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Opposition legislators defect in Malaysia vote
De facto Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim has been confronted by the fragility of his much-touted coalition after 17  supposed allies broke ranks and voted for the government's candidate for deputy Speaker.
Mr Anwar had  boasted that government members were on the brink of defecting to the opposition - leaving him red-faced when the opposite happened on the first day of the new parliament on Monday.
Opposition candidate  Tan Seng Giaw was defeated in the secret ballot for deputy house Speaker by government candidate  Junaidi Jaafar.
'We called his bluff and he lost,' said  Nazri Aziz, minister for parliamentary affairs. 'The episode shows the opposition coalition is really fragile and has different political loyalties ... so they voted differently.'
Mr Anwar's three-party People's Alliance was forged just days before the March 8 elections in which the government suffered its biggest electoral setback since  independence.
Although the identity of the 17 lawmakers who switched sides was unknown, there was speculation they  came from the Pan Malaysian Islamic Party  (PAS), which may have decided to back Mr Junaidi over Dr Tan on grounds of religion.
Dr Tan, a senior leader of the Chinese-dominated Democratic Action Party, is a strident critic of attempts by Islamists to advance religious rights at the expense of Malaysia's secular tradition.
It is no secret that PAS and the DAP seldom see eye to eye,  and they only came together in the People's Alliance because of Mr Anwar's powers of persuasion.
'We have to tighten the rules to make sure the 82 opposition members vote together on any issue,' Mr Anwar said yesterday. 'There is a lot of work ahead.'
In the March 8 polls, the ruling  National Front coalition led by Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi won 148 seats. But it lost its  two-thirds majority for the first time, and the People's Alliance now holds power in five states. The two-thirds threshold is crucial because without it, the government cannot pass constitutional amendments without the agreement of some opposition MPs.
Previously, the government held 90 per cent of seats in  parliament.
Since Monday,  Mr Anwar has toned down his  repeated claims that defections of government lawmakers were imminent. 'It is only a possibility,' he said. 'We have to work at it.'
'The defeat in parliament is an early sign of discord within the opposition coalition,' said political analyst James Wong. 'There are major ideological differences between the secular DAP and the Islamic PAS ... It is left to Anwar to set firm rules and make sure everyone toes the line.'
Despite  the setback, Mr Anwar made a grand entrance to parliament on Tuesday as the spouse of  Wan Azizah Ismail, the parliamentary opposition leader. Despite his key role in the opposition, Mr Anwar did not contest a seat in March because of a five-year ban imposed in the wake of his conviction for corruption. The ban has since expired.
'I will get back into parliament in good time as a lawmaker and stay there for good,'  he said.
Mr Anwar was the centre of attention  as foes and friends alike shook hands and exchanged pleasantries.
Later, during an official lunch, Mr Anwar became the butt of several jokes as he sat with the wives of ministers, while Dr Wan Azizah sat on the main table flanked by the king and Mr Abdullah.



Anwar left red-faced by shifting allegiances