nafey 8y agoIf any Malaysians can answer: Recently Malaysia has been in news for increased religious extremism/fundamentalism. Can any improvement on this front be expected by the new government?
- qubex 8y agoN.B. ‘Malays’ is an ethnic group (the supposedly-native ”people of the land” (bumiputra) Muslim majority); nationality of Malaysia is fairly mixed including Malays, ethnic Chinese, ethnic Indians, and even orang asli (”original people”). The correct term for this aggregate is Malaysians.
- sohkamyung 8y agoCorrect. Just a minor typo at the end: it should be Malaysians.
- qubex 8y agoThanks, corrected.
- nafey 8y agoI stand corrected. Thank you
- afeezaziz 8y agoFrom my observation as a Malaysian Malay, I do not think that this change of government will stop the rise of Islamic fundamentalism. This Arabicization of Malaysia was started by Mr. Anwar Ibrahim who was imprisoned by Mr. Mahathir Mohamad and now became good friends and partners. Mr. Anwar is the de facto leader of the coalition that won the election.
- jpatokal 8y agoSeems like a step in the right direction though? If BN had won in coalition with PAS, they would have had to bend over regarding sharia, hudud, etc. Acronym decoder: BN = Barisan Nasional = old ruling coalition PAS = Parti Islam Se-Malaysia = take a wild guess :)
- lowtto 8y agoYes it can. Some objectives includes true da'wah. An effort to demonstrate a kind, tolerant and true Islam. Best example you can see today is the atmosphere of the election itself. Near non-existent violent / provocation or mass street demonstration has occurred. This is arguably the most peaceful turnaround of power ever in history of democracy. And we even accepted a 92-year old as our President.
- dejv 8y agoI am not living in Malaysia anymore, so I haven't followed the news lately. But wasn't part of this coalition, strong especially in east coast, very conservative party that wants to bring some very lethal punishments for petty crime (like chopping hands) as part of their agenda?
- qubex 8y agoAs somebody who frequented Malaysia extensively in the first half of the 2000s (in the aftermath of the ruinous 1997 currency crisis) I’m very curious to see how the dynamic between Mahathir and Anwar plays out: the latter was a member of the former’s government during the crisis and the former had the latter jailed on what were wildly held to be trumped-up sodomy charges (as the article mentions). This is going to be a very awkward working relationship.
- acqq 8y ago> former had the latter jailed on (...) sodomy charges Wow: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anwar_Ibrahim_sodomy_trials https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anwar_Ibrahim_sodomy_trials "Sodomy, even if consensual, is punishable by up to 20 years' imprisonment and whipping under Section 377B of the Malaysian Penal Code.[18]" "(defined as "carnal intercourse against the order of nature")" It's not written in the article how much, but it seems Anwar Ibrahim spent quite a lot of time in prison, more than once.
- coldtea 8y agoThat was the law in tons of US states until 2003 or so. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodomy_laws_in_the_United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodomy_laws_in_the_United_Stat...
- acqq 8y agoThanks: In the US, according to Wikipedia: before "2003, the penalty for violating a sodomy law varied very widely from jurisdiction to jurisdiction among those states retaining their sodomy laws. The harshest penalties were in Idaho, where a person convicted of sodomy could earn a life sentence. Michigan followed, with a maximum penalty of 15 years imprisonment while repeat offenders got life.[citation needed]" To compare, in the UK the maximal penalty until 1967 was two year prison with the hard labor, until 1885 life imprisonment, and before 1861 death.
- chrisbennet 8y agoKinney Friedman told a story about a famous Texas lawyer who got his clients charge of sodomy reduced to “following too close”.
- rayiner 8y agoI don’t understand the spin. The article doesn’t mention that he was prime minister for more than 20 years previously until halfway through. By most accounts a decent prime minister. But also a virulent anti-Semite: http://www.jcpa.org/jl/vp506.htm http://www.jcpa.org/jl/vp506.htm
- azernik 8y agoBecause the leader isn't the point; the political parties are. He's a unifying figure for an ethnic-minority and liberal-opposition coalition very different from the one that's ruled the country since independence.
- rayiner 8y ago“The Europeans killed six million Jews out of 12 million. But today the Jews rule this world by proxy. They get others to fight and die for them.” - The Prime Minister Elect of Malaysia. He’s the liberal opposition?
- ghba66 8y agoWell... isn't that true?
- frostwhale 8y agoNo there isnt a secret cabal of jewish warlords ordering christians around. Or Muslims. Or atheists even for that matter.
- ghba66 8y agoNice strawman. No, there is not, but everything the US and the NATO does is to protect Israel at the detriment of the rest of the world. The fact that there's no way to have this conversation just proves it further.
- 8y ago
- 1k 8y agoAs a Malaysian, this win is so amazing. Literally against all odds. I’ve never been more proud of my fellow Malaysians. Najib had control of the Election Comission, Registry of Socieities, Attorney General, Inspector General of Police, and his own political party. With this power he shamelessly gerrymandered, deregistered the opposition coalition, appointed someone to proclaim him innocent in 1MDB investigations, locked up the opposition leader, and sacked critics within his own party including the deputy prime minister and a VP. Then there was also the EC who set voting date on possibly the most inconvenient date, new laws to bar advertising of the opposition prime minister candidate’s face, the Sultan who spoke out against the opposition and the Agong who stripped some opposition leaders of titles. This is indeed a historic moment.
- APCarr 8y agoAs an Englishman that has lived in Malaysia for about 15 years no, I share that pride :)
- coldtea 8y ago>Malaysia Opposition, Led by 92-Year-Old, Wins Upset Victory The future is theirs!