The majority natives in Zimbabwe has chosen Mugabe because of his policies to support natives even by using unfair means. I think the election is fair despite lots of discrepancies such as the inability for young voters to vote. Sometimes the young voters don't even bother to register and the opposition is too disorganised to make sure that they actually register to vote.
Mugabe himself has managed to stabilise the ultra inflation by using US$ as its currency. This is a good move.
I fear for Malaysia because a large percentage of Malaysians don't believe in justice. They believe that it is al-right to steal from the rich because they are the natives.
There are a few unhealthy signs that Malaysia is heading into backwardness:
1) Abandoning English in favour of Malay despite the backwardness of Malaysian knowledge base and economic power. Natives believe that it is better to be wrong as long as it is their own way of doing things. Also acceptable by a lot of Malaysians especially natives because they believe they can get a share of the economy without workng for it at all.
2) Malaysian justice based on Syariah while abandoning International standard of justice. As a result forged land titles are more valid than the original land titles as having been judged up to the highest court and recently, wrongly filling the Election Summary forms is a criminal offence not subject to the election laws and yet the police do not bother to investigate all the criminal activities committed during the elections including murders. Soon election summary forms wrongly filled and murders will be more common in Malaysian elections. Also acceptable to a lot of Malaysians so nothing much can be done about it.
3) Malaysian version of democracy is acceptable where only the government can voice their opinions in mainstream media such as newspapers, radio and televisions. There is no hope for Malaysian democracy but this is actually the wish of a large number of Malaysians so nothing much can be done about it.
4) Malaysian version of economy is acceptable where workers are given below poverty level salaries and national currencies keep on being devalued. I see a solution in using US$ as the national currencies or companies using US$ to pay salaries. If Zimbabweans are willing to accept foreign currencies, there is no reason why Malaysian natives will also reject this as well especially when they can see clearly how their living standards had deteriorated compared to their neighbours such as Singapore, Brunei and now Indonesia.
Mugabe Tightens Grip on Power
The Zimbabwe president's commanding victory in flawed elections will likely exacerbate the southern African nation's diplomatic and economic isolation.
Mr. Mugabe, who is 89 years old and has governed since leading Zimbabwe out of white-minority rule in 1980, won 61% of 3.5 million votes cast in Wednesday election, officials said over the weekend, while longtime foe Morgan Tsvangirai won 33% of the vote.
The pair have shared a coalition government since elections in 2008, when Mr. Tsvangirai won in the first round but dropped out of a runoff to stop reprisal attacks on his supporters that killed more than 200 people.
That Mr. Tsvangirai fell so short of the president this time showed how deftly Mr. Mugabe orchestrated the electoral process, critics said, as well as how enthusiasm for Mr. Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change party has waned.
Diplomats said Mr. Tsvangirai's party put too much stock in the strong turnout at its election rallies, while Mr. Mugabe's Zanu-PF party focused on getting more of its backers into voting booths.
Some election observers and Mr. Tsvangirai's party said they believe Mr. Mugabe could have received fraudulent votes in the names of more than a million dead voters, while he also succeeded in keeping young people more likely to support Mr. Tsvangirai off the rolls.
Mr. Tsvangirai pledged to contest the result and seek a new vote through Zimbabwe's courts. "We did not lose these elections. It is the imagination of Zanu that they won," Mr. Tsvangirai said, referring to Mr. Mugabe's political party, Zanu-PF.
The few groups of observers that Mr. Mugabe allowed into the country endorsed the vote as peaceful and largely free, though they acknowledged that some voters were unable to register or were turned away because their names didn't appear on the roll at their polling station. Some pledged to release more thorough reports in the weeks ahead, though that will likely be after Mr. Mugabe has been sworn in for a new five-year term.
His decisive victory eases a diplomatic headache for neighbors led by South Africa, who were eager to stop mediating between Mr. Mugabe and Mr. Tsvangirai.
South Africa's President Jacob Zuma extended his "profound congratulations" to Mr. Mugabe in a statement on Sunday, and urged "all political parties in Zimbabwe to accept the outcome of the elections as election observers reported it to be an expression of the will of the people."
But South Africa's stamp of approval may not satisfy the U.S. and the European Union, whose targeted sanctions against some individuals in Zimbabwe are one facet of the investor skepticism dogging the economy.
"In light of substantial electoral irregularities reported by domestic and regional observers, the United States does not believe that the results announced today represent a credible expression of the will of the Zimbabwean people," said U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry.
Mr. Mugabe's pledge to put more of Zimbabwe's economic potential in the hands of disadvantaged blacks is also likely to keep most investors away from a once-dynamic economy.
Mr. Mugabe was once seen as the competent manager of an economy with a mix of manufacturing, farming and mining that made Zimbabwe the envy of its African peers. But in the past decade Mr. Mugabe's supporters embarked on a violent campaign to redistribute farmland from a small number of white farmers to impoverished blacks.
That has created a living for many new farmers but spooked investors and touched off hyperinflation that stopped only when the government led by Messrs. Mugabe and Tsvangirai abandoned Zimbabwe's currency for the U.S. dollar in 2009.
Since then a nascent recovery has also stalled, thanks to Mr. Mugabe's campaign promise to nationalize mines and banks in addition to farmland. The finance ministry said last month that economic growth would likely fall back to 3.4% this year from 4.4% in 2012, as mounting political tensions have slowed foreign investment and local lending.
"Our indigenization process will continue," Mr. Mugabe pledged at a rare news conference on the eve of last week's election. He added that he hoped to reinstate a national currency in Zimbabwe. "We will not do it hastily, though," he said.
Already some banks and mining companies have committed to transferring a 51% stake to government-approved black investors, but they have differed sharply with the government over how the legislation should be applied.
Impala Platinum Holdings Ltd., IMP.JO -0.29% the world's second-largest platinum producer, has said it would transfer 31% ownership to the government at a fair-market price, plus 10% of local share to the community and another 10% to employees. But government officials have said they won't pay for the stake.
Orji Kalu, a Nigerian businessman with investments in banking and mining across the country who was part of a team from the African Union observing last week's elections, said he wouldn't invest in Zimbabwe right now.
"The empowerment program isn't going to work. They should open up to the U.S., to Europe and to Asia," Mr. Kalu said. "Indigenization will make foreign direct investment scarce and the country will continue to suffer."
But many Zimbabweans are drawn to Mr. Mugabe's redistributive promises.
Gift Mutengezanwa used a $5,000 loan from the indigenization ministry to open a hardware stall in Harare's Mbare township. The 32-year-old says he believes that with Mr. Mugabe in power, such policies can help more of his friends and family.
"Indigenization will empower us," Mr. Mutengezanwa said.
Write to Devon Maylie at devon.maylie@dowjones.com and Patrick McGroarty at patrick.mcgroarty@dowjones.com
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323514404578647732249178720.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
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