Bittersweet victory: The 1999 Malaysian general election and the Anwar Ibrahim affair

Abstract

On 29 November 1999 Malaysia’s ruling Barisan Nasional coalition scored another election victory under the controversial leadership of Dr Mahathir Mohamad. Although the ruling coalition managed to secure another two-thirds majority in parliament despite facing a united opposition, the victory was not as comprehensive as many in the government had hoped for. More significantly the election results clearly demonstrated that, despite the return of buoyant economic growth, the majority Malay community remains clearly divided over the issue of political and legal reform that followed in the aftermath of the sacking and detention of the former Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim in October 1998. This paper analyses the results of the November election in the context of the growth of pressures for reform in Malaysia prior to and after the events of September 1998.