In an era of authoritarian regression, illiberal populism, and xenophobic nationalism, any faint glimmers of democratic progress are sorely needed. But Malaysia’s parliamentary elections last week gave much more than a glimmer of hope. After 61 years the authoritarian ruling coalition, Barisan Nasional (BN), and its core dominant party, UMNO, were turned out of power. Fed up with staggering corruption and abuse of power, and overcoming countless undemocratic obstacles, Malaysia’s voters delivered a stinging rebuke to the BN, which fell to barely a third of the vote. Since independence in 1957, the ruling alliance had never lost an election. …read more
Source: The American Interest
