Modernization and the politics of power sharing in Malaysia: an analysis of the 2008 twelfth general election and its implications

Abstract

Political power-sharing is among the most difficult and challenging issues to be faced by societies divided by deep ethnic, cultural and religious cleavages around the world. This paper examines the practice of power-sharing and its principles in Malaysia. It traces the evolution of power-sharing between the different races from the time of the formation of the first Alliance (PERI KATAN) before independence from British colonial rule, to the institutionalization of the Barisan Nasional (BN) in 1974, the 1999 Barisan Alternatif, and the Pakatan Rakyat in 2008. It is argued that the vigorousness of the process of modernization experienced by Malaysia has resulted in: (i) new and additional challenges to handled by the political elites of the parties in the alliance; (ii) the erosion of the commitment to uphold power-sharing principles; and (iii) exposing the contradictions in the validity of fundamental assumptions of power-sharing in the Malaysian context. The above arguments are contextualized mainly in terms of the 2008 Twelfth General Election that has led to the Barisan Nasional losing its two-third parliamentary majority and losing Kedah, Penang, Perak and Selangor to the Pakatan Rakyat. It is concluded that the political elites and their respective political parties must be highly attentive to the effects of modernization and the implications on race relations, so that the form and the substance of power-sharing adopted remain relevant to the needs of a divided country such as Malaysia.