Post-election report 2013 Malaysian Election: Part II

Even if bumiputeras form a numerical majority, and even if the BN has long exploited ethnic cleavages as part of its electoral strategy, very few Malaysians believe that more ethnic politics is the recipe for stability or prosperity.

The malapportionment of blame

In the journey towards a more open, transparent and democratic Malaysia, the 13th general election has raised even more questions on electoral processes, which if not corrected, will have a permanent mark on all future elections.

DAP: Malays also swung towards Pakatan

Malays, too, swung in favour of Pakatan Rakyat in a “Malaysian Tsunami”, which swept through the recently-concluded national polls.

BN may cling to power through redelineation

Will Barisan Nasional continue to rig the electoral system to stay in power?

Gross distortions in Malaysia’s voting system

Without a concerted effort from our MPs to make our country fairer by insisting on equitable representation in Parliament, it will indeed be very difficult for Najib to ask for national reconciliation when the very premise of his assertion was fundamentally flawed.

Malaysian Elections Post-Election Report: Part I

Here, in the first of two posts on GE13, I outline the historical and contextual background needed understand the results, focusing on three basic features of Malaysian politics: ethnicity, regionalism, and authoritarianism. In my next post, I will analyse the results in light of this discussion.

Malaysia’s 13th general election

The contest is still open. BN or PR could win — now, it is up to the voters to decide.

Malaysia’s general election: what’s worth watching?

Both coalitions have been forced to articulate clear policy agendas, and even if the usual communal and monetary inducements will still have a large bearing on results neither side is taking victory for granted.

A tale of two coalitions: Malaysia heads to the polls

Given there is no reliable poll data to base predictions on, the best bet is that BN will win the majority of seats but lose the popular vote.

Ethnic politics and the challenge of PKR

Taken together, the nomination data illustrate just how thoroughly inescapable the logic of ethnic politics is in contemporary Malaysia. They also show, though, the strong challenge of PKR to the established order. We won’t know until Election Day if that challenge is successful. Even then, it will remain to be seen if a PR victory will mark a transition to a post-ethnic Malaysian politics.