Mahathir must now rebuild Malaysia’s judiciary and police, two institutions he once eroded, to restore people’s faith

I grew up in Malaysia during the Mahathir Mohamad era when the country was part of the coveted Asian tigers club that boasted strong economic growth. Yet, much of the prosperity came at the expense of curbed political expression and restricted civil liberties. The recent election outcome that ended the six-decade rule by the ruling coalition, Barisan Nasional (BN), caught many in the diaspora community by surprise, myself included.

I study how authoritarian or semi-authoritarian governments tilt the level playing field to stay in power for as long as they can. Thanks to electoral boundaries egregiously drawn to their favour, BN continued to claim victories in the last few general elections before the most recent one, despite consistently losing the popular vote. Malaysia is among the worst offenders of gerrymandering in the world, a common election-cheating tactic used by the incumbents to deliver a favourable outcome.

How, then, did the opposition alliance, the Pakatan Harapan, which faced such a strong headwind, manage a landslide victory this time? Many see it as a “Malaysian tsunami” or people’s revolt against the Najib family. Others give credit to Mahathir for leading an otherwise splintered opposition alliance that had difficulties getting their act together.

Also, the election took place against the backdrop of an escalating cost of living that erodes the purchasing power of the middle class and squeezes the poor. Juxtapose this against the profligate lifestyle of Najib Razak and his Hermes-handbag loving wife, Rosmah, and we conjure up an image of the people’s triumph against a kleptocrat.