This article examines the political trajectory and governance performance of Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) during its two tenures in federal government: the Pakatan Harapan (PH) administration (2018–2020) and the Unity Government (2022–2024). PKR, born out of the 1998 Reformasi movement, has long positioned itself as a multiracial reformist party challenging Malaysia’s entrenched ethnic politics. However, its time in government raised critical questions about the extent to which it upheld its reformist ideals in the face of coalition constraints and realpolitik. Utilizing centripetalism and reform theories, the study draws on qualitative data including elite interviews and document analysis to assess PKR’s institutional behavior, reform strategy, and ideological consistency. The findings reveal that while PKR maintained its reformist rhetoric and inclusive ethos, its reform delivery was diluted by internal fragmentation, elite resistance, and coalition bargaining. The study contributes to understanding the strategic dilemmas faced by reformist parties in plural societies and underscores the challenges of translating ideals into policy in coalition-dominated governance.

The 14th General Election (GE) showed Pakatan Harapan (PH) for the first time in the history of elections to form an administration in Perak. Changes in the results of this general election are certainly influenced by the tendency of voters to vote for parties or candidates who are able to benefit the community. In terms of electoral geography, the Manjoi and Behrang state assembly consists of urban, semi-urban and rural areas that have 18 and 20 voting district centers respectively. This area consists of ethnic Malays, Chinese, Indians and others. Thus, this study analyzes the tendencies of voters during the 14th GE in Manjoi and Behrang State Assembly by using the framework of rational choice theory to evaluate the factors related to respondents' choices. In order to achieve the objective of the study, a quantitative approach using questionnaire instruments was distributed face-to-face to a total of 450 voters in the area. Secondary sources are also used to support the findings. Quantitative data was analyzed descriptively using SPSS software in tabular form. The results of the study found that the voter's choice of party, economic and candidate factors was significant to the change in the election results in Manjoi and Behrang. Candidate choice is seen as dominant in influencing voter decisions during the 14th GE. It is clear that the respondents in Manjoi and Behrang have given the opportunity and chosen candidates who are believed to be able to improve local development to a better level than the administration before the 14th GE.

This article reassesses Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) 2018–2020 experience through Lijphart’s consociational framework. A qualitative approach is applied, triangulating semi-structured elite interviews with documentary sources and news reports. Findings show that PH built a broad grand coalition across ethnic and regional lines, applied corrective proportionality by granting Malay-based parties disproportionate cabinet weight to secure ethnic legitimacy, relied on improvised rather than institutionalised segmental autonomy and treated mutual veto as informal bargaining rather than a binding safeguard. These design choices produced short-term legitimacy but weak internal cohesion, leaving the coalition vulnerable to defections, culminating in the ‘Sheraton Move.’ The study provides an empirically grounded account of Malaysia’s post-BN hegemonic coalition governance and demonstrates how inclusion without enforceable rules limits the durability of consociational arrangements.

The 15th Malaysian General Election in 2022 is a democratic celebration in Malaysia which is held every five years. What was interesting about the 15th General Election was the political drama, because there were no political parties or coalitions that achieved a minimum majority, namely 122 seats out of 222 seats. Barisan Nasional and UMNO conducted a Unity Kingdom with Pakatan Harapan after the 15th General Election. In this research, researchers looked at qualitative methods for this case. Unity Politics is considered to be a new political constellation in Malaysia. This is because UMNO and Barisan Nasional have more experience than the other competing parties. Therefore, this research looks at how Pakatan Harapan was able to win in the 15th General Election and the joining of Barisan Nasional-UMNO to Pakatan Harapan.

Background and Purpose: Due to Barisan Nasional (BN) governance issues, corruption, and financial scandals, Pakatan Harapan (PH) sought institutional reforms in Malaysia. International Public Sector Accounting Standard ( IPSAS) and Malaysian Public Sector Accounting Standard (MPSAS) improved financial reporting and transparency. New accounting regulations' costs and benefits, especially in honesty and fairness, are difficult to weigh. Therefore, the article examines how these reforms affect Federal Statutory Bodies and honest and fair view reporting. Methodology: Malaysian Federal Statutory Bodies' accounting staff self-administered a quantitative survey questionnaire. Senior financial reporters with three years of experience participated. For clarification, a Malay and English five-point Likert scale poll had 99 valid responses. A questionnaire encompassed cost-benefit evaluations, social ideals, and honest reporting. We performed descriptive and inferential statistical tests, including factor and bivariate analysis. Findings: Accurate financial reporting requires cost-benefit analysis, highlighting strategic accounting reform decision-making. Accrual accounting procedures justify the high initial costs with openness, uniformity, and financial monitoring. Social values favourably promote true and fair perspective reporting, however they lack statistical significance in the Malaysian public sector due to its stringent regulatory system. Contributions: This study illuminates financial reporting complexities and suggests employing qualitative methods to improve findings and overcome limitations. Keywords: True and fair view, reporting, societal values, balancing cost-benefit concern, public sector.

This study investigates the correlations between electoral outcomes and voting behavior in Johor during the 15th State Election, leading up to Malaysia’s 15th General Election (GE15). The analysis focuses on the relationship between age, ethnic majority constituencies, and the rural-urban continuum, using voting stream results to identify key patterns. The findings reveal that senior voters in Malay-majority constituencies, across all geographical areas, largely continued to support Barisan Nasional (BN) despite a gradual decline in their overall backing. In contrast, Perikatan Nasional (PN) emerged as an appealing alternative for youth voters, particularly in rural and semi-urban Malay-majority constituencies. Meanwhile, Pakatan Harapan (PH) retained dominance in mixed and Chinese-majority semi-urban and urban constituencies, although its support among senior voters declined compared to the 14th General Election (GE14). Overall, the election results, spanning from the state elections to GE15, demonstrate a strong relationship between partisanship and voter turnout. This finding highlights the intricate relationship between voter allegiance and turnout, shaped by demographic, geographical, and contemporary issues.

Abstract In the 2018 general election, many Chinese voted emphatically for a change of government as they believed that it would lead to the emergence of a more equal Malaysia. Nevertheless, the change of government in 2018 did not alter the status of Malaysia as an ethnic democracy which institutionalizes Malay dominance and undermines Chinese political power. There have still been no significant improvements in the sociopolitical position of Chinese Malaysians and the political actions of Chinese Malaysian politicians remain constrained. A qualitative case study approach, together with Smooha’s concept of ethnic democracy and VanderStouwe’s concept of constrained agency as the conceptual framework, is adopted in this study. The reduced power of Lim Guan Eng as Minister of Finance, the Pakatan Harapan (PH) regime’s annual financial allocation for independent Chinese secondary schools (ICSS s) and its refusal to recognize the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC), as well as the unchanged ethnic quota for the public matriculation program, are chosen as cases for this study.

Barisan Nasional (BN) is a strong party that has never lost since taking over the reins of the country's government despite facing a 'political tsunami' in GE-12. After six decades, the party was toppled in GE-14. This was due to its leadership being involved in racial politics, abuse of power, corruption, money politics and so on which violated moral ethics. However, in the 15th GE, BN still found it difficult to return to the way it was before, but it still received support from many parties after many felt that the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government was also unable to resolve the issues that arose. Youth geopolitics or the power of youth votes is seen to be able to influence voter support for political parties because they represent more than 60 percent of voters in an area and are the determinants of political party victory. Therefore, the objective of writing this article is to analyse youth political support for BN after GE-15 in the state of Kedah. Based on a questionnaire distributed in five parliaments in the state to analyse the factors that cause youth to still loyally support BN and the party's struggle to face the upcoming GE and the fight made by BN ahead of the upcoming GE.

The 14th General Election (GE-14) marked a significant shift in Malaysian politics when the Barisan Nasional (BN) government, which had ruled since 1957, suffered an unexpected defeat to Pakatan Harapan (PH). One of the key factors contributing to this political transition was the spread of fake news on social media, which played a crucial role in shaping public perception and influencing voter behaviour. Platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, news portals, and blogs became the primary channels through which politically motivated fake news was disseminated to gain public attention and electoral support. This study aims to analyse the impact of fake news during GE-14 on Malaysia’s political landscape using Framing Theory, particularly the Media Framing concept introduced by McCombs and Shaw (1972). Content analysis was conducted to identify fake news themes and examine their dissemination trends on social media, with references from Sebenarnya.my. Additionally, in-depth interviews were conducted with selected informants, including government officials, law enforcement officers, academics, voters, and cyber troopers, to support the findings. The collected data was analysed using thematic analysis. Findings identified four key themes in fake news dissemination: public safety and security, political stability, economic stability, and governance. Fake news during GE-14 primarily framed political crises, social provocations, and economic misperceptions, ultimately influencing public distrust in the ruling government and reshaping the nation’s political landscape. Keywords: Fake news, general election, social media, political landscape, framing theory.

The 15th State General Election (PRN) in Negeri Sembilan has already drawn its curtain on 12 August 2023. As expected, the Unity Government with the collaboration of Pakatan Harapan (PH) and Barisan Nasional (BN) has won with a 2/3 majority, namely 31 State Legislative Assembly (DUN) seats out of the 36 DUN seats contested. However, the performance of the Perikatan Nasional (PN) candidate was quite surprising because the opposition party managed to win 5 DUN seats, namely 3 from PAS and 2 from BERSATU. More surprisingly, PH lost in areas considered to be their strongholds, namely in the Paroi and Labu DUN constituencies, while BN lost in Gemas and Bagan Pinang, which are considered UMNO strongholds and safe areas because of the presence of 'fixed deposit' votes in those areas, namely postal votes from the military. In the Serting DUN constituency, UMNO narrowly lost to the PAS candidate, namely with a majority of 843 votes. Therefore, this article focuses on the 5 DUN constituencies won by PN as the study area. This article tries to focus on the following 3 things. First, to delve into the behavior of voters in 5 DUN constituencies before the 15th PRN. Second, to identify the performance of political parties contesting in those constituencies in the 15th PRN. Third, to assess the issues and factors that led to the change in behavior of voters in those 5 constituencies who switched support to PN. This study uses secondary sources from EC reports, books, journals, papers, websites and online newspapers as study data. This data is then analyzed qualitatively. The results of the study show that rural Malay voters have rejected the cooperation that occurred in the Unity Government between PH and BN. More than that, BN voters, especially UMNO, are still skeptical and confused about the cooperation that occurred, especially involving DAP. Therefore, it is hoped that the impact of writing this article can provide a new picture of the political behavior of Malays in rural areas and add more information related to the political journey in Negeri Sembilan.

UMNO's electoral defeat in 2018 and 2022 facilitated a transformation in the Malaysian political landscape. While the party’s defeat could be ascribed to conventional factors, including narratives of elite corruption linked to its leadership and internal factionalism; however, another significant factor that contributed to UMNO’s remarkable downfall was the cleavage structure that shifted away from the party which therefore eroded their political support. The article seeks to demonstrate the erosion of UMNO’s influence among the Malay electorates, particularly in its traditional strongholds of rural parliamentary constituencies in Peninsular Malaysia due to modifications in the cleavage structure. The analysis of the 2013, 2018, and 2022 general elections indicated that UMNO ceded votes to the Islamic party, PAS and the newly formed Malay party, BERSATU, which were partners of the Pakatan Harapan opposition coalition in 2018. The outcomes of the 2022 general elections revealed a further decline in support for UMNO among Malay electorates, attributed to the merger between PAS and BERSATU, to establish a perceived Malay-Muslim coalition in Perikatan Nasional. This article argues that UMNO lost its monopoly among the Malay electorates due to the strengthened convergence between the two cleavage structures of ethnicity and religion. The convergence was facilitated by UMNO's promotion of Islamisation, its normalisation of political cooperation with PAS, and the party’s inability to compete effectively with BERSATU which ended UMNO’s one-party dominance in Malaysia.

ABSTRACT The victory of the opposition Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition in the 2018 Malaysian election was a political earthquake, as it saw the end of over 60 years of rule by the dominant Barisan Nasional (BN) regime. Victory for the coalition resulted from a number of factors, as opponents came together to craft a strategy that was able to overcome an extensive system of social control that the BN regime had built and reinforced during its time in power. The aim of the paper is to examine how civil society and political actors were able to craft a coalition that was sufficiently robust to challenge the dominant position of the BN regime. In doing so, the findings point to the role and impact of civil society in a context of weakening elite control. Drawing on interviews conducted with civil society actors shortly after the election, the paper identifies the key actors involved, how they formulated claims, and the importance of connecting the protest and electoral arenas to achieve their ends.

The 14th General Election (GE-14) has successfully recorded its own history when the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition party has successfully captured the country and been appointed as the Federal Government. This means that the leadership of the Barisan Nasional (BN) Government, which has held the reins of government for 61 years, was successfully defeated in the historic GE-14. However, the government from PH has been shaken by the occurrence of the 'Sheraton Step' after GE-14 and the spread of the COVID-19 virus which has an impact on the country. Because of that, the issues that arose after GE-14 to some extent irritated them in the face of the country's political instability. Therefore, the confidence of youth voters in PH shows that they expect the party to be able to make good changes to the country, especially from the socio-economic aspect and at the same time be able to overcome the issues that have arisen and the old issues that still cannot be resolved. The results found that youth voters' confidence in the PH party is also high because they have lost faith in BN, but some are still divided on whether to choose this party in the future.

Abstrak Sejarah 13 kali pilihan raya umum bermula 1959 menyaksikan Barisan Nasional (BN) di Negeri Sembilan telah dilanda tsunami politik apabila tumbang buat julung kalinya kepada Pakatan Harapan (PH) pada Pilihan Raya Umum (PRU) ke-14 yang lalu. Pakatan Harapan berjaya membentuk kerajaan apabila memenangi 20 kerusi DUN daripada 36 kerusi DUN yang dipertandingkan. Kemenangan ini telah membuka lembaran baru kepada dinamika politik di Negeri Sembilan yang tercetus oleh pelbagai isu dan faktor. Oleh itu adalah menjadi matlamat kajian ini untuk menganalisis isu dan faktor tersebut yang membawa kepada kemunculan politik baharu di Negeri Sembilan. Penulisan artikel ini menggunakan menggunakan data primer melalui tiga kaedah utama iaitu soal selidik di lapangan, temu bual bersemuka dan pemerhatian di lapangan. Kaedah soal selidik di lapangan melibatkan 380 responden yang terdiri daripada pengundi Melayu berumur 21 tahun dan ke atas, di Daerah Mengundi di DUN Labu. Kaedah temu bual pula melibatkan empat informan yang terdiri daripada pemimpin parti politik di Labu. Data sekunder pula diperoleh daripada kajian kepustakaan dan kajian atas talian. Dapatan kajian memperlihatkan satu anjakan paradigma tentang naratif pengundian yang bersifat fleksibel dan dinamik serta tiada kemustahilan dalam proses politik pilihan raya. Lebih dari itu , pola pengundian yang terbentuk agak nyata dengan pengundi luar bandar atau kurang pembangunan masih memberi dokongan yang padu kepada BN dikala pengundi bandar, pinggir bandar dan kawasan membangun yang agak selesa kemudahan insfrastrukturnya beralih kepada pembangkang. Implikasi kajian ini adalah dapat menambahkan koleksi data pilihan raya dan dapat menjelaskan lebih terperinci dinamika pilihan raya di kawasan kajian. Kata kunci: tsunami politik, pilihan raya umum, dinamika politik, politik baharu, tingkah laku politik Abstract The history of 13 general elections starting in 1959 saw Barisan Nasional (BN) in Negeri Sembilan hit by a political tsunami when it fell for the first time to Pakatan Harapan (PH) in the last 14th General Election (GE). Pakatan Harapan succeeded in forming the government when it won 20 state assembly seats out of 36 state assembly seats contested. This victory has opened a new chapter to the political dynamics in Negeri Sembilan which was triggered by various issues and factors. Therefore, it is the aim of this study to analyze the issues and factors that lead to the emergence of new politics in Negeri Sembilan. The writing of this article uses primary data through three main methods, namely questionnaires in the field, face-to-face interviews and observations in the field. The questionnaire method in the field involved 380 respondents consisting of Malay voters aged 21 years and above, in the Voting District of Labu State Assembly. The interview method involved four informants consisting of political party leaders in Labu. Secondary data is obtained from literature research and online research. The findings of the study show a paradigm shift about the flexible and dynamic voting narrative and no absurdity in the electoral political process. More than that, the voting pattern that has formed is quite clear with rural or less developed voters still giving solid support to BN while voters in cities, suburbs and developing areas with relatively comfortable infrastructural facilities switch to the opposition. The implication of this study is to be able to add to the collection of election data and to be able to explain in more detail the dynamics of the election in the study area. Keywords: political tsunami, general election, political dynamics, new politics, political behavior

Spatial geography refers to the spatial environment in influencing certain physical and human aspects. Spatial geography can influence a voting pattern in terms of urban-rural position, physical geography, housing geography and ethnic geography. Thus, it is the purpose of writing this paper to analyse the influence of spatial geography in the post-GE-15 By-Election. The writing of this article used a quantitative method which is based on the score sheet of the election results according to the channel and voting district; and the qualitative method which is the analysis of secondary information which is journal writing, seminar materials and relevant academic books. The results of the study found that the voting pattern in By-Election post GE-15 based on spatial geography was influenced by the ethnic geography of an area in the post-GE-15 By-Election. continue to support Pakatan Harapan (PH). Malay voters are more inclined to support PN because the component parties in PN namely PAS and BERSATU are seen as more ultra-identity (racial and religious) as a replacement for UMNO and are seen as more serious in fighting for and defending Malay and Islamic sovereignty. Non-Malay voters are more comfortable supporting PH because of its moderate political ideology and the fight for justice and equal rights of all races that the party is fighting for. Thus, the influence of ethnic geography dominates voter support patterns more than spatial geography.

The 14th General Election has significantly changed Malaysia when Barisan Nasional suffered its first ever defeat since Independence. However, among the Malay majority, there was a growing sense of political anxiety and uneasiness as a result of the perceived loss of power, and to some extent, the erosion of national identity. In response, the nationalists and the Islamists have regrouped and reunited. This is manifested with the formal alliance of the two largest Malay-based parties, UMNO and PAS. Amidst the backdrop of this new political realignment, social media played an important role in setting the narrative, and mobilising the masses. Therefore, working from within this background, this paper analysed the discourse of the new Malay nationalism on social media by employing a social media tool, SeoTools, to analyse the Twitter data. The findings revealed a new insight into the dynamics of the Malay mind and motivation from the context of politics, religion, and economy. There was a significant correlation between popular sentiment and social media discourse, in that there was a renewed resurgence to reassert traditional values and identity. The failure to rein in the emotion, and the expectation, eventually cause the fall of Pakatan Harapan in 2020.

Malaysia's 2022 General Election resulted in a hung parliament, a new precedent in Malaysia's elections. The Hung parliament means no party or coalition can create a government. Pakatan Harapan and Barisan Nasional, which each got 82 and 30 seats, have to form a coalition to create a unity government. This research analysed how and why the 2022 General Election resulted in a hung parliament. This research uses a qualitative method, which includes the curation of parliamentary seats and election results. Using the Elite Split Theory, this research argues that the hung parliament result in Malaysia's 2022 General Election was caused by elite split that resulted in coalition and party fragmentation. This research found that the elite split in the Dewan Rakyat in 2020-2022 affected the split of the party coalition that controlled the majority of the parliament. This research also found that the effectiveness of the elite split done by the party and individual members of the Dewan Rakyat is different.

Significance In July 2023, Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor of the PN’s Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) was charged with sedition. The PN leads the opposition to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s government, which includes Anwar’s Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition and the Barisan Nasional (BN) alliance. Impacts Further sedition cases against opposition politicians would prompt increased scrutiny by the international community. Critics will increasingly allege politicisation of the judiciary. The monarchy’s influence will rise.

Sebelum Agong membuat keputusan gabungan parti manakah yang layak dipilih sebagai kerajaan, baginda telah memberikan ruang dan peluang kepada semua ketua parti untuk membuktikan yang gabungan parti mereka sudah memenuhi kriteria untuk menjadi kerajaan. Namun, Muhyiddin secara tegas menolak dengan terus mendakwa beliau mendapat sokongan majoriti, berbeza dengan Anwar yang cenderung menjalin kerjasama membentuk KP seperti disaran baginda. Akibat penolakan ini, maka PN menjadi pembangkang manakala BN yang hanya memiliki 30 kerusi berhasil menjadi sebahagian daripada kerajaan. Kegagalan Muhyiddin dalam mencegah UMNO menjadi sebahagian daripada kerajaan adalah tamparan paling pedih buat PN. Kajian ini merupakan kajian kualitatif dan bahan-bahan rujukan yang bersifat fizikal dan atas talian dijadikan sumber rujukan. Justeru, kajian ini mendapati bahawa nilai kredibiliti ahli parlimen PN masih ditahap tercorot dan mereka dikategorikan sebagai seorang YB yang hebat hanya semasa berkempen. Tambahan pula, keterampilan mereka untuk menyelesaikan sesuatu masalah rakyat masih menjadi tanda tanya. Hal ini kerana agenda politik harian yang sering menjadi bual bicara dalam kalangan mereka ialah KP akan berkubur dan mereka dilihat sebagai pengganti kerajaan yang boleh dipercayai oleh rakyat.

This article aims to examine the performance of Pakatan Harapan (PH) in the 2021 Sarawak State Election (SSE21). It explains the three main reasons for PH’s dismal showing. First, local-based political parties took advantage of structural weaknesses in Sarawak PH and managed to convince Sarawakians that state rights could only be protected by political entities controlled by Sarawak leaders. Second, the “Sarawak First” sentiment changed the political landscape of Sarawak and increased the sense of solidarity among Sarawakians. It was the driving force behind the campaign messages of the local-based political parties that resonated well among the majority of the Sarawakian voters. Third, the three PH coalition parties in Sarawak, namely Democratic Action Party (DAP), Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) and Parti Amanah Negara (AMANAH) did not have a common political ideology to bind them together, strengthening the common belief that DAP, PKR and AMANAH came together simply out of convenience to gain power. In order to survive in Sarawak, PH needs to rebuild its image and political strategies relevant to the needs of the Sarawakians voters. This article is based on data from online media sources and observations made during the election on 18 December 2021.