GE13: Reset to Hegemony

Prior to the 13th general election the increasing strength of Opposition coalition Pakatan Rakyat (PR) was seen as the prime factor to generate mounting speculation about the potential victory of the PR; yet 13th GE produced no such dramatic transition in Malaysia. The ruling coalition Barisan National (BN) was crippled with another setback in the 13th GE losing popular votes and more seats in parliament. Moreover the 13th GE could not be able to yield second liberalizing electoral outcome in domestic political scene. This work explores Pakatan’s innovative strategies to stay strong in domestic politics and UMNO’s ‘tide of dissent’ with an abrupt shift towards hegemonic authoritarianism within hybrid category to form the new government. This work reveals that while development and urbanization gave nuance to GE 13, ethnic rivalries reappeared as the primary determinant of this contest’s outcome. This paper argues that UMNO leaders intended to reset the new government to its earlier posture of hegemonic authoritarianism after their victory in the 13th GE by re-communalizing society and re-autocratizing politics as well as formulating strategies to weaken Opposition coalition which have sharply diminished the scope for democratization by election in Malaysia.