Published February 10, 2009

DAP backs Anwar as opposition alliance leader

The party's move comes one day after its chief asks Anwar to step down

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(KUALA LUMPUR) A key Malaysian opposition party said yesterday it continued to support Anwar Ibrahim as the leader of a three- party alliance following calls for him to step down.

'DAP realises that Anwar is the best shot they have in getting control of government ...' - Political analyst Ooi Kee Beng

Mr Anwar, 61, the country's former deputy premier, was asked to step down on Sunday by the chairman of the Democratic Action Party (DAP) after the Opposition lost control of one of the five states it ruled to the national government.

'In this regard the DAP supports . . . Anwar Ibrahim as the parliamentary opposition leader and will remain so as no single leader has ever questioned this during internal meetings whether at the highest levels or otherwise,' DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng said in a statement.

The Chinese-dominated DAP is the second largest of the three unwieldy parties in Mr Anwar's People's Alliance that also comprises Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS) and the People's Justice Party.

But while the National Front now has a majority in the state assembly after the defections, the chief minister of tin-rich Perak from the People's Alliance has defied Sultan Raja Azlan Shah's order to vacate the statehouse, throwing Malaysian politics into further turmoil. The Sultan is due to swear-in a new chief minister from the National Front on Friday.

Malaysia has nine sultans who are titular rulers of their states and take turns being the country's constitutional king under a rotating monarchy.

The apparent rift in the DAP leadership comes amid talk the National Front is looking next to toppling Opposition-ruled Kedah state. And with Mr Anwar threatening a series of rallies to stir his legions into action, the political uncertainties that have beset Malaysia since elections nearly a year ago seem set to continue.

The wider concern is how much of an impact the political chaos is having on the export-dependent economy in the midst of the global financial crisis, with at least one investment bank saying a recession was possible. Some analysts have expressed concern the political machinations are distracting the government from its economic agenda, including a second stimulus package the government will discuss this week.

Infighting in the Opposition, which deprived the government of its two- thirds parliamentary majority during elections last year, comes at a time when the National Front is set to get a new leader.

Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak will become premier after polls in the main government party, the United Malays National Organisation, in March.

Mr Najib engineered the crossovers in Perak after the Opposition scored two big by-election wins, including one that returned Mr Anwar to Parliament for the first time in 10 years following imprisonment on what he says were politically motivated charges of sodomy and corruption.

The sudden death yesterday of an opposition member of Parliament from Perak means a fresh by-election will soon test the political winds in the Malay heartland. Roslan Shaharum, 50, of PAS died of a heart attack.

Further opposition losses to the national government could undermine Mr Anwar and provide a further boost to Mr Najib, political analysts said, although it seemed unlikely Mr Anwar would be forced to step down.

'There are high emotions and high drama over the loss of Perak,' said Ooi Kee Beng, a political analyst with Institute of South East Asian Studies in Singapore 'Calling for Anwar to quit is surprising but then again the People's Alliance parties are riven with openly aired contradictions. DAP realises that Anwar is the best shot they have in getting control of government and they need to keep him.' - Reuters