In May this year, the incumbent Prime Minister Najib Razak led Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition, which has governed Malaysia since 1957, was re-elected for the thirteenth time in a row. The record 85 percent voter turnout gave BN 133 out of 222 parliamentary seats, with the remaining going to Anwar Ibrahim led Pakatan Rakyat (PR), a three-party opposition coalition. But more importantly, BN secured only 47 percent of the popular vote, which is its worst-ever electoral performance. Analysts have thus argued that if another election victory is an endorsement of government’s strong performance under the Economic Transformation Programme, BN's shrinking voter base is a timely reminder for PM Najib to pay heed to PR's election rallying-cry of “ubah” or “change” in BN's policies of Malay racism.
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