Post UMNO-BN era: electoral authoritarianism and the change of regime in Malaysia

This paper aims to examine regime change in Malaysia post-GE14. It employs the notion of electoral authoritarianism to understand the importance of elections in legitimizing authoritarian rule. As the UMNO-BN regime employed higher levels of electoral authoritarianism over the years, the peopl...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Fong, John Wai Kinn, Teh, Benny Cheng Guan
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia 2020
Online Access:http://journalarticle.ukm.my/17042/
http://journalarticle.ukm.my/17042/1/44465-143356-1-PB.pdf
_version_ 1848814211861315584
author Fong, John Wai Kinn
Teh, Benny Cheng Guan
author_facet Fong, John Wai Kinn
Teh, Benny Cheng Guan
author_sort Fong, John Wai Kinn
building UKM Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description This paper aims to examine regime change in Malaysia post-GE14. It employs the notion of electoral authoritarianism to understand the importance of elections in legitimizing authoritarian rule. As the UMNO-BN regime employed higher levels of electoral authoritarianism over the years, the people began to put pressure on the regime by demanding for greater accountability, transparency and inclusivity. The outcome of the 14th General Election demonstrated the people’s power and was a crucial first step in restoring the democratic system and ending the political dominance of the UMNO-BN. Yet, more recent political developments in the country, amid Covid-19 pandemic, have raised the concerns of how fragile the situation of regime change is. Based on a qualitative method and analyses from in-depth interviews, this paper argues that while regime change was unexpectedly short-lived, the power exercised by the electorates in the GE-14 has not only substantially weakened the once dominant UMNO-BN coalition but also indirectly contributed to new political partnerships and manoeuvrings in an attempt to remain relevant.
first_indexed 2025-11-15T00:30:29Z
format Article
id oai:generic.eprints.org:17042
institution Universiti Kebangasaan Malaysia
institution_category Local University
language English
last_indexed 2025-11-15T00:30:29Z
publishDate 2020
publisher Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
recordtype eprints
repository_type Digital Repository
spelling oai:generic.eprints.org:170422021-07-13T01:47:47Z http://journalarticle.ukm.my/17042/ Post UMNO-BN era: electoral authoritarianism and the change of regime in Malaysia Fong, John Wai Kinn Teh, Benny Cheng Guan This paper aims to examine regime change in Malaysia post-GE14. It employs the notion of electoral authoritarianism to understand the importance of elections in legitimizing authoritarian rule. As the UMNO-BN regime employed higher levels of electoral authoritarianism over the years, the people began to put pressure on the regime by demanding for greater accountability, transparency and inclusivity. The outcome of the 14th General Election demonstrated the people’s power and was a crucial first step in restoring the democratic system and ending the political dominance of the UMNO-BN. Yet, more recent political developments in the country, amid Covid-19 pandemic, have raised the concerns of how fragile the situation of regime change is. Based on a qualitative method and analyses from in-depth interviews, this paper argues that while regime change was unexpectedly short-lived, the power exercised by the electorates in the GE-14 has not only substantially weakened the once dominant UMNO-BN coalition but also indirectly contributed to new political partnerships and manoeuvrings in an attempt to remain relevant. Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia 2020 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en http://journalarticle.ukm.my/17042/1/44465-143356-1-PB.pdf Fong, John Wai Kinn and Teh, Benny Cheng Guan (2020) Post UMNO-BN era: electoral authoritarianism and the change of regime in Malaysia. Geografia : Malaysian Journal of Society and Space, 16 (4). pp. 224-234. ISSN 2180-2491 https://ejournals.ukm.my/gmjss/issue/view/1357
spellingShingle Fong, John Wai Kinn
Teh, Benny Cheng Guan
Post UMNO-BN era: electoral authoritarianism and the change of regime in Malaysia
title Post UMNO-BN era: electoral authoritarianism and the change of regime in Malaysia
title_full Post UMNO-BN era: electoral authoritarianism and the change of regime in Malaysia
title_fullStr Post UMNO-BN era: electoral authoritarianism and the change of regime in Malaysia
title_full_unstemmed Post UMNO-BN era: electoral authoritarianism and the change of regime in Malaysia
title_short Post UMNO-BN era: electoral authoritarianism and the change of regime in Malaysia
title_sort post umno-bn era: electoral authoritarianism and the change of regime in malaysia
url http://journalarticle.ukm.my/17042/
http://journalarticle.ukm.my/17042/
http://journalarticle.ukm.my/17042/1/44465-143356-1-PB.pdf