Malaysia's election campaign off and running

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The party flags and banners started going up three weeks ago when Prime Minister Najib Razak announced he’d be dissolving parliament to pave the way for a general election. That public show of political colors was technically illegal until the nomination of candidates Saturday. But with just 11 days of formal campaigning before the vote, parties have little time to lose.

This election has seen an unprecedented realignment of political forces in Malaysia. For the first time ever, a prime minister, Najib, is facing a former prime minister, Mahathir Mohamad. Two former deputy prime ministers, Anwar Ibrahim, and Najib’s own former number two, Muhyiddin Yassin are also part of the opposition Pakatan Harapan alliance that is aiming to unseat him.

Pakatan Harapan comprises centrists and conservatives, social democrats and Islamists. /CGTN Photo

“There is excitement but there is also a very strange sense of deja vu in Malaysian politics,” said political analyst Keith Leong of KRA Group.

“The fact is that these same names have been dominating the political scene for so long it just happens that they are on the different sides of the political fence.”

Mahathir has always been a deeply divisive figure. During his 22 years in power he oversaw huge economic advancement and an impressive reduction in poverty. His oversized personality and outspoken views also allowed Malaysia to punch above its weight on the international stage.

But his rule was often heavy handed. While Mahathir was prime minister, many of his new allies were jailed on flimsy pretexts under the Internal Security Act. Critics accuse him of having undermined independent institutions such as the police and judiciary, and overseen rampant cronyism.

Yet, he is now standing alongside people who criticized him for decades, apparently united in their opposition to Najib and his government, and particularly, over concerns about the multi-billion dollar scandal involving the state investment firm 1MDB.

Now, at the age of 92, Mahathir is the opposition’s candidate for prime minister should the Pakatan Harapan win power.

At 92 years of age, Mahathir Mohamad is Pakatan Harapan's candidate for prime minister. /CGTN Photo

“This can also be a double edged sword for the opposition,” says Professor Terence Gomez of the University of Malaya. “Mahathir was seen as an autocratic leader, he ruled for 22 years and now he's supposed to be the great reformist. This may backfire on the opposition.”

But many opponents of the Barisan Nasional see Mahathir and his new party, Bersatu, as their best shot ever of wresting power from the BN. Pakatan Harapan are sure to win the vast majority of the votes of ethnic Chinese, who make up about one-fifth of the population. What they desperately need is a sizable swing in the support of ethnic Malays, especially outside the cities.

“We can certainly see that (Mahathir will) appeal to older voters, rural voters,” said Sholto Byrnes of Malaysia's Institute of Strategic and International Studies. “But I think with some younger voters there's a little bit of bewilderment actually about why a 92 year old has been put forward as the prime ministerial candidate.”

Pakatan are having to campaign without their preferred choice for prime minister, the charismatic Anwar Ibrahim. He is serving out the last couple of months of a five-year jail sentence of a second jail term on sexual charges that his supporters say were politically motivated.

Police are careful to keep the opposing sides apart at the nomination centre. /CGTN Photo

But lest we forget, it was Mahathir as prime minister who first sacked Anwar as deputy prime minister, and oversaw his arrest and jailing on earlier charges. Now Anwar has gone full circle from protege and lieutenant, to nemesis back to ally again as the two long-time BN heavyweights look to oust their former party from office.