Malaysia just had its first-ever opposition victory.
We’re talking about a whole new government.
Following an election result that surprised even longtime analysts in the region, Najib
Razak stepped down as Prime Minister in May 2018, to cede power to a man who not only
mentored him, but actually helped him get into power in the first place.
I’m Alex, this is NowThis World, and in the wake of this historic election, we’re
diving into the end of Najib Razak’s rule and what it will mean for the people of Malaysia.
it’s almost like the country is going through a rebirth, it’s an opportunity to start
afresh, to begin to move forward.
That’s Dr. Bridget Welsh, a Southeast Asia specialist who has written and edited several
books on Malaysian politics.
We spoke to her from Kuala Lumpur, where she witnessed the May vote.
This is what the streets of the capital city looked like.
Opposition supporters crowded the streets - many in disbelief.
"It's hard to imagine.
We have been hoping for this situation for a very long time, it's like a miracle really,
a dream come true."
92-year-old Mahathir Mohamad, who was previously Malaysia’s Prime Minister for 22 years,
managed to unseat one of the world’s most corrupt leaders - a man some experts deemed
“untouchable.”
The expectation was that the opposition wasn’t going to win.
They had to overcome extensive gerrymandering and malapportionment, and also many of the
advantages that the government had, which was to buy votes and others.
So the expectation was that the opposition wasn’t going to win.
To understand how significant this transfer of power actually is, we need to go back and
look at what led up to it.
Najib Razak, the son of Malaysia’s second Prime Minister and nephew of its third, won
his first election at the ripe young age of 23.
He quickly rose to leadership roles within his party, the United Malays National Organisation
or UMNO, and became Prime Minister in 2009.
He billed himself as an economic reformer, promising a multi billion-dollar stimulus
plan to, among other things, grow the country's GDP, rouse the housing market, and repair
broken infrastructure.
This led to the creation of a state investment fund called 1 Malaysia Development Berhad,
or 1MDB, which was designed to boost the economy and attract foreign investments.
Instead… missed payments drew attention to the fact that the fund had actually accumulated
billions of dollars in debt.
Subsequent international investigations by found that Najib and his associates had spent
more than $4.5 billion from 1MDB, on things like yachts, jewelry, luxury real estate,
and even - weirdly - to fund the production of Hollywood films.
And after the scandal broke in 2015, experts say, Najib’s tone… changed.
We saw Najib move in a much more authoritarian direction, arresting the opposition leader
at that time - Anwar Ibrahim - cracking down on political opponents, and purging his own
party, especially the critics within his own party, the current Prime Minister and former
Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.
To this day, Najib claims there was no wrongdoing in relation to the 1MD fund, blaming instead
a “problematic business model” for the missing funds.
And that was far from the only scandal that surrounded Najib.
He also poured millions of dollars into parliamentary elections to ensure that his supporters ended
up in-office.
In 2010, Najib famously promised a group of voters to that he would finance a local project,
saying:
“The understanding is quite simple, you help me, I help you.”
Not only did the financial scandals pose a threat to Malaysia’s credit rating and increase
the national debt, they fostered a culture of mistrust around government.
One that certain sectors of Malaysian society were ready to rebel against and change.
On May 9th, a whopping 82.3% of registered voters turned out for the election.
That ranks Malaysia among the highest in recent national elections, according to Pew Data.
A look at the demographics behind the opposition support revealed a disproportionately high
number of ethnic minorities, young people, middle class voters and urban voters.
Despite the obstacles standing in the way of an opposition victory, says Dr. Welsh,
the conditions were ripe for one.
Especially when you’ve had so much negativity as Malaysia had.
There were excessive corruption and abuse of power and lawlessness.
Now they have an opportunity to start again.
He is the man who built this nation and is going to rebuild this nation and make sure
that we’re set in the right path.”
Mahathir Mohamad won 115 seats - just over the 112 seats he needed - to defeat the Barisan
Nasional coalition, which previously held power for 60 years.
Mahathir Mohamad previously served as Prime Minister for the party he just defeated, from
1981 until 2003 - when he stepped down for feeling like he had served long enough.
His time in power wasn’t without controversy - he, jailed opposition supporters and activists
without trial, and was seen by some as authoritarian.
But hailed by many as the “father of modern Malaysia,” he also oversaw significant economic
growth during his five consecutive terms, and general modernization of infrastructure,
like the then-tallest structure, the Petronas towers - a landmark of his legacy.
Though he helped Rezak win his seat in 2009, Mahathir became openly critical of the former
PM, especially when it came to the corruption charges and his lavish lifestyle.
And that’s why, says Dr. Welsh, many Malaysians are excited to have him back.
This served to really inspire a lot of Malaysians because they felt that, here’s a man who
didn’t have to come back, but chose to come back in order to give the opposition a stronger
chance of winning.
Mahathir Mohamad just became the world’s oldest head of state- but the soon-to-be 93-year-old
said he’s not planning to stick around for too long - only a couple years, to implement
reforms for problems caused both during his and Najib’s tenures.
Then, he plans to hand the position over to an opposition figure that both he and Najib
Razak jailed during their tenures - Anwar Ibrahim.
Mahathir pardoned Anwar quickly after winning the election.
And Mahathir is already making good on some of his commitments.
He quickly abolished the Goods and Services tax, introduced under Najib, which is widely
blamed for the rising cost of living, and plans to replace it with a tax that aims to
reduce the price of goods and services.
His party, Pakatan Harapan, also promises to crack down on corruption, cut the national
debt, reduce the prime minister’s control over national institutions, and more.
As for Najib… his outlook isn’t quite as sunny.
Having already been questioned by the anti-corruption agency, it’s expected that he and his wife
will face charges - which would be unprecedented in Malaysia and one of only a few cases ever
where a former PM faced charges in Southeast Asia.
Mahathir stopped Najib and Rosmah from leaving the country soon after the election.
After government officials raided their homes, they seized dozens of bags of cash, jewels
- and Rosmah’s indulgence of choice - boxes upon boxes of Birkin bags.
But what does this all mean for Malaysia?
Some experts say it’s too early to celebrate - that democracy takes time to unfold, and
there’s still room to fall back into old ways, but most are optimistic about the country's
future.