Towards a Federalism that Suits Malaysia’s Diversity

Abstract

This article seeks to draw attention to certain dynamics in Malaysian politics that have exhibited new relevance following the surprising results of the 12th General Election held on 8 March 2008. In identifying them as recurrent, the point is made that the seemingly novel conditions being experienced are, to a large extent, expressions of old fault lines that political constraints, in the form of legislation, suppression of discussions since 1970 and the personality-based conflicts of the Mahathir years have concealed. A proper understanding of these dynamics, in light of the apparently new scenario of the post-2008 period, thus requires a reconsideration of the political exigencies of the 1950s, when Malaya was being formed.