ABSTRACT
On 25 June 2002, Mahathir Mohamad offered to step from power after serving
over 20 years as Malaysia’s prime minister, the leader of the governing 14-party
coalition, the Barisan Nasional (BN, or National Front), and president of his
party, the United Malays’ National Organisation (UMNO). The last years of
Mahathir’s rule, especially after the 1997 currency crisis and fissure with his
third former deputy, Anwar Ibrahim, were rife with conflict. New actors, under
the rubric of reformasi, or reform, challenged Mahathir’s hegemony and
questioned the dominance of ethnic-based political parties. These actors created
a new multi-ethnic electoral alliance that emerged as a credible political
opposition. The 1999 general elections and subsequent Sarawak state and
national by-elections were hotly contested. During these election campaigns,
allegations of sex scandals, charges of corruption, street demonstrations, vicious
personal attacks and thuggery combined with louder calls for reform, broader
human rights, increased transparency and moral governance. Mahathir, however,
used his control over political institutions to maintain his position, and gradually
reconsolidated his position. When he announced his resignation, Mahathir was
the unquestionable dominant player in Malaysian politics.
