Malaysia’s election tsunami

Anwar Ibrahim, the defacto leader of the opposition Keadilan party, joins the program [AFP]

A political tsunami hit Malaysia over the weekend as the nation went to the polls in national elections.

The results, which denied the long-ruling UMNO coalition a crucial two-thirds majority in parliament and swung control of five key states to the opposition, seem to have caught all by surprise.

For now, Abdullah Badawi, the Malaysian prime minister is holding onto his leadership post despite calls for his resignation.      

On Wednesday’s Riz Khan, Anwar Ibrahim, the defacto leader of the opposition Keadilan Party (PKR), and Lim Kit Siang, longtime activist of the Democratic Action Party (DAP), join the program.

Ibrahim is credited with putting together the strategy that took the coalition consisting of PKR, DAP and the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party or PAS to victory.

We’ll ask Ibrahim and Lim what’s next, how they will deal with the economy, corruption and crime and whether or not they can hold together their multi-ethnic coalition.

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This episode of Riz Khan aired on Wednesday, March 12, 2008
 
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