POWER-SHARING BY IN STATE GOVERNMENT FROM 2008-2013: AN ANALYSIS FROM THE CONSOCIATIONAL APPROACH

BY

MUHAMMAD AZZUBAIR AWWAM MUSTAFA

A thesis submitted in fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Human Sciences in Political Science

Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences International Islamic University

MAY 2019

ABSTRACT

This study examines the power-sharing practice by Pakatan Rakyat (PR) in Selangor state government from 2008 to 2013. It uses two components of consociational theory; grand coalition and proportionality to analyze the power-sharing of three parties in PR; Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), (DAP), and Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS). The data for this research are collected from interviews with PR‘s Selangor State Assemblypersons, Selangor State Assembly Hansard and online news. The findings can be categorized into three aspects. Firstly, the study suggests that the grand coalition of the three parties worked as an electoral pact prior to March 2008 elections and the inability of any party to gain absolute majority required the parties to practice power-sharing in administering the Selangor state government. Secondly, the study also suggests that the distribution of state electoral seats and State Executive Committee (EXCO) posts were done based on ethnic consideration rather than parties consideration. Finally, this study suggests that the Selangor‘s PR government experienced challenges in managing ethno-religious issues, state‘s rights in a federalism and in managing parties and the coalition‘s internal conflicts.

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خالصة البحث ABSTRACT IN ARABIC

تتناول هذه الدراسة تقاسم السلطة يف االئتالف الشعيب حلكومة والية سالنغور بني عامي 8002 - 8002، وتستخدم عنصرين من عناصر النظرية التوافقية؛ التحالف الكبري، والتناسب؛ لتحليل تقاسم السلطة بني ثالثة أحزاب يف ذلك االئتالف؛ هي: حزب عدالة الشعب، وحزب العمل الدميقراطي، واحلزب اإلسالمي املاليزي، وقد مُجعت البيانات من خالل: املقابالت اليت أجراها الباحث مع رؤساء االئتالف، وسج ِّل مناقشات والية سالنغور، واألخبار على الشابكة، وميكن تصنيف النتائج يف ثالثة جوانب؛ أحدها أن ائتالف ألحزاب الثالثة كان يف منزلة ميثاق انتخايب قبل انتخابات مارس 8002؛ إذ عجز أ ُّي حزب عن احلصول على األغلبية املطلقة، مما تطلَّب من األحزاب تقاسم السلطة يف إدارة حكومة والية سالنغور، واجلانب الثاين أن توزيع املقاعد االنتخابية يف الوالية ووظائف اللجنة التنفيذية للوالية أمقيم على االعتبارات العرقية بدال ا من األحزاب، واجلانب الثالث أن حكومة سالنغور واج ت حتديات يف إدارة القضايا العرقية والدينية، وحقوق الوالية يف االحتاد الفدرايل، ويف إدارة النزاعات الداخلية لألحزاب واالئتالف.

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APPROVAL PAGE

I certify that I have supervised and read this study and that in my opinion, it conforms to acceptable standards of scholarly presentation and is fully adequate, in scope and quality, as a thesis for the degree of Master of Human Sciences in Political Science

………………………………….. Tunku Mohar Tunku Mohd Mokhtar Supervisor

I certify that I have read this study and that in my opinion it conforms to acceptable standards of scholarly presentation and is fully adequate, in scope and quality, as a thesis for the degree of Master of Human Sciences in Political Science

………………………………….. Rohana Abdul Hamid Internal Examiner

This thesis was submitted to the Department of Political Science and is accepted as a fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Human Sciences in Political Science

………………………………….. Rabi‘Ah Aminuddin Head, Department of Political Science

This thesis was submitted to the Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences and is accepted as a fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Human Sciences in Political Science

………………………………….. Shukran Abd Rahman Dean, Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Science

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DECLARATION

I hereby declare that this dissertation is the result of my own investigations, except where otherwise stated. I also declare that it has not been previously or concurrently submitted as a whole for any other degrees at IIUM or other institutions.

Muhammad Azzubair Awwam Mustafa

Signature ...... Date ......

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GHT

INTERNATIONAL ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY MALAYSIA

DECLARATION OF COPYRIGHT AND AFFIRMATION OF FAIR USE OF UNPUBLISHED RESEARCH

POWER-SHARING BY PAKATAN RAKYAT IN SELANGOR STATE GOVERNMENT FROM 2008-2013: AN ANALYSIS FROM THE CONSOCIATIONAL APPROACH

I declare that the copyright holders of this dissertation are jointly owned by the student and IIUM.

Copyright © 2019 Muhammad Azzubair Awwam Mustafa and International Islamic University Malaysia. All rights reserved.

No part of this unpublished research may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without prior written permission of the copyright holder except as provided below

1. Any material contained in or derived from this unpublished research may be used by others in their writing with due acknowledgement.

2. IIUM or its library will have the right to make and transmit copies (print or electronic) for institutional and academic purposes.

3. The IIUM library will have the right to make, store in a retrieved system and supply copies of this unpublished research if requested by other universities and research libraries.

By signing this form, I acknowledged that I have read and understand the IIUM Intellectual Property Right and Commercialization policy.

Affirmed by Muhammad Azzubair Awwam Mustafa

……..…………………….. ……………………….. Signature Date

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DEDICATION

Dear my late Mama- Aminah Juni

and Ayah- Mustafa Yahaya,

I have ventured every possible angle in my life in seeking success and shine brightly

throughout the quest in hope of paying back every single struggles, pains, tears and

sweats that you have sacrificed in bringing me up.

But deep down, I realize that both of you have been longing for a son who would

provide you with utmost boundless du’a.

Yet, being the imperfect son, I wish for my writings to be beneficial and reach others

so that both of you who hold the significant piece in this journey would be rewarded

bountifully by Allah the Almighty.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I am thankful to Allah who instils passion and patience for me in this journey. I believe Allah has always accompanied me throughout my turbulent time by providing lots of His blessings and guidance. The journey to accomplish Master Degree was not an easy one. This journey brought tears, laugh, pain and sweat to reach the peak. Therefore, I would like to thanks everyone who clear all the thorn on the road for me to finally be able to complete this research today.

Firstly, my endless thanks goes to Dr. Tunku Mohar Tunku Mohd Mokhtar for his belief and understanding towards my capability and weaknesses that later were translated into his action as the best guide for me. Thank you for patience on my poor grammar in most works that were given to me.

Secondly, my highest appreciation to Madam Normala Mohd Adnan, my first lecturer in Political Science that who becomes the best motivator with a positive thought and belief in my capability. Thanks for advice, support and chances given in diverse forms. I am thankful too having Dr. Rohana Abdul Hamid as examiner who provides a thorough examination on this thesis and the advice given by her create added value to this thesis.

I also appreciate the advice from Dr. Muhamad Fuzi Omar, Dr. Norhaslinda Jamaiudin, Assoc. Prof. Datuk Dr. Marzuki Mohamad, Dr. Rabi‘Ah Aminuddin and Dr. Khairil Izamin Ahmad in helping me correcting various parts of my thesis. On top of that, the Master Degree‘s classes with Prof. Dr. Abdul Rashid Moten, Prof. Dr. Wahabuddin Raees and Prof. Dr. Elfatih Abdullahi Abdelsalam are supplementary to my journey obtaining this degree.

The support from family is the core reliever for any difficult time that we face in our life. My late mother, Aminah Juni is the one who inculcate me on the importance of education and the one who stressed out that only being knowledgeable that will remove us from poverty. My father, Mustafa Yahaya is the silent supporter when he never questioned nor dictate any decision that I made in my life. My brother, Muhammad Usman Affan and my sister, Siti Fatimah Azzahra are my backbone that always help me through my difficult time especially when financial constraints hit me.

In this research, obtaining respondents among State Assemblypersons is challenging process. Therefore, I would like to thanks YAB Amirudin Shari, YB , YB Saari Sungib, Dato‘ Iskandar Abdul Samad and Dr. Yaakob Sapari for their cooperation during the interviews.

This journey accompanied by a loyal friend who have been with me through thick and thin. I am thankful when Allah sent me two ‗motherly‘ friends, Nur Soleha Mohd Lazim and Najwa Mazlan who always give the advice, keep asking on my health condition and provide support through various form. My special thanks also to Ahmad Firdaus Shafei, for being the best friend providing me assistance and give the best hospitality especially when I got sick.

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Postgraduate journey without support group is meaningless. Therefore, I would like to thanks my circle of friends who became the best support group for me; Nazreena Mohamed Yassin, Noratiqah Abdul Halim, Munirah Che Ahmad, Nursyazwani Muzafarkamal, Mohamad Farhan Bahadur, Norain Shahirah Abdul Rahim, Kamaru Aqilah Rauhah Kamarudin, Muhammad Azan, Nurnadira Muhaizan, Nur Sakinah Ya‘cub, Aimi Hanisah Khirudin, Nur Ameera Rushdi, Nur Umira Mohd Khir and Shahrul Ashraf Ibrahim. They created colourful journey and the best listener for any matter of ‗discussion‘.

My thanks also to Nurul Izzati Asyikin Zulkifly for becoming the best source of reference for any matters relating to research and the editing this thesis according to standard format. My appreciation also to Zamri Abdul Ghani for helping me to provide the Arabic abstract. Thanks also to Siti Khadijah Zulkifli and Nur Anis Pauzi for proofreading some part of my thesis.

I am noting my thanks to Mohd Najmuddin Ayob for giving various opportunities, exposing to political fieldwork and providing me assistance in various form. My thanks also should be given to my childhood friend, Mohamad Asyraf Mohamad Sulaiman for always listening and sharing our postgraduate journey despite of different universities.

Lastly, my special thanks to Shazwani Mohamed Affandi for always boosting my spirit and become the best listener through my thick and thin. Thanks for always comforting me by telling me that success is waiting for me after all struggle that I put.

To all those who involved directly and indirectly in completing my Master Degree, I would like to say thanks for dropping colours to create beautiful canvas of my life.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Abstract ...... ii Abstract in Arabic ...... iii Approval Page ...... iv Declaration ...... v Copyright Page ...... vi Dedication ...... vii Acknowledgements ...... viii Table of Contents ...... x List of Tables ...... xiii

CHAPTER ONE: FRAMEWORK OF ANALYSIS ...... …..1 1.1 Background of the Study ...... 1 1.2 Statement of the Problem ...... 2 1.3 Significance of the Study ...... 3 1.4 Research Questions ...... 4 1.5 Research Objectives ...... 4 1.6 Literature Review ...... 5 1.6.1 Malaysia, Politics And Elections ...... 5 1.6.2 Malaysia and Consociationalism ...... 9 1.6.3 Selangor and Consociationalism ...... 14 1.7 Theoretical Framework ...... 15 1.7.1 Grand Coalition ...... 16 1.7.2 Proportionality ...... 17 1.7.3 Arguments ...... 18 1.8 Methodology ...... 18 1.8.1 Research Design ...... 18 1.8.2 Methods of Data Collection ...... 19 1.8.3 Respondents ...... 20 1.8.4 Data Analysis ...... 20 1.9 Chapter Outline ...... 21

CHAPTER TWO: PAS, DAP AND PKR: HISTORY, COALITION BUILDING AND PERFORMANCE IN SELANGOR ...... …22 2.1 Introduction ...... 22 2.2 Background of the Parties: PAS, DAP and PKR ...... 23 2.2.1 Pan- (PAS) ...... 23 2.2.2 Democratic Action Party (DAP) ...... 27 2.2.3 People Jutice Party (PKR) ...... 30 2.3 Coalitions Of The Parties ...... 33 2.3.1 Angkatan Perpaduan Ummah (Angkatan) and Gagasan Rakyat (Gagasan) ...... 33 2.3.2 (BA) ...... 35 2.3.3 Pakatan Rakyat (PR) ...... 36 2.4 Elections in Selangor State Assembly ...... 37

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2.5 Conclusion ...... 44

CHAPTER THREE: PAKATAN RAKYAT’S POWER-SHARING IN SELANGOR FROM 2008 TO 2013 ...... …45 3.1 Introduction ...... 45 3.2 Grand Coalition of Pakatan Rakyat in Selangor ...... 45 3.2.1 Coalition as Electoral Pact for March 2008 Election ...... 45 3.2.1.1 Bersih In July 2007 ...... 46 3.2.1.2 As A Mediator ...... 48 3.2.1.3 Electoral Pact ...... 50 3.2.1.4 Common Manifesto ...... 52 3.2.1.5 Campaign and Strategy ...... 53 3.2.2 Cooperation in the Aftermath of March 2008 Election ...... 54 3.2.2.1 Appointment of Menteri Besar and State EXCO ...... 54 3.2.2.2 Strengthening Cooperation Through Pakatan Rakyat ...... 56 3.2.2.3 Common Agenda ...... 57 3.2.2.4 Hegemonic Power in Selangor ...... 59 3.3 Proportionality in Selangor‘s Pakatan Rakyat ...... 60 3.3.1 The Distribution of the State Assembly Electoral Seats for March 2008 Election ...... 61 3.3.2 The Distribution of State Executive Council (EXCO) Seats After March 2008 Election ...... 73 3.4 Conclusion ...... 77

CHAPTER FOUR: THE CHALLENGES OF PAKATAN RAKYAT’S POWER-SHARING IN SELANGOR ...... …79 4.1 Introduction ...... 79 4.2 Challenge in Managing Ethno-Religious Issues ...... 80 4.2.1 Malay-Muslim Issues ...... 80 4.2.2 Non-Muslim Ethno-Religious Issues ...... 84 4.2.3 Managing Ethno-Religious Issues ...... 87 4.3 Challenge to State‘s Rights in a Federalism ...... 89 4.3.1 Appointment of State Secretary ...... 90 4.3.2 Ministries‘ Treatments to the State Government ...... 93 4.4 Challenge in Managing Coalition and Parties‘ Conflicts ...... 96 4.4.1 Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) ...... 96 4.4.2 People Justice Party (PKR) ...... 100 4.4.3 Democratic Action Party (DAP) ...... 103 4.5 Conclusion ...... 106

CHAPTER FIVE: CONCLUSION ...... 107 5.1 Introduction ...... 107 5.2 Discussion ...... 107 5.2.1 Research Question 1 ...... 108 5.2.2 Research Question 2 ...... 110 5.2.3 Research Question 3 ...... 111 5.3 Limitation of the Study ...... 113

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5.4 Recommendation ...... 113

REFERENCES ...... 115

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LIST OF TABLES

Table No. Page No.

1.1 Selangor state assembly seats, 2004 and 2008 2

1.2 List of respondents 20

2.1‎ PAS parliamentary seats, 1959-2013 26

2.2‎ DAP parliamentary seats, 1969-2013 30

2.3‎ PKR parliamentary seats, 1999-2013 32

2.4‎ Selangor State Assembly seats, 1959-1969 37

2.5‎ Selangor State Assembly seats, 1974-1986 38

2.6‎ Selangor State Assembly seats, 1990 39

2.7‎ Selangor State Assembly seats, 1995 39

2.8‎ Selangor State Assembly seats, 1999 40

2.9‎ Selangor State Assembly seats, 2004 41

2.10‎ Selangor State Assembly seats, 2008 42

2.11‎ Selangor State Assembly seats, 2013 43

3.1‎ Programmes under Merakyatkan Ekonomi Selangor (MES) 58

3.2‎ Distribution of state electoral seats in Selangor by PR, 2008 62

3.3‎ Classification of constituencies 63

3.4‎ Malay-majority constituencies 65

3.5‎ Chinese-majority constituencies 69

3.6‎ Mixed constituencies 71

3.7‎ List of Selangor EXCO from 2008 to 2013 74

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CHAPTER ONE

FRAMEWORK OF ANALYSIS

1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Selangor Darul Ehsan, located in the center of the Western part of Peninsular

Malaysia, comprises of nine districts: Sabak Bernam, Hulu Selangor, Kuala Selangor,

Gombak, Klang, Petaling, Hulu Langat, Kuala Langat and Sepang. Since 1974, the capital of Selangor is Shah Alam after the former capital, Kuala Lumpur, became the federal territory of Malaysia. Since independence in 1957, Selangor‘s legislature is the

State Assembly with the as the Head of State, and the Menteri

Besar and State Executive Council (EXCO) members as the executives in the state‘s administration (Selangor State Government Website, 2017).

Selangor‘s State Legislative Assembly is the legislative body of the state. At present, the State Assembly is composed of 56 members representing 56 constituencies known as Dewan Undangan Negeri (DUN). The function of this unicameral state legislature is to enact laws which are called enactments. The enactments passed are to be within the state‘s jurisdiction such as land law, Muslim law, and Malays‘ customary, public facilities and local governments for the state of

Selangor (Dewan Negeri Selangor Website, 2017).

Since the first election after independence on 20th May 1959, the state was ruled by the coalition party, the Alliance (later known as ) until

2008. The election in 2008 became a major watershed for Malaysian politics when BN or National Front lost its two-thirds majority in the Parliament and was unable to form governments in five states, including Selangor. In the 12th General Election in March

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2008 in Selangor, Pakatan Rakyat (PR) or the People‘s Pact occupied 36 seats in the assembly compared to BN‘s 20 seats (Brown, 2008).

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The outcome of 12th General Elections in Selangor has allowed PR to form a coalition government composed of three major parties: Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) or People

Justice Party, Democratic Action Party (DAP) and Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS) or

Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party. Therefore, the ruling state government is composed of diverse interests and ideologies.

Table 1.1 Selangor state assembly seats, 2004 and 2008

11th General Election (2004) 12th General Election (2008) Political No. of Political No. of Coalition Coalition Parties Seats Parties Seats UMNO 35 UMNO 19 Barisan MCA 12 Barisan MCA 1 Nasional MIC 3 Nasional MIC 0 GERAKAN 4 GERAKAN 0 DAP 2 PKR 15 Pakatan No coalition PAS 0 DAP 13 Rakyat PKR 0 PAS 8 Total 56 Total 56

Source: Malaysian Election Commission (2004) and (2008)

Table 1.1 reveals the changes in the number of seats gained by each party that led to the transition of power in Selangor from BN to PR. This ended the 49 years of

BN ruling in Selangor. The coalition became necessary in the March 2008 election since no party gained absolute majority to rule Selangor independently. This case was different compared to other states where BN lost during the March 2008 election. PAS

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in Kelantan and Kedah could independently form state governments without the necessity of a coalition. The same case goes to DAP in Penang. However, in the case of Selangor and Perak, coalitions were needed to form new governments (Ong, 2010).

The PR government in Perak collapsed after a year of its formation due to defections.

This means that the coalition formed after the March 2008 election in Perak was fragile because the majority was very thin. Selangor had a more stable majority and thus provides an intriguing case study of consociationalism among non-BN parties in

Malaysia.

The question on the ability of the new emerging coalition to form a state government arises since throughout the history of Malaysian politics until 2008, no other coalition had been able to capture power at the state level other than BN. The formation of the coalition in Selangor negates the perceptions that coalition politics in

Malaysia is only exclusive to BN. Hence, the problem lies in the question of how the power is being shared in PR by its three component parties. Studies (Mauzy, 1978 &

Mohamad Agus, 1992) suggest that the Alliance and BN used consociationalism as its method of sharing power during the early years of Malay(si)an administration.

Therefore, this study used the same theory to analyze power-sharing by PR in

Selangor from 2008 to 2013.

1.3 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

This study examined the possibility of the consociational approach applied by PR as the ruling coalition in the Selangor state government from 2008 to 2013. This study is important due to a number of reasons. Firstly, in the case of states in Peninsula

Malaysia, PR is the first multi-ethnic and multi-agenda coalition after BN that successfully ruled a few states in Malaysia after the March 2008 election. The method

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of power-sharing employed by PR in Selangor is important to reflect the possible ruling of PR if they are able to hold power at the federal level even though the end of

PR‘s cooperation took place after the withdrawal of PAS from this coalition in 2016.

Secondly, many scholars (Lijphart, 1977; Mauzy, 1978; Mohammad Agus,

1992) assessed the cooperation of the coalition party at the federal level with minimal attention given to the cooperation in the state government. The control of BN in both levels of governments previously made the line of distinction hard to be developed and there is minimal literature discussing power management at the state level especially in Selangor‘s case. With the ability of PR to form a new state government in Selangor, this study offered to view the power-sharing of PR at the state level.

1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The study attempts to answer the following questions:

1. What were the forms of relationship between PKR, DAP, and PAS in

Selangor before and after the March 2008 election?

2. How were State Assembly seats and State Executive Council positions

distributed among the three parties?

3. What are the challenges faced by Pakatan Rakyat in their practice of

power-sharing in Selangor from 2008 to 2013?

1.5 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

This study intends to achieve the following objectives:

1. To analyze the forms of relationship between PKR, DAP, and PAS in

Selangor before and after the March 2008 election.

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2. To explain the distribution of State Assembly seats and State Executive

Council positions among the three parties.

3. To assess the challenges faced by Pakatan Rakyat in their practice of

power-sharing in Selangor from 2008 to 2013.

1.6 LITERATURE REVIEW

The cooperation of PR in the March 2008 election is the third attempt of the opposition coalition in Malaysia after the failure of Gagasan Rakyat (Malaysia‘s

People Front) and Angkatan Perpaduan Ummah (Muslim Community Unity) in the

1990 election as well as Barisan Alternatif (Alternative Front) in the 1999 General

Elections (Ong, 2010). The attempt in the March 2008 election was meaningful when they finally gained power through the new states they won: Kedah, Perak, Penang, and

Selangor. Hence, the cooperation for power-sharing is necessary since none of the mentioned parties can form its own state government through the seats they gained independently (Ong, 2010). Contrary to the approach of BN whereby UMNO as the dominant power in the decision-making process was due to the number of seats it gained, the condition in PR is opposite when no party in PR gained an absolute majority to make the decision (Segawa, 2015). Therefore, the review of the literature is conducted to view the Malaysian politics and election while looking at the practice of power-sharing by the Malaysian government through the consociational approach.

1.6.1 Malaysia, politics and elections

The writings of Crouch (1996) illustrated Malaysian politics as democratic since the elections are conducted regularly, the power to rule the country is given through the elected parliament and Malaysia practices a constitutionally independent judiciary.

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However, authoritarian characteristics exist in the Malaysian political system when the political opposition is constrained with the rules and regulations that made the ruling government, BN, maintain their hegemony in Malaysian politics.

However, BN suffered legitimacy crisis after 2008 as a consociational coalition that represented various ethnics in Malaysia, especially with votes from the

Chinese and Indian community (Saravanamuttu, 2012). BN failed to obtain its two- thirds majority in the Parliament and lost another four state governments under their control previously: Perak, Selangor, Penang and Kedah, and failed to get back

Kelantan that was under PAS ruling since 1990. As a consequence, Saravanamuttu

(2012) acknowledged that the outcome of the March 2008 election led to the two- party systems‘ existence in Malaysia and it was strengthened by the control of PR over a few states in Malaysia.

Other than looking to the elections as a characteristic in understanding

Malaysian politics, the determinant factor for the ‘ votes in the election should also be reviewed. Ratnam (1965) who was among the early writers in

Malaysian politics discussed communal politics in Malaya. The political parties were formed based on ethnic identity since the early days in the effort of gaining independence for this nation. Initially, the Alliance composed of three communal parties: UMNO, MCA, and MIC, which had been accepted by the Malayan through votes they casted because this coalition comprised of communal parties that maintained the identity of their ethnicities respectively even though inter-ethnic cooperation existed. Initially, UMNO was formed to protect the Malay interests against the British introduction of the Malayan Union that challenged the Malays‘ rights. Meanwhile, MCA was formed to represent the interests of the Chinese and as a counter back to the accusation that the Chinese community supported the communist

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movement. MIC, on the other hand, was formed to represent the Indian community's interests (Segawa, 2015).

However, the trend of voting among Malaysian voters according to the ethnic preferences began to decline since the 12th General Election when BN failed to gain its two-thirds majority. Opposition leader, Anwar Ibrahim, claimed a political tsunami in 2008 because Malaysian voters voted irrespective of ethnic consideration but through the new consideration for a better living that indirectly gave more votes to

PR. However, this prediction can be considered too hasty (Abdillah, 2014). The premature understanding took place when looking to the failure of BN as a communal party in 12th General Election as the symbol to the end of ethnic politics (Segawa,

2013). Indeed, the politics of Malaysia remained ethnic-based by viewing the electoral process.

The elections in 2008 and 2013 illustrated that both BN and PR employed ethnic-based electoral strategies. In Peninsula Malaysia, seats with Malay-majority constituencies and Malay population represented more than 60 percent of the total voters belonging either to PAS or UMNO. Meanwhile, in non-Malay-majority constituencies, non-Malays numbered more than 60 percent of the voters and the seats belonged to Chinese parties such as MCA and DAP (Segawa, 2016). Electoral strategies played by PR also showed that this coalition responded to the ethnic arrangement such as the distribution of seats based on majority ethnicity in that constituency and the help of DAP in gaining votes of the Chinese in an area which

PAS contested for and vice versa. The Malaysian politics remained on the ethnic basis due to the Malay majority seats dominated by PAS and UMNO and non-Malay majority seats by MCA and DAP, while only mixed constituencies were won by PKR in the March 2008 elections (Segawa, 2013).

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Instead of looking at BN as the only combination of communal parties, communal politics also existed in opposition parties. This can be proven when PAS had the intention to establish an Islamic state and implement Islamic law despite their strong basis on Malay nationalism during its establishment years. Although the intention of DAP is non-communal, in terms of their supporters, they are dominated by the Chinese community (Segawa, 2015). Prior to that, the classification given during the early days of nation-building was that the Alliance was represented by ethnic nationalism: PAS represented the Islamic or religious nationalism while DAP symbolized secular nationalism. This classification was based on the proposition of

Anderson's three forms of relationship between state and religion (as cited in Arakaki,

2009).

With regards to the political parties based on ethnic lines, the political campaign was also dominated by the racial issue. It should be noted that since the early period of independence, two major Muslim parties in Malaysia, UMNO and

PAS, competed to gain votes from the Malays. Miller (2004) illustrated that PAS focused on emphasizing the religious agenda in the state affairs while UMNO felt challenged with the Islamic resurgence during the early 1980s since they were practicing a secular approach. Ufen (2009) described the Islamisation process taken by

Mahathir as state-led Islamisation where the state was directly involved in allocating religious elements in the political system in Malaysia which gave advantages to

UMNO.

On the other hand, Segawa (2013) assessed that BN was increasing the gap between races instead of promoting national integration. BN viewed ethnic politics as a tool for gathering votes through balancing, gathering and manipulating ethnic grievances. When UMNO leaders were within the Malay community, they would

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provoke them by creating fear of DAP‘s ideology of a Malaysian-Malaysia and when

MCA leaders were within the Chinese, they would create fear from the Islamic state ideology of PAS to the Chinese community (Segawa, 2015). In relation to this,

Maznah (2008) exposed that it is important to distinguish ethnic concern and ethnic representation. Racial and religious rights will always be raised by civil society and political lobbies since they are dealing with ethnic concerns while ethnic representation through political parties intended to champion ethnic interests. Hence, the political parties in Malaysia can be considered as an ethnic representation through their political campaigns.

The emergence of PR as the new emerging coalition was initiated by three major opposition parties. PKR, DAP, and PAS worked together under the image of

Barisan Rakyat prior to the 12th General Election in 2008. The coalition of PR was founded after the election results with the intention of a multiethnic agenda and to guarantee that the rights of Malaysians will be protected regardless of their ethnic and religious identity (Segawa, 2015). The manifesto during the political campaign emphasized the political movement that provides good governance, economic welfare, and human rights in delivering political goods (Saravanamuttu, 2012).-

1.6.2 Malaysia and consociationalism

Lijphart (1977) in his notable writing suggested Malaysia as one of the Third World countries that practiced consociationalism from 1955 to 1969. Consociationalism can be explained as a method to maintain stability in a divided society through elite cooperation. As a method for categorizing the country under consociationalism, four concepts should be highlighted: a grand coalition, mutual veto, proportionality and segmental autonomy. According to Lijphart (1977), consociational democracy was

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successfully practiced in Malaysia and Lebanon. In the case of Malaysia, the Alliance was a grand coalition of the principal Malay, Chinese and Indian political parties. He further elaborated that the arrangement in the Alliance required a high degree of freedom to be practiced by segments in the conduct of their internal affairs. However, according to him, the electoral system was not proportional since it was based on the

British concept of plurality vote and single-member districts.

Prior to that, the studies of Von Vorys (1976) indirectly discussed the cooperation among elite leaders from three ethnics groups in Malaysia in the process of independence. He noted that Malaysian leaders arranged the establishment of a democratic system not based on a national community but on the cooperation of various communal groups. The cooperation made by three ethnic leaders led to the new achievement of the inter-communal coalition when the constitutional contract was formulated. Hence, although there was no term as ‗consociationalism‘ as described by Von Vorys (1976), he explained that it was the form of cooperation made by the elite leaders through the Alliance in the process self-government in

Malaysia.

Meanwhile, Mauzy (1978) assessed the aspects of consociationalism in

Malaysia. Mauzy (1978) acknowledged that the grand coalition government was formed by having all segments of society in Malaysia which made the government ethnically represented. In assessing the mutual veto, Mauzy (1978) considered it was not formally established but the compromise and package deals helped to protect the vital interest of the community. She further added that mutual veto decreased after the ethnic riots in 1969 since the policy of the government such as the New Economic

Policy (NEP) gave more advantages to the Malays. In terms of proportionality, Mauzy

(1978) viewed that proportionality took place in the appointment of Cabinet Ministers

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and allocation of electoral seats but it did not take place in the policy-making process as can be viewed in NEP‘s case. Lastly, for the segmental autonomy, it did not have much effect in Malaysia‘s case since Malaysia practiced federalism although ethnicity was geographically intermixed.

The study of Mauzy (1978) was supported by Arakaki (2009) who found that the ethnic riots in 1969 challenged the practice of consociationalism that previously emphasized on bargaining. After the ethnic riot ended, Tun Abdul Razak, the second

Prime Minister, introduced Barisan Nasional (BN) as the new name of the Alliance with the entrance of a few opposition parties and this coalition gave UMNO more space to apply a more authoritative approach in giving the advantage to the Malays.

The NEP and the prohibition on discussion of sensitive communal issues especially regarding the Malays rights and privileges signified an authoritarian instead of consociational approach (Arakaki, 2009). The nationalism which existed in the

Malaysian context seemed to be consistent with the intention to ensure Malay‘s supremacy in the Malaysian plural society and the existence of BN facilitating the dominance of Malay supremacy. This can be supported by Weiss (2013) who said that

Malay hegemony is a threat to the consociational practice in Malaysia.

In response to the consociational theory proposed in studying Malaysian power-sharing under the Alliance and BN, Horowitz (2014) noted that misclassification takes place when considering that Malaysia practices consociational democracy. According to him, Malaysia did not have a grand coalition, did not practice minority veto and the absence of proportionality took place when the Malay majority was greatly advantaged in government positions and financial allocations. He proposed that Malaysia only has an interethnic coalition that is established under the

Alliance despite the existence of ethnic-based opposition parties. As a result of the

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