Malaysia: The ruturn of Mahathir

The political observers called the general elections held on May 9, 2018 in Malaysia as a «people’s tsunami» that washed away the National Front (NF), which ruled the country for more than 60 years, and brought the opposition alliance «Hope» to power. For many observers, the election results were unexpected. But if one looked closely at the development of the political situation in Malaysia in recent years, the results of the elections will be quite natural. Already in the 2008 and 2013 elections. the opposition could show itself as a mighty one. The leader of the National Front and Prime Minister NajibRazak could not control the situation in his hands, also because his involvement in the corruption scandal connected with the government-run strategic development company 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB). While the opposition was able to win over the former prime minister, the builder of modern Malaysia, Mahathir Mohamad. In the absence of the generally recognized leader of the opposition, Anwar Ibrahim who at that time was still in prison, Mahathir played his role by uniting the opposition (with the exception of Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party) and using the people’s discontent with Najib’s policy (in particular, the introduction of GST, an increase in gasoline and toll roads prices, etc.), as well as a corruption scandal, to which investigation the United States, Australia, Switzerland joined. The fulfillment of election promises could be a difficult task for the winning alliance. However, the rich and fruitful experience of state management, which Mahathir possesses, gives hope for a favorable development of the situation in Malaysia.

Keywords

General elections in Malaysia, Mahathir Mohamad, Najib Razak, National Front, Alliance «Hope»

Received

30.09.2018

Publication date

15.10.2018

Number of characters

15847

Cite

GOST	Pogadaev V. Malaysia: The ruturn of Mahathir // Asia and Africa Today – 2018. – Issue 9 C. 40-44 [Electronic resource]. URL: https://asaf-today.ru/S032150750000690-1-1 (circulation date: 20.04.2024). DOI: 10.31857/S032150750000690-1
MLA	Pogadaev, Victor "Malaysia: The ruturn of Mahathir." Asia and Africa Today 9 (2018):40-44. DOI: 10.31857/S032150750000690-1
APA	Pogadaev V. (2018). Malaysia: The ruturn of Mahathir. Asia and Africa Today (9), pp.40-44 DOI: 10.31857/S032150750000690-1

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