modern living room malaysia

malaysia just had its first-ever oppositionvictory. we’re talking about a whole new government. following an election result that surprisedeven longtime analysts in the region, najib razak stepped down as prime minister in may2018, to cede power to a man who not only mentored him, but actually helped him getinto power in the first place. i’m alex, this is nowthis world, and inthe wake of this historic election, we’re diving into the end of najib razak’s ruleand what it will mean for the people of malaysia. it’s almost like the country is going througha rebirth, it’s an opportunity to start afresh, to begin to move forward.

that’s dr. bridget welsh, a southeast asiaspecialist who has written and edited several books on malaysian politics. we spoke to her from kuala lumpur, where shewitnessed the may vote. this is what the streets of the capital citylooked like. opposition supporters crowded the streets- many in disbelief. "it's hard to imagine. we have been hoping for this situation fora very long time, it's like a miracle really, a dream come true." 92-year-old mahathir mohamad, who was previouslymalaysia’s prime minister for 22 years,

managed to unseat one of the world’s mostcorrupt leaders - a man some experts deemed “untouchable.” the expectation was that the opposition wasn’tgoing to win. they had to overcome extensive gerrymanderingand malapportionment, and also many of the advantages that the government had, whichwas to buy votes and others. so the expectation was that the oppositionwasn’t going to win. to understand how significant this transferof power actually is, we need to go back and look at what led up to it. najib razak, the son of malaysia’s secondprime minister and nephew of its third, won

his first election at the ripe young age of23. he quickly rose to leadership roles withinhis party, the united malays national organisation or umno, and became prime minister in 2009. he billed himself as an economic reformer,promising a multi billion-dollar stimulus plan to, among other things, grow the country'sgdp, rouse the housing market, and repair broken infrastructure. this led to the creation of a state investmentfund called 1 malaysia development berhad, or 1mdb, which was designed to boost the economyand attract foreign investments. instead… missed payments drew attentionto the fact that the fund had actually accumulated

billions of dollars in debt. subsequent international investigations byfound that najib and his associates had spent more than $4.5 billion from 1mdb, on thingslike yachts, jewelry, luxury real estate, and even - weirdly - to fund the productionof hollywood films. and after the scandal broke in 2015, expertssay, najib’s tone… changed. we saw najib move in a much more authoritariandirection, arresting the opposition leader at that time - anwar ibrahim - cracking downon political opponents, and purging his own party, especially the critics within his ownparty, the current prime minister and former prime minister mahathir mohamad.

to this day, najib claims there was no wrongdoingin relation to the 1md fund, blaming instead a “problematic business model” for themissing funds. and that was far from the only scandal thatsurrounded najib. he also poured millions of dollars into parliamentaryelections to ensure that his supporters ended up in-office. in 2010, najib famously promised a group ofvoters to that he would finance a local project, saying: “the understanding is quite simple, youhelp me, i help you.” not only did the financial scandals pose athreat to malaysia’s credit rating and increase

the national debt, they fostered a cultureof mistrust around government. one that certain sectors of malaysian societywere ready to rebel against and change. on may 9th, a whopping 82.3% of registeredvoters turned out for the election. that ranks malaysia among the highest in recentnational elections, according to pew data. a look at the demographics behind the oppositionsupport revealed a disproportionately high number of ethnic minorities, young people,middle class voters and urban voters. despite the obstacles standing in the wayof an opposition victory, says dr. welsh, the conditions were ripe for one. especially when you’ve had so much negativityas malaysia had.

there were excessive corruption and abuseof power and lawlessness. now they have an opportunity to start again. he is the man who built this nation and isgoing to rebuild this nation and make sure that we’re set in the right path.” mahathir mohamad won 115 seats - just overthe 112 seats he needed - to defeat the barisan nasional coalition, which previously heldpower for 60 years. mahathir mohamad previously served as primeminister for the party he just defeated, from 1981 until 2003 - when he stepped down forfeeling like he had served long enough. his time in power wasn’t without controversy- he, jailed opposition supporters and activists

without trial, and was seen by some as authoritarian. but hailed by many as the “father of modernmalaysia,” he also oversaw significant economic growth during his five consecutive terms,and general modernization of infrastructure, like the then-tallest structure, the petronastowers - a landmark of his legacy. though he helped rezak win his seat in 2009,mahathir became openly critical of the former pm, especially when it came to the corruptioncharges and his lavish lifestyle. and that’s why, says dr. welsh, many malaysiansare excited to have him back. this served to really inspire a lot of malaysiansbecause they felt that, here’s a man who didn’t have to come back, but chose to comeback in order to give the opposition a stronger

chance of winning. mahathir mohamad just became the world’soldest head of state- but the soon-to-be 93-year-old said he’s not planning to stick around fortoo long - only a couple years, to implement reforms for problems caused both during hisand najib’s tenures. then, he plans to hand the position over toan opposition figure that both he and najib razak jailed during their tenures - anwaribrahim. mahathir pardoned anwar quickly after winningthe election. and mahathir is already making good on someof his commitments. he quickly abolished the goods and servicestax, introduced under najib, which is widely

blamed for the rising cost of living, andplans to replace it with a tax that aims to reduce the price of goods and services. his party, pakatan harapan, also promisesto crack down on corruption, cut the national debt, reduce the prime minister’s controlover national institutions, and more. as for najib… his outlook isn’t quiteas sunny. having already been questioned by the anti-corruptionagency, it’s expected that he and his wife will face charges - which would be unprecedentedin malaysia and one of only a few cases ever where a former pm faced charges in southeastasia. mahathir stopped najib and rosmah from leavingthe country soon after the election.

after government officials raided their homes,they seized dozens of bags of cash, jewels - and rosmah’s indulgence of choice - boxesupon boxes of birkin bags. but what does this all mean for malaysia? some experts say it’s too early to celebrate- that democracy takes time to unfold, and there’s still room to fall back into oldways, but most are optimistic about the country's future.

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