Various Overseas Analyst Views on Malaysian 12th Election

BRIDGET WELSH, POLITICAL ANALYST, JOHN HOPKINS UNIVERSITY

"It was a phenomenal shift. They lost up to potentially four state governments. I think the PM will potentially have to resign. This is unprecedented. The only other time this happened was in 1969 and that's why everybody is very nervous now because of the uncertainty."

DAVID COHEN, ECONOMIST, ACCESS ECONOMICS

"I guess the question now is, 'Is it going to be peaceful?' If they are able to control it, then that would at least avoid one potentially negative reaction ... Maybe it's an encouraging sign that real contested elections can be held without violence. If they had won overwhelmingly, I think there would have been suspicions that there was fraud, so the fact that they did allow the opposition to make these gains is encouraging."

SAM ZARIFI, HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH, WASHINGTON

First of all, we saw several attempts by the coalition to try and not have these elections free and fair. Clearly, they were worried about the possibility of losing, more than any other time. At the same time, it was clear that there has been some discontent with the state of affairs in Malaysia and that the people of Malaysia really wanted an end to what has essentially been a state in which they don't have freedom of press, freedom of speech and freedom of assembly.

There is no excuse or reason any more for Malaysia not to have that freedom. For a country that has made so much of economic progress, it is time to catch up politically. Obviously we have to wait for the full result of the election, but what we hope to see is that parliament will begin dismantling some of the authoritarian laws and systems that have been in place for too long, starting with the Internal Security arrangements. Basically, opening up of Malaysian society to allow it to flourish.

YAP SWEE SENG, ACTIVIST WITH HUMAN RIGHTS BODY SUARAM

"This is a victory of people who were fed up with Barisan Nasional's mismanagement and abuse of power. People have sent a very clear message that they are fed up with racial politics. Going forward, I think it is very critical for the country to start a new period of policies that are more democratic."

source of news page1 || page2 || page3

Other news from international news websites

CNN - Malaysian PM suffers election shock
BBC - Election setback for Malaysia PM
Reuters.com - Malaysian ruling coalition suffers poll debacle
Reuters.com - FACTBOX: Young and restless? A snapshot of Malaysia's voters
Reuters.com - FACTBOX: An overview of Malaysia's political history