The tumult and upheaval within Malaysian politics right now point to a structural deficiency that inhibits the formation of a stable government, regardless of who is in power.
For a year now, Prime Minister (PM) Muhyiddin Yassin has been able to postpone a no-confidence motion from being passed against him. Using the pretext of the pandemic, he was successful in preventing the parliament from convening between December to July by convincing the monarch to impose a state of emergency. But the opposition against his administration is mounting. and this time from within his own party.
Last month, the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), the largest party in the legislature’s third-largest coalition, Barisan Nasional, announced that it was withdrawing its support from the ruling Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition. While this put the stability of the current government in peril, the Malaysian Attorney-General Idrus Harun clarified that the PM could continue to exercise his federal executive powers because there is no clear evidence to prove a loss of majority.
Furthermore, in a rare occurrence, the country’s monarch, King Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, turned against the government after Muhyiddin’s administration revoked the state of emergency in its July meeting without first gaining royal consent. This caused several members of the coalition, including allies, to withdraw support.
A vote of no-confidence is scheduled to be held in September and rumours that fresh elections will be held before the end of this year are brewing. But, as the voice of the opposition grows louder, the monarch has called on Muhiyiddin to hold the vote at an earlier date. While it remains unclear if the PM has accepted the request or not, the imbalance has cast a shadow on the future of Malaysian politics. With several competing factions and deep political rivalries within the legislature, can a new leader really be expected to bring stability?
The Muhyiddin government got off to a rough start ever since it took office in March 2020. The administration’s foundation rests on shaky ground, as it brings together a coalition of five different parties. To further consolidate power offered by its razor-thin majority, it also relies on support from other coalitions in the parliament.
With so many parties pulling in different directions, some political figures have inevitably claimed to have a majority of their own or called on the PM to step down. For example, Anwar Ibrahim, the president of the People’s Justice Party, claimed in September 2020 that he had majority support and was ready to form his own government, pointing to the fact that public and political distrust in the administration’s handling of the pandemic was at a high.
Moreover, these challenges are not unique to the current administration. Past leaders have also faced significant hurdles in winning seats and then maintaining them.
For example, Muhiddyin’s predecessor, Mahathir Mohamad, won the 2018 general elections. But less than two years later, pressure from internal dissenters within his coalition led him to resign from the government in January 2020. The old ruling party (UMNO) then came back to power in a new political formation. By May 2020, he was expelled from the party that he had founded in 2016. After pledging to never return to politics, he then formed a new political party and is now planning to contest in the 2023 election.
Similarly, Mahathir’s predecessor Najib Razak’s time in office is viewed as an “era plagued with scandal and a strengthening of central power.” Najib repealed controversial laws to silence his political opponents and please the ethnic Malay-Muslim majority, who formed his political party’s largest support base. He was also accused of vast mismanagement of the state investment fund and was ultimately ousted from power over a corruption scandal.
Such consistent political drama and power grabs suggest that the only constant in Malaysian politics is instability and that the problem doesn’t only lie with the leaders but the very system itself. The vast number of factions and parties with clashing ideologies and overlapping political motives have proven detrimental to past administrations.
Dr Sivamurugan Pandian, a professor of Political Sociology at Universiti Sains Malaysia, elaborated on the problem with instability associated with coalitions in Malaysia in a New Straits Times article. “The days of winning big numbers are over. At some point, all political leaders will have to work together. The situation is different than before. People used to be loyal to parties. Now, they are at a crossroads. They don’t uphold political ideologies anymore. Which means political leaders need to loosen their attacks on each other,” he wrote.
The hyper-aggressive rhetoric espoused from all sections of Malaysian politics has thus resulted in a situation where leaders are constantly calling for snap elections, eliminating the possibility for any sort of stability.
Against this backdrop, Muhyiddin appears to be headed towards a loss in the upcoming confidence vote, which would then result in fresh elections being scheduled before the end of the year. If the past few administrations are any indication, however, a new government is unlikely to solve Malaysia’s political woes, given that the country’s complex coalition-based structure inhibits cooperation. Muhyiddin may well be guilty of mismanagement and of abusing power to stay in office. However, as we approach the September confidence vote, the current political impasse has made clear that while Malaysia may need a new PM, what it really needs in the long term is a new political structure.
Malaysia’s Chaotic Political Structure Eliminates the Possibility of a Stable Government
As the September confidence vote approaches, the current political impasse has made clear that while Malaysia may need a new PM, what it really needs in the long term is a new political structure.
August 13, 2021
SOURCE: REUTERS