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The Straits Times
Former BN party Gerakan joins Malaysia s ruling Perikatan Nasional coalition
Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin presents Gerakan president Dominic Lau with a letter of acceptance on Feb 11, 2021.PHOTO: MUHYIDDIN YASSIN/FACEBOOK
PublishedFeb 12, 2021, 11:32 am SGT
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1 February 2021
Author: Editorial Board, ANU
When Pakatan Harapan won the 2018 elections in Malaysia, it revealed what really underpinned the rule of the Barisan Nasional government that led Southeast Asia’s third-largest economy for 61 years since independence from Britain.
Certainly, an electoral system engineered to produce victories for the incumbent coalition, and widespread curbs on civil liberties and the press were part of the formula. But just as in non-communist regimes elsewhere in Southeast Asia, political despots or their hegemonic parties relied on support from business and many citizens who benefited from the spoils of the pre-Asian Financial Crisis boom.
All too often, economic rents came in the form of patronage for favoured companies, industries or social groups. But so long as there was enough patronage to go around, its beneficiaries became contributors to the political and social stability that in turn made Southeast Asia a magnet for investment.