Malay kingship credentials were definitely on the rise and it would
seem to remain that way as long as the political leadership continued to
be ineffective in convincing the people of its trustworthiness, its will-
ingness to change, its altruistic desire to serve the people, and its
genuine efforts to fulfil the people’s aspirations.
However, Kobkua Suwannathat-Pian added the caveat that the Perak political crisis
‘applied a reality break on the royal ascendancy over the political sector’.^77
The fourth major development is the national concern with the plummeting
prestige of the judicial institution. The downward trend in public confidence in
this institution has yet to be fully arrested. The reforms introduced by the Badawi
administration are not convincing enough to eliminate the perception of govern-
mental influence over the judiciary. The long-drawn-out prosecution of Anwar
Ibrahim was, until the recent dismissal of the case by the High Court, perceived by
the population at large as a governmental strategy to destroy Anwar’s reputation and
to hamstring his ability to lead the PR, especially at the 5 May 2013 general election.
On a more positive note, the fifth development is that with strong opposition the
rule of law is bolstered. Human rights violations, abuse of power by governmental
agencies and corruption are now subject to the glare of publicity.
In all, the first decade of the twenty-first century was a decade of mixed
achievements for the Malaysian polity. The road ahead for the Malaysian nation
will not be easy as the polity has to reconcile conflicting notions ofketuanan
Melayu(primacy of the Malays) and the declaration of equality under the law,
creeping ‘Islamisation’ and the guarantee of the right to practise and profess a
religion of one’s personal choice, and the ‘right-to-rule’ mentality of entrenched
UMNO vested interests and new generations of Malaysians from all races who are
technically savvy and who have higher aspirations than had their forebears in
terms of political liberties. To invoke the cliche ́, Malaysia at the end of the decade
is at a crossroads.
Postscript
At the general election held on 5 May 2013 , BN, amidst claims by PR of widespread
electoral irregularities and fraud, retained the reins of government. BN, despite
securing fewer overall votes than PR, won 133 out of the 222 parliamentary seats
while PR increased its number of seats from eighty-two to eighty-nine. For a second
time at a general election, BN was denied a two-thirds majority.
(^77) Suwannathat-Pian,Palace, Political Party and Power,p. 411.