VZCZCXRO7559
OO RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHNH
DE RUEHKL #0107/01 0500949
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 190949Z FEB 10
FM AMEMBASSY KUALA LUMPUR
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3866
INFO RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA PRIORITY 2924
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 0713

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 KUALA LUMPUR 000107 
 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR EAP/MTS AND INR 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/18/2020 
TAGS: PGOV KDEM KJUS MY
SUBJECT: POWER STRUGGLES IN PERAK: RULING COALITION WORKING HARD TO REGAIN VOTERS' SUPPORT 
 
REF: A. 09 KUALA LUMPUR 342 -- PANDEMONIUM IN PERAK 
        STATE ASSEMBLY 
     ¶B. 09 KUALA LUMPUR 78 -- NAJIB LEADS TAKEOVER OF 
        PERAK 
     ¶C. KUALA LUMPUR 92 -- COURT DECISION IN PERAK 
 
Classified By: Political Counselor Brian D. McFeeters for reasons 1.4 b 
 and d. 
 
Summary and Comment 
------------------- 
 
¶1. (SBU) Poloff and Pol Specialist visited the politically 
turbulent state of Perak from February 1-3.  Perak is one of 
five states won by the opposition People's Alliance (PR) 
coalition in the March 2008 general elections, but through 
political defections in February 2009 it subsequently 
reverted back to authority of Malaysia's ruling National 
Front (BN) coalition (refs A and B), and is firmly under BN 
control after a February 9, 2010 Federal Court decision 
affirming the BN Chief Minister (ref C).  Perak is a 
microcosm of Malaysia's ethnic diversity with party 
affiliation drawn clearly along ethnic and religious lines. 
Ethnic Malays are split between the BN's dominant United 
Malays National Organization (UMNO) party and the 
opposition's People's Justice Party (PKR) and Islamic Party 
of Malaysia (PAS), while nearly all ethnic Chinese and a 
slight majority of ethnic Indians support the opposition PR 
over the BN, according to a February 5 Merdeka Center poll. 
 
¶2. (C) Comment:  Events in Perak are significant for two 
reasons.  First, for the past year it has been ground zero 
for the fight between the two political coalitions.  Perak is 
the only state that had an active fight over control of the 
state for the past 12 months, so the issues there reflect 
national sentiment.  Second, the fight and ultimate victory 
by the BN in Perak was a successful political power play both 
in terms of brute and refined power, reminding us that of the 
two coalitions, only the BN has the clout, money, and ability 
to manipulate the government system (election commission, 
courts) to muscle its way to power.  The BN now has firm 
control of Perak and is working to regain some of its lost 
influence among voters, having allocated resources into 
projects to win back support of the people.  With the Chinese 
vote firmly supporting the opposition, the deciding votes in 
any future election rest with the ethnic Malays, not because 
they hold a majority among the populace (they represent just 
over 50%), but because their support is most split between 
the ruling coalition and the opposition.  That said, while 
the opposition PR is united in its criticism of the ruling BN 
coalition, they remain somewhat fragmented both within their 
coalition, and within their component parties.  End Summary 
and Comment. 
 
Setting the Scene: Political Background 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) Perak had been a bastion of the ruling BN coalition 
since Malaysia's independence in 1957 until the March 2008 
general election, when the opposition PR coalition stunned 
the BN and took control of the state government by winning 31 
of 59 state assembly seats.  Within the PR, the Democratic 
Action Party (DAP) won 18 seats; the People's Justice Party 
(PKR) won 7 seats; and the Islamic Party of Malaysia (PAS) 
won 5 seats.  Although the DAP earned more seats than their 
coalition partners combined, the position of Chief Minister 
went to PAS assemblyman Mohd Nizar Jamaluddin, because the 
Perak state constitution stipulates that only a Muslim can 
hold the position of Chief Minister (CM).  On the BN side, 
the United Malays National Organization (UMNO) won 27 of 
their 28 seats while the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) 
took the remaining seat.  Two other BN partners, the 
Malaysian Peoples Movement Party (Gerakan) and Malaysian 
Indian Congress (MIC), were all but rendered obsolete as 
neither won a single contested seat.  The DAP's dominance 
came as a result of ethnic Chinese and Indian discontent with 
the MCA, Gerakan, and MIC, who traditionally have represented 
their interests within the BN coalition.  In February 2009, 
after 11 months in power, the PR state government lost its 
majority in the state assembly following the defection of 
three PR state assembly members to become independents 
friendly to the BN.  The net change in 3 seats left the BN 
with the majority of seats and resulted in a protracted 
controversy when the Sultan of Perak replaced PR Chief 
Minister Nizar (equivalent to a governor of a U.S. state) 
with BN's Zambry.  The Federal Court ruled on February 9 that 
the change of chief minister was legal (ref C). 
 
 
KUALA LUMP 00000107  002 OF 004 
 
 
Insights from Perak Politicians 
------------------------------- 
 
¶4. (C) Poloff and Pol Specialist visited Perak from February 
1-3, and met with representatives from every major political 
party in peninsular Malaysia:  from the ruling National Front 
(BN) coalition, the coalition-leading United National Malays 
Organization (UMNO), the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA), 
Gerakan, and the Malaysian Indian Coalition (MIC); from the 
opposition People's Alliance (PR), politicians from the 
People's Justice Party (PKR), the Democratic Action Party 
(DAP), and the Islamic Party of Malaysia (PAS).  In a 
February 1 meeting with PAS Perak committee members at their 
headquarters, including former Perak Chief Minister (CM) Mohd 
Nizar Jamaluddin and Perak PAS Chief Ustaz Abu Bakar Hussain, 
Nizar called the policies implemented by the PR government 
from March 2008 thru February 2009 "successful and people 
friendly."  He noted that the current BN government has 
copied and implemented many of the PR's government policies 
while claiming full credit for them.  DAP MP Fong Po Kuan 
later told Poloff that she didn't mind if the BN claimed 
credit for these policies, stating that it was more important 
that they were implemented, and that "they clearly benefitted 
the people."  Nizar also claimed that during his term of 
office, the PR state government had managed to increase 
revenues by cutting waste and promoting open tenders.  In the 
past the BN government only extended "negotiated tenders to 
their cronies." 
 
¶5. (SBU) In a brief February 1 meeting, current Chief 
Minister Zambry (UMNO), exuded confidence in his performance 
during his first year.  He saw himself as the rightful Chief 
Minister because "it is clearly the will of the people." 
Zambry opined that the BN in Perak has acted in a more 
professional and competent manner than the PR did when they 
were in power.  Noted Zambry: "We were a responsible 
opposition for eleven months," but when the opposition lost 
the majority, they "refused to abide by democratic 
principles."   Zambry commented that in the 12 months since 
the BN took back control of Perak, the BN has been working 
very hard to gain the confidence of the people, noting that 
the BN had embarked on "people friendly policies" -- the same 
term Nizar used -- by focusing on poverty eradication 
irrespective of race and a good economic development policy. 
Perak State Secretary Dr. Abdul Rahim Hashim reiterated that 
the two policies were the main thrust of the BN government 
policies in the state.  Zambry said the results of the BN 
were showing, noting that when compared to opposition 
gatherings, "there is marked increase in support for BN 
gatherings" and that he has received feedback that "the 
people are generally happy with the BN state government." 
 
¶6. (C) On February 2, Chang Ko Youn, the state chief and 
national deputy president for the marginalized Gerakan party, 
admitted that the Chinese voters "deserted the BN by droves" 
in the last general election.  (Note: Gerakan went from 10 to 
2 MP seats in the March 2008 general elections, and from 4 to 
0 seats in the Perak state assembly.  End Note.)  He cited 
UMNO's "racist policies" as one cause, adding that the 
Chinese media were "unfriendly" towards BN.  Chang pointed 
out that, unlike the government-influenced mainstream media, 
the Chinese newspapers are more independent and at times 
favor the opposition rather than BN parties.  The veteran 
leader said it would be difficult for BN to win over the 
Chinese voters in the next general election. 
 
¶7. (C) Dr. Mah Hang Soon, the MCA state youth chief and sole 
non-UMNO state assemblyman for the BN, was a bit more 
optimistic.  Mah noted that the BN is "now more aware of the 
Chinese problem" and is "working on overcoming it."  He cited 
the case of Chinese farmers, who have farmed on state land 
for decades, who were recently given land titles.  The state 
government has also started funding the nine independent 
Chinese schools in the state, whereas in the past the BN 
state government had completely ignored the plight of 
independent Chinese schools.  Mah opined that the previous PR 
government only "made promises" but the BN state government 
"is now delivering" on them. Dr. Mah also noted that the 
Chinese community was especially concerned about the ongoing 
inquest into the July 2009 death of political aide Teoh Beng 
Hock while under investigation, opining that the Malaysian 
Anti Corruption Commission (MACC) needs to get to the bottom 
of this soon, even if they themselves are to blame. 
 
¶8. (C) MIC Perak state secretary and new Perak state Speaker 
¶R. Ganesan echoed Mah's views, claiming that the 12-month old 
BN government has enacted numerous polices for the benefit of 
non-Malays.  Ganeson proudly stated that for the first time 
 
KUALA LUMP 00000107  003 OF 004 
 
 
the state government has allocated funding for Hindu temples. 
(Note: The previous PR government started the policy of 
allocating funds to non-Islamic religious institutions, but 
it is the BN who is seeing this through.  End Note.)  Ganesan 
added that he could see the Indians returning to the BN based 
on the number of people attending BN-sponsored meetings and 
political rallies. 
 
Both Sides at Risk as Snap Elections too Risky to Consider 
--------------------------------------------- ------------- 
 
¶9. (SBU) Prior to the February 9 court decision, both Zambry 
and Nizar publicly claimed that they had enough support from 
voters to win any snap election, fueling speculation that 
regardless of how the decision panned out, the legitimized 
Chief Minister would call for elections and end the 
controversy once and for all.  Zambry told Poloff on February 
1 that if snap elections were held, he was confident the BN 
would win 34 out of 59 seats in the state assembly, citing 
discontent with PKR and PAS among voters.  When asked by 
Poloff if he would call for snap elections should he win the 
February 9 decision, Zambry said he would not dissolve the 
state assembly, saying that "the Perak BN state government 
does not operate based on the dictates of the opposition." 
Nizar, in turn, countered that he had the support of 80% of 
the Chinese and Indian vote, and at least 50% of the ethnic 
Malay vote, challenging Zambry that the only way to prove his 
claim would be to call for a snap election in Perak. Nizar 
told Poloff that even with fresh elections, there is no 
guarantee that the PR would win a majority of seats to form a 
government.  Nizar stated that the BN has managed to "poison 
the minds of the rural Malays" by convincing them that he was 
"a lackey of the DAP" and "had committed treason by defying 
the Sultan" after the defections.  PAS State Treasurer Abdul 
Rahim Ariff concurred with Nizar's view, adding that if 
elections were held today the Malay votes would split evenly 
between UMNO and PAS, unlike in March 2008 when there was 
clear swing of Malay votes towards PAS and PKR. 
 
¶10. (SBU) State senior UMNO Cabinet Minister Ramly Zahari 
concurred with the Chief Minister's views that the BN has no 
reason to dissolve the state assembly.  He stated that the 
opposition is the one who "started the game" by wooing BN 
Members of Parliament and state assembly to cross the floor. 
As such the veteran state UMNO leader added that when the BN 
managed to outflank PR, "the opposition now wants to rewrite 
the rules."  (Note: Ramly is referring to an UMNO assemblyman 
who crossed over to the PR in January 2009.  A few days after 
the crossover, he returned to the BN and was joined by the 
three ex-PR assemblyman who claimed to be BN-friendly 
independents.  The opposition believes that the initial 
crossover was orchestrated by UMNO to prepare the ground for 
the three others to jump to the BN side. End Note.) 
 
¶11. (SBU) DAP Perak State Chief Ngeh Khoo Ham and DAP State 
Secretary Nga Kor Ming (who are first cousins) were 
optimistic on February 2 that magic of March 2008 would 
continue to prevail in Perak if snap elections were held. 
While admitting that there is a slight shift in Malay support 
in favor of the BN, Ngeh stated that a majority of urban 
Malays and most of the Chinese and Indians would vote for a 
PR coalition party. 
 
After the Ruling: What's Next for PR and BN? 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶12. (C) PKR Vice President and MP in Perak Lee Boon Chye told 
Poloff on February 2 that despite the setback caused by the 
BN takeover and subsequent court rulings, the PR is still 
very popular in Perak.  Lee claimed that "80 percent of 
Perakians are still behind us."  Ngeh and Nga (DAP) claim 
that the opposition has continuously been harping in their 
numerous political gatherings through out the state that the 
current state government "is an illegal court appointed 
entity" and vowed they would continue their disharmonious 
campaign after the Federal Court ruling of February 9. 
However, Nizar announced after the court decision that the 
opposition would instead cooperate with BN. 
 
¶13. (C) Zambry said on February 1 that PR leadership in Perak 
was becoming increasingly desperate.  Decreased numbers and a 
general lack of enthusiasm at recent opposition rallies 
showed that people were tired of the PR acting like a sore 
loser, and were ready to move on.  As a result, claimed 
Zambry, the PR has embarked on a strategy to smear the image 
of the BN-led state government.  He cited two examples of the 
smear campaign: that he was accused of being denied entry to 
the US recently for "being involved in terrorist activities," 
 
KUALA LUMP 00000107  004 OF 004 
 
 
and news reports that investors are shunning Perak since the 
BN wrested power.  Zambry is suing the PKR newspaper "Suara 
Keadilan" for RM 400 million for what he says were libelous 
claims about his US trip.  He noted that investments have 
actually increased since the BN took over, claiming that the 
Perak state government has attracted RM11 billion (about USD 
3 billion) in one year. (Note: Regarding the investments, 
Nizar and other PR leaders in Perak dispute this figure, 
claiming that some of the investments came to the state when 
the PR was in power.  End Note.)   Zambry expected the 
opposition to continue with their smear tactics, commenting 
that "their position is increasingly under threat." 
 
Coalition, Party Infighting Continue to Impact Opposition 
--------------------------------------------- ------------ 
 
¶14. (C) DAP MP and Vice President Kulasegaran admitted that 
all is not well with the DAP in Perak.  Kula claimed that the 
"Ngeh-Nga clan" referring to the cousins, is running the show 
in Perak.  The veteran DAP leader claimed that the top party 
leadership is unable to control the two, as they have managed 
to bring the state DAP machinery completely under their 
control.  Kula claimed that due to their dominance, the DAP 
may face some problems in the future because they are not 
popular among all the Chinese in the state.  For example, the 
cousins tried to force out popular DAP MP Fong Po Kuan from 
running in the 2008 general election in order to replace her 
with their own crony, but her constituency fiercely resisted 
this move against the three-term MP, forcing the cousins to 
back down.  Poloff raised this topic while meeting Fong for 
lunch, but she refused to be drawn into a conversation on 
this issue. 
 
Poll: Voters Split Along Ethnic Lines 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶15. (U) The independent Merdeka Center announced results of a 
poll taken of Perak voters on February 5.  Current CM Zambry 
has an approval rating of 43%, while former CM Nizar has an 
approval rating of 46%.  Zambry's base of support comes from 
2/3 of the ethnic Malays and 1/2 of the Indians; Nizar's 
support comes from the remaining 1/3 of the Malays, the other 
1/2 of the Indians, and nearly all of the Chinese.  (Note: 
the ethnic breakdown for Perak's 2 million citizens is 
approximately 52% Malay, 32% Chinese, 13% Indian, and 3% 
others.  CM Zambry is an ethnic Indian but is Muslim by 
religion.  End Note.)  In addition, 38% of respondents 
believed Perak is moving in the right direction, up from 31% 
polled in April 2009, while 44% believed the state was moving 
in the wrong direction, with distinct differences of opinion 
when broken down by ethnic lines. 
KEITH