Tag: Ooi Kee Beng

Malaysia’s Barisan Nasional (BN), who lost the majority vote but won the elections in 2013 now loses the power it had held since independence. The biggest flaw, most analysts would agree, was its president, Prime Minister Najib Razak, the leader of UMNO, which is the heart and soul of the coalition. Advertisement Tainted by suspicions of wrongdoing since long before he became Prime Minister following a coup against Abdullah Badawi in 2009, his term in office continued to be plagued by serious scandals such the murder of Mongolian model Altantuya Shaariibuu, and the 1MDB affair which was investigated by a list of countries, including the US, Switzerland and Singapore. However, in this endless process of political manipulations, he brought a new player into the game against him — the retired long-term Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. Now, in the bewildering game that is Malaysian politics, Mahathir is historically and unquestionably the most effective striker ever. In the penalty shootout that the election campaign of 2018 actually was, the BN side seemed to miss most of its shots. Pakatan Harapan did not miss many shots at goal, and when the last penalty kick had been taken, it had won 122 of the 222 parliamentary seats available according to reports, 11 more than it needed to win the match. Had UMNO changed its president a year or so before the elections were called, and more credible and trusted leaders put in place instead, and all that done before Mahathir felt compelled to take the field, all of BN’s political advantages would have worked in its favour, and the opposition parties, relegated by the breakdown of Pakatan Rakyat, would never have been able to bully the sitting government. Much blame should also be put on the evolution of UMNO and of BN into a state where a leader like Najib could act with such impudence as he did when caught in the 1MDB and other scandals, where all internal dissent had been nullified, and where all external opposition were rendered unthreatening. There is of course also that important factor of the Reformasi Movement.