Why Malaysia’s Opposition Picked an Old Foe as Its New Leader
Because Mr. Mahathir represents continuity in change, his nomination has just made change more acceptable
Wong Chin Huat, The New York Times
Facing a tricky general election later this year, on Sunday the political opposition in Malaysia named its candidate to head the government: Mahathir Mohamad, who was the country’s prime minister from 1981 to 2003.
The choice may seem curious. Mr. Mahathir is 92 years old. He is a former patron-turned-foe of both the current prime minister, the embattled Najib Razak, and the opposition’s longtime leader, the imprisoned Anwar Ibrahim. This appointment also makes Mr. Mahathir, at least nominally, the main challenger to the very system he helped build during his decades in power.
It’s a controversial move on the part of the opposition — and it’s brilliant.
Mr. Najib’s party, the United Malays National Organization (UMNO), has ruled Malaysia in coalition governments for more than six decades. Its appeal rests on a kind of grand quid pro quo with the Malay-Muslim majority, whose interests it has vowed to promote over those of the country’s Chinese and Indian minorities, including, since the early 1970s, through a vast affirmative-action program.
Over the years, this arrangement has turned Malaysia into something of a one-party state. Voting here often seems more like a pro forma exercise to keep UMNO in power than a real opportunity for the citizenry to choose its government.
Political scientists estimate that in the previous general election, in 2013, the opposition coalition of the day won overwhelming support among Chinese, for example, but only about one-third of votes among Malays, a far bigger constituency. That result, combined with the government’s crafty redelineation of voting districts, explains why the opposition secured only 40 percent of seats in Parliament despite winning 51 percent of the popular vote.
Mr. Mahathir had a fair bit to do with creating the conditions for this. During his tenure, he extended the reach of UMNO over institutions while concentrating his own power within the party. Dissidents were jailed. Judges were sacked. Newspapers were suspended. Voting districts were gerrymandered.
In short: Mr. Mahathir helped build the state apparatus that makes Mr. Najib seem invincible today, or at least surprisingly resilient despite staggering financial scandals.
Could Mr. Mahathir dismantle this system now? Would he? That seems unlikely. Some of his critics doubt that he would ever reverse pro-Malay preferential policies. Others argue that naming him to lead the opposition coalition, known as Pakatan Harapan, has undermined its moral authority as a champion of progressive causes and reform.
Maybe so, but it still was a smart thing to do.
Mr. Mahathir’s advanced age is an asset: His term would presumably be short, forcing turnover in a country long dominated by dynastic politics. Mr. Anwar, who is in prison on a sodomy conviction, is expected to be released in June, subject to a ban that prevents him from holding office for five years. But the prohibition can be lifted with a royal pardon, and Mr. Mahathir has committed to helping Mr. Anwar’s rehabilitation and passing him the baton.
