ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic took place at a time when Malaysia was undergoing a significant political transition, as a leadership crisis caused the government to collapse and be replaced by a new administration altogether in early March 2020. The pandemic offered a useful opportunity to test the robustness and practicality of the country’s existing federal structure. The first Malaysian case of COVID-19 was confirmed on 4 February 2020, after a Malaysian had returned from Singapore. Although Malaysia has a robust public healthcare system with universal access to healthcare, private citizens and communities contributed to the control and prevention of the virus spread. Although state governments have official representation within the National Action Council, in its very first meeting in March on the COVID-19 mitigation plans, the federal government excluded the heads of state governments controlled by the opposition coalition. The federal government later reversed this decision and invited the subnational leaders to subsequent meetings.
