Elections and politics in Malaysia

Abstract

The resounding victory won by the ruling coalition in the Malaysian general election of April 1982 was — as even opposition leaders conceded — a personal triumph for the prime minister, Dr. Mahathir Mohamad. After succeeding without contest in June 1981 to the presidentship of the United Malays National Organisation, the mainstay of the coalition, he wanted a popular mandate. Having obtained this convincingly, he has been working ever since to strengthen UMNO at its roots to meet future challenges. He is at the same time trying to make sure that the volatile Chinese voters, concentrated in urban areas, continue to support the Chinese parties in the coalition. His endeavour is to convince these voters that they do not need to hedge their bets by sustaining the role of the Chinese-based Democratic Action Party (DAP) as a pressure group.