The changing landscape of Malaysia’s coalition politics
Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Harapan make unusual bedfellows, but such alliances seem to be the future of Malaysian politics.
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Free Malaysia Today is an independent, bi-lingual news portal with a focus on Malaysian current affairs.
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NewsTranscript
00:00 Malaysia is no stranger to coalition politics,
00:04 but many things about our political landscape have changed,
00:07 and our political parties and the politicians who lead them
00:11 are struggling to adapt.
00:13 The 15th General Election, or GE15,
00:17 held in November last year was a game-changer.
00:20 For the first time in history,
00:22 three major coalitions did battle for the people's mandate.
00:26 RSA Nasional, or BN, which ruled Malaysia for six decades until 2018.
00:33 Pakatan Harapan, or PH, which wrested Putrajaya from them.
00:38 And Perikatan Nasional, formed in 2020 after Bersatu broke away from PH
00:43 to join forces with PAS for a short-lived stint as government.
00:47 None of the three secured a simple majority of 112 seats in the Dewan Rakyat
00:52 to rule the country on its own.
00:54 That saw PH, led by PKR and DAP,
00:58 and BN with UMNO at the forefront,
01:00 form a broad alliance with coalitions in Sabah and Sarawak
01:04 to take over the reins of government with Anwar Ibrahim as prime minister.
01:09 Political analyst James Chin explains why coalition politics
01:13 has always been Malaysia's formula for government going back to Merdeka in 1957.
01:18 Merdeka!
01:22 The reason why this is the only model available to Malaysia
01:26 is because Malaysia's politics is driven,
01:31 at least in the initial period, driven by race.
01:35 According to Chin, the three main races that make up the rakyat
01:39 were each dominated by one party.
01:41 UMNO for the Malays, MCA for the Chinese, and MIC for the Indian community.
01:47 These three parties then got together to form the coalition known as Alliance,
01:52 which later became BN.
01:54 BN expanded to include a host of political parties in Sabah and Sarawak.
01:59 These days, however, each of the Borneo states has its own coalitions.
02:04 Gabangan Parti Sarawak, or GPS, which presently leads the Sarawak state government,
02:09 and Gabangan Rakyat Sabah, or GRS, which heads the administration in Sabah.
02:15 Over time, however, Islam began to shape the political discourse in the country.
02:20 Now it's mostly driven by political Islam.
02:24 With race-based politics firmly entrenched in Malaysia's political landscape,
02:28 no party has been able to grow beyond the boundaries of its racial configuration.
02:33 There is not a single party in Malaysia that is capable of collecting votes
02:40 from every segment of the different racial groups.
02:44 On the contrary, the last 10 years or so have seen shifts
02:47 which have affected the balance of the traditional coalitions.
02:51 Unhappiness with UMNO and the rise of political Islam has seen the Malay vote,
02:55 which UMNO once had a stranglehold of, breaking up.
02:58 Malay politics is basically divided into past PKR and UMNO.
03:05 There is also, of course, Bersatu.
03:09 Likewise, the Indian vote is now divided between PKR, MIC, and DAP.
03:15 The Chinese vote has essentially gone over to DAP.
03:21 That was why each of the three West Malaysian coalitions were left short of numbers
03:26 and unable to form a government on its own.
03:29 And that was what made longtime political foes UMNO and DAP partners
03:34 in the present Unity government.
03:37 I am a little bit shocked because I have never spoken in this area.
03:41 That was how Secretary-General Lok Siu Fook began DAP's maiden speech
03:46 at the Unity Government Convention.
03:48 These are the new political realities that Malaysia's politicians
03:53 and the rakyat must learn to accept moving forward.
03:56 We are united!
04:02 The upcoming state elections in Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, and Penang
04:06 will be a useful early test for the new PHBN alliance
04:10 as it comes up against the green wave led by PAS that has gathered force in the north.
04:15 That will set the stage for GE16, due in 2027.
04:20 Nanish Rajareza, FMT News.
04:23 [Music]
04:29 you