KANGAR, Malaysia -- Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has cleverly manipulated the Sept. 11 Islamic terrorist attacks in the United States and their aftermath to crush his political rivals in a crucial by-election in the north Malaysian state of Perlis over the weekend.
In Saturday's vote in Indera Kayangan -- whose boundaries include Kangar, the state capital -- the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA), the Chinese component of Mahathir's ruling National Front (NF) coalition government, convincingly defeated the National Justice Party (Keadilan), the party led by the wife of Mahathir's sacked deputy, Anwar Ibrahim.
The MCA's candidate Oui Ah Lan polled 4,279 votes to beat Keadilan's Khoo Yang Chong who obtained 1,687 votes. The victory margin of 2,592 votes was larger than the 1,974-vote margin for the previous MCA candidate over his Keadilan rival in the 1999 election.