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Mahathir strengthens his position

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad appears to have strengthened his hand within his political party with the withdrawal of his only challenger for the party presidency and a key by-election victory.

Just three months ago, the 74-year-old premier seemed headed for a fresh crisis as factions within his United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) looked unhappy with a recommendation that he and his deputy not be opposed in internal elections in May.

But Mahathir has now all but retained the presidency of UMNO without a fight as at least 153 of 165 divisions in the party nominated him for the post in May party elections. His chosen successor Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has also clinched the deputy presidency.

The stakes for the two posts are high. The UMNO president traditionally becomes prime minister while his deputy assumes the role of deputy prime minister and eventual successor.

Mahathir, who has been in power for 19 years, can also be pleased by UMNO's victory in a by-election in the Sanggang constituency in central Pahang state on Saturday.

The polls were the first popularity test for the party and its allies in the Barisan Nasional (National Front) coalition government since it lost ground to Muslim conservatives in last November's general elections.

Political pundits said UMNO badly needed the win to prove it still enjoyed the support of ethnic Malays who were divided over Mahathir's sacking of his former deputy and heir apparent Anwar Ibrahim in 1998, which alienated thousands of supporters.

"This is a very important morale booster given the erosion of Malay support for the ruling party, or UMNO, in the last general elections," said Murugesu Pathmanathan, executive director of the Centre for Policy Science in Kuala Lumpur.

UMNO's candidate in Sanggang polled a higher majority than his predecessor, who died after winning the seat in the general election.

The result of the polls hardly changes the political composition in Malaysia, where Mahathir's Barisan Nasional has a three-quarters majority in parliament and a commanding presence in 11 of the 13 state legislative assemblies.

But it is seen as a victory for the prime minister over arch-rival PAS. The conservative Muslim party rallied behind Anwar and made inroads into Malay constituencies in the November general elections.

PAS, which also contested in Sanggang on Saturday, warned UMNO that the battle for the hearts of Malays was not over.

"The results of this election cannot be taken as an indicator that the Malay support for UMNO which had eroded during the last general election has now returned," Mahfuz Omar, youth chief of the Muslim party, was quoted as saying.

Murugesu concurred. "I think the issue of Malay unity is far wider and one should not read too much into this by-election."

Others said the win has strengthened Mahathir before UMNO's internal elections in May but the future of the party was still uncertain.

"Definitely it has strengthened his own hand in UMNO but whether he has strengthened UMNO's position in Malaysian politics is another question altogether," said former opposition leader Lim Kit Siang.

In January, when UMNO's Supreme Council recommended that the premier and his chosen successor be returned unopposed in the polls, discontent rumbled within the party over the Anwar issue.

Anwar has been in jail since April 1998, serving a six-year sentence for corruption, and is currently on trial for sodomy. He denies the charges, saying he was framed by Mahathir's associates after the premier began to fear Anwar might challenge him for the party presidency.

Last week, the only person nominated to challenge Mahathir and Abdullah backed out of the race. Ex-finance minister Razaleigh Hamzah, who had one division backing him for president and two for deputy, declared his full support for Mahathir.-Reuters