ABSTRACT
After two years of political turmoil involving a power struggle within the dominant Malay party in the government coalition, the faction led by Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad finally emerged the undisputed victor in the early part of 1989. During the extended and bitter struggle, the United Malays National Organization had broken into two factions, the party had been declared an illegal body by the courts, and eventually had been reconstituted with a new constitution designed to check any further challenges to the top leadership arising from the grass roots. The central and dominant role played by Dr Mahathir in all political events since his accession to the office of prime minister in July 1981 meant that he defined the central agenda of politics and pursued his political goals with a mixture of adroitness and ruthlessness.
