This article marks the beginning of a mini-series covering Malaysia’s 15th general election (GE15). The election will see radical new constitutional amendments come into play, as well as a plethora of familiar figures at the helms of competing coalitions. This election comes after four years of political breakdown, corruption charges and instability.

Malaysia is heading to the polls on 19 November 2022. Ismail Sabri Yakobb, Malaysia’s most recent prime minister, dissolved parliament on 10 October after four years of fractured politics, instability, and corruption charges. GE15 was not due to happen until at least July 2023 when the parliamentary session expired. This article will introduce the political context and background to the election, as well as familiarise newcomers to Malaysian politics and what to look out for over the next month.

Catching up with Malaysian Politics

Since its formation in 1963, Malaysia has had 14 general elections, and until 2018 every one of these was won by the BN (Barisan Nasional, or national front) coalition. The coalition is primarily made of the UMNO party (United Malays National Organisation) in coalition with minority parties, notably the MCA (Malay Chinese Association) and MIC (Malay Indian Congress). From the nation’s inception until 2018, therefore, the Prime Minister has always heralded the UMNO party whose policies favoured ethnic Malays, while working in collaboration with minority-representing parties.

In 2018, however, the BN was defeated for the first time by the PH (Pakatan Harapan) coalition of centre-left and centre-right parties. The PH government lasted just 22 months and collapsed in 2020 after numerous major figures switched parties. The most notable of these was the ruling prime minister, Mahathir Mohamad, who transformed the country during his previous tenure as prime minister from 1981-2003. Despite his 2003 downfall being surrounded by controversy, he is widely regarded as a statesman of Modern Malaysia’s development.

This period was followed by a short, 17-month government of the PN coalition, led by veteran politician Muhyiddin Yassin. This too collapsed when the UMNO party withdrew support in August 2021. For the last year, the BN coalition led a weak government supported by the PN coalition and four smaller parties.

Why has GE15 been called?

Understanding GE15 requires an appreciation of GE14, and why the BN coalition faced its first defeat. In 2015, then-Prime Minister Najib Razak was implicated in a major corruption scandal surrounding the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) infrastructure project. Coupled with rising energy and living costs related to Najib’s economic reforms, the BN suffered dramatically in the 2018 GE14. Analysts suggest the corruption charges played a major part in allowing ex-Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamed to successfully break the ruling coalition’s grip on power.

However, the BN is still associated with decades of success and reliability and therefore retains favourability with conservative voters. As such, after the disastrous governments led by the PH and PN coalitions – particularly the PH who broke with traditional Malay-favouring policy – the BN believe that there is fertile soil for a major comeback. While they are polling around 38%, less than in 2018, their opposition is completely divided. The BN has inter-woven narratives around the need for economic competence into the next few years of recovery, as well as the need for a return to more conservative political governance, particularly around the issue of ethnicity. By dissolving the Dewan Rakyat (federal legislature) now, the BN hope to make a comeback.

Looking Forward

Over the next weeks, this series will look at the notable coalitions, their leaders, as well as major features set to have an impact on its outcome. One of these is the new constitutional amendment that lowers the voting age from 21 to 18 which will introduce millions of new voters, and another is the potential for the return of Najib Razak. Finally, throughout the series there will be underlying focus on what this election means for Malaysia, and its politics.