News Backgrounder: Malaysia's GE 15 Election Recap

On November 19th, Malaysians went to the polls after a snap election was called. Why is this issue coming so many days after? Because of how long it took for a new government to form, with the final outcome coming as a shock to many.

Of course, if your main source of news is western or English-language media, you likely heard little about the elections, or the post-election politicking.

So this Asia Undercovered Backgrounder aims to fill the gap in coverage. We’ve gathered some of the best regional reporting on the elections, with pieces exploring the key issues, from the role of public power, the distortion of the country’s past, and what the results mean for the country’s future.

The Election

In some ways, Malaysia is a bright spot in the region. Southeast Asia has few functioning democracies, and even those, like the Philippines and Indonesia, are considered to be backsliding towards authoritarianism. Malaysia, however, seems to be trending towards competitive elections, and has actually seen its democracy scores improve over the past few years.