CHALLENGES OF PRU 2018

Challenges of Election in Malaysia

 Author: Nureen, Aiman, Iman, Aleeya, Syakir, & Afifah

    When we talk about a set of rules such as election, there may be challenges pre-election, during the election and also post-election. First of all, we need to know that the election in Malaysia only be held once in 5 years, where the last election of Malaysia was 3 years ago in Wednesday, 9th May 2018 and the next election will be on 2023. The results of election was announced early in the morning around 5-6 a.m. This was the historical memories since all Malaysian citizen were patiently waiting in front of the television for the result to be announced. As we know, the election in 2018 was the starting point of the changing government since 64 years ago when independence was gained in Tanah Melayu. The political party who has stepped down was Barisan Nasional (BN) and the new party that take over Malaysia back then was Pakatan Harapan. Hence, there was a post-election challenges that happened during that period.

Firstly, the challenges is there will be some difficult road ahead. Despite this reason for joy, the new coalition administration faces a challenging road ahead. This will be the first time in Malaysia since 1957 that authority will be transferred. Prime Minister Mahathir will have to create a durable partnership with the Democratic Action Party, People's Justice Party, National Trust Party, and Malaysian United Indigenous Party – a heterogeneous group of center-left groups with a history of working together. Dr. Mahathir also has stated that all parties will be represented fairly in administration, but if this promise is not kept, it could become a bone of contention.

Besides, they also have to face the outlook. The economy of Malaysia has been thrown into disarray as a result of these difficulties. The election results last 3 years sparked a sharp collapse in Malaysian markets, with the Malaysian ringgit first plummeting 2% and a US-listed exchange-traded fund tumbling 6%. While this is likely to be a short-term reaction, the economic policies of the new coalition will be crucial. The results have unnerved foreign investors, who liquidated US$375.6 million of stocks when the markets opened. 

Lastly, the challenges may be a democratic victory. Why? We was pointing to Malaysia's shocking election result last 3 years, in which voters chose a new federal administration during the first period in the country's sixty-one-year history. The ruling Barisan Nasional coalition, which has been led by Najib Razak since 2009 and is dominated by the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) party, has been hounded by allegations of corruption in recent years. There's a lot to be happy about at these gatherings. Anwar Ibrahim's release from a five-year sentence for sodomy that appeared to be politically motivated has fueled speculation that he may lead the country's new governing coalition in 1–2 years. Meanwhile, Mahathir Mohamed has been named Prime Minister of Malaysia. Following a twenty-two-year period in government between 1981 and 2003, the ninety-two-year-old will be Prime Minister for the second time.

References

Southgate, L. (2018, June 5). Is Malaysia on the cusp of a new golden era?: GRI. Malaysia's post-election challenges. https://globalriskinsights.com/2018/06/malaysia-anwar-mahathir/.

Wikimedia Foundation. (2021, May 27). Pilihan raya umum Malaysia 2018. Pilihan Raya Umum Malaysia 2018. https://ms.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pilihan_raya_umum_Malaysia_2018.