Malaysia went to polls on 19th November 2022. After the election results were announced, no party had a clear majority.
BN, the party which has ruled Malaysia for the longest time since Independence, could get only 30 seats. This brought the competition down to only the two main coalitions.
Let’s first understand the Malaysian democratic process.
About Malaysia
Malaysia is a tropical country in Asia with a population of about 33 million. It is divided into 13 provinces.
Most Malaysian citizens belong to one of the 3 ethnic groups:
Indians – Malaysia has a huge population of Indians who moved there many decades ago and have called Malaysia home since then. Indians in Malaysia follow multiple religions. They form 6.6% of Malaysian population, down from 6.9% in 2019.
Chinese – Many Chinese belonging to the Buddhist and Christian faiths are residents of Malaysia. They form 22.8% of Malaysian population.
Malay – The Malays obviously form the largest population group. While many Malays follow Islam today, traditionally, the Malay society has been multi-cultural. They are called Bumiputeras and form 69.9% of the Malaysian people.
It is important to understand this data because the elections were fought on the basis of this. The coalition that won 73 seats supports a more Islamic ideology for Malaysia, while Anwar Ibrahim’s coalition has a moderate strategy.
About the Malaysian Democracy
Malaysia is a parliamentary democracy. The lower House of the Parliament, to which leaders are elected, is called the Dewan Rakyat.
A simple majority of 112 out of 222 seats is needed to form a government. The Prime Minister has a term of 5 years.
The Malaysian King usually invites the leader of the winning party to form a government. If no party has a clear majority, the King can use his discretion to invite a leader. They then have to prove their majority on the floor of the Parliament.
About Elections 2022
The Parliament was dissolved in October this year and snap elections were held on November 19, 2022.
The elections led to a split result. No party got a clear majority.
For the next 5 days, the King tried to understand who should be invited to form the government.
Finally, Anwar Ibrahim was sworn in on Thursday, November 24th, 2022.