The European Partnership for Democracy is distributing a Reuters story on the Malaysian election that is misleading and prejudicial to the Opposition. “Malaysia’s prime minister, Ismail Sabri Yaakob, forced to dissolved parliament an call early elections, hoping to win a stronger mandate for his party and stabilise the rocky political landscape that has plagued the country over the last four years.” Error one: PM Yaakob of the UMNO party was not forced to call an election by political instability – the Opposition is not to blame for UMNO’s problems with corruption that caused it to lose a 40+ year grip on power. Yaakob bowed to a UMNO elders’ decision that their strong nativist appeal is insurgent in key states. Error two: a “rocky” political landscape is a sign of support for pluralism in Malaysian affairs. The last two years have been the freest politically in memory.
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