Electoral Reform and Democracy in Malaysia

The historic electoral defeat suffered in 2018 by Barisan Nasional (BN), which had ruled Malaysia for over half a century since independence, raised high expectations for electoral reform. Wide-ranging reform recommendations were indeed advanced but clearly these were complicated by the ethnic dimension and required a sustained effort to succeed. Prospects for their implementation were dimmed by the dramatic fall of the 22-month-old Pakatan Harapan government, reduced political activity during the Covid lockdown and in recent times the revived fortunes of BN-aligned political forces. Taking all of these factors into account, this impressive study takes stock of the state of democracy in Malaysia by offering readers a deep but readily understandable analysis of an array of electoral reform issues. Produced by a team of scholars ranging from very senior to promising younger academics, it also draws on the experiences of other countries and provides insights and lessons for countries wishing to undertake electoral reform after transitioning from authoritarianism. The result is a resource that will interest the politically engaged as well as scholars of political process, a study that is both wide-ranging and focused, and a primer on electoral politics that will be of wide interest far beyond Malaysia.