Abstract
ABSTRACTMalaysia’s 14th general election witnessed three different yet related Islamist models offered by three competing coalitions, namely the Barisan Nasional (BN) headed by Prime Minister Najib Razak, the Pakatan Harapan (PH) led by former Premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad, and the Gagasan Sejahtera led by Haji Abdul Hadi Awang of the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS). All three offered their own visions of Islamism with varying levels and types of inclusivity of non-Muslims as part of a Muslim-led body politic. As it turned out, no choice was totally rejected. Although nationally Malaysians voted to end BN’s 61-year rule in favour of the more ethnically diverse PH, the states of Pahang and Perlis retained loyalty to BN, while Kelantan and Terengganu chose a PAS-governed administration. Amidst national debates concerning corruption and abuse of power, different conceptions of Islamist statecraft retained significance as the electorate went to the polls on 9 May 2018, and this is analysed in the present article.
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