VZCZCXRO6680
OO RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHNH
DE RUEHKL #0734 2450843
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 020843Z SEP 09
FM AMEMBASSY KUALA LUMPUR
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3167
INFO RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 0658
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL PRIORITY 1772
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO PRIORITY 2669

UNCLAS KUALA LUMPUR 000734 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV KDEM MY
SUBJECT: OPPOSITION WINS ANOTHER BY-ELECTION, NOW 7 OF 8 
 
REF: KL 588 - CLOSE BY-ELECTION 
 
 ¶1. (U) Voters handed the opposition People's Alliance (PR) 
coalition another victory on August 25 by electing an Islamic 
Party of Malaysia (PAS) candidate into a recently vacated 
State Assemblyman's seat in the state of Penang.  Mohd Salleh 
Man defeated his United Malays National Organization (UMNO) 
opponent Rohaizat Othman by a count of 9,618 to 5,067.  The 
victory marks the seventh time in eight by-elections that the 
PR has won the public vote since the March 2008 General 
Elections. 
 
Why the Opposition Won...Again 
------------------------------ 
 
¶2. (SBU) Penang is one of four (out of 13 total) Malaysian 
states controlled by the opposition PR.  Although most of 
PR's support comes from the state's high concentration of 
ethnic Chinese, this particular constituency is an ethnic 
Malay and PAS stronghold; it also overlaps the federal 
constituency held by opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim.  The 
UMNO campaign machine, led by Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) 
Muhyiddin Yassin attempted to win over undecided ethnic Malay 
voters by increasing its racial rhetoric.  UMNO also 
attempted to lure back ethnic Chinese voters by highlighting 
controversial PAS policies on pig farming in neighboring 
Kedah and alcohol sales in Selangor.  (Note: ethnic Indians, 
who make up roughly 8% of Malaysia's population overall, make 
up less than 1% of this constituency and were not considered 
a factor in the outcome.  End Note.)  Conversely, the three 
opposition parties (PAS; Anwar Ibrahim's multi-racial 
People's Justice Party(PKR); and the mainly Chinese 
Democratic Alliance Party (DAP)) pushed a positive theme of 
unity while reminding voters that the UMNO candidate had been 
disbarred from being an attorney last year for stealing money 
from a client.  Although slightly fewer voters turned out for 
this by-election compared to the 2008 General Election, the 
65%-35% margin of victory mirrors the election results from 
18 months ago. 
 
Reactions 
--------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) Compared with other by-election results, reactions 
by top politicians have been relatively muted.  Prime 
Minister Najib Razak simply stated "we should look into the 
factors which we can improve on.  The party will strengthen 
itself and I am confident we will recover."  DPM Muhyiddin 
noted "this is a different political scenario as it is not 
only a PAS stronghold, but also a hardcore Anwar Ibrahim 
area."  More controversially, UMNO candidate Rohaizat said 
his defeat was caused by "the failure of the Chinese 
community to fulfill its vows of support."  PR's election 
director, PAS Vice President Mahfuz Omar, noted "the voters 
have completely rejected the kind of racist politics played 
by UMNO...the people want change and transparent governance, 
something that UMNO cannot provide." 
 
¶4. (SBU) Comment: While the PR was expected to win this 
by-election given that it was in Anwar Ibrahim,s backyard, 
the results point to some larger political trends, including: 
 despite much public squabbling between the opposition 
parties, they appear able to unite for elections and are 
cohesive during campaigns; the victory undercuts any momentum 
that UMNO claims it gained from the close by-election loss in 
Kelantan in July, in which it significantly narrowed the 
margin of victory in a PAS stronghold (reftel); and 
race-based rhetoric was largely rejected by Malay voters, 
having no noticeable impact on the outcome. 
KEITH