- Title: Key moments chronicling Malaysia's history
- Date: 11th November 2022
- Summary: The Malaysian ringgit lost nearly 40 percent of its value against the U.S. dollar after the Asian financial crisis in mid-1997 due to the speculative short-selling of the Malaysian currency. Foreign direct investment fell at an alarming rate as capital flowed out of the country. Strict capital controls were introduced on September 1, 1998, by the central bank to buffer the
- Embargoed: 25th November 2022 13:10
- Keywords: Malaysia chronology country election politics profile
- Location: KUALA LUMPUR, PUTRAJAYA, LAHAD DATU, SEPANG, LANGKAWI, BUKIT WANG BURMA, TAMBUN, PAGOH, BERA, MALAYSIA / GRAPHICS
- City: KUALA LUMPUR, PUTRAJAYA, LAHAD DATU, SEPANG, LANGKAWI, BUKIT WANG BURMA, TAMBUN, PAGOH, BERA, MALAYSIA / GRAPHICS
- Country: Malaysia
- Topics: Asia / Pacific,Government/Politics,Elections/Voting
- Reuters ID: LVA003017101011970RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: PART AUDIO QUALITY AS INCOMING
The Federation of Malaya achieved independence on August 31, 1957, after British colonial rule from the 19th century came to a close. The chief minister of the federation, Tunku Abdul Rahman, was named the newly-established country's first prime minister.
Six years after, on September 16, formal British colonies, Singapore as well as Sabah and Sarawak on northern Borneo joined the federation to form a 14-state Federation of Malaysia. But the federation did not last more than two years, when Singapore withdrew due to political disagreement with Tunku Abdul Rahman on Chinese communities, leaving Malaysia with 13 states.
Mahathir is by far the longest-serving Malaysian prime minister. During his 22-year term, he modernised the commodities-dependent economy that he inherited with industries ranging from electronics to vehicle manufacturing.
In the 1980s, many oppositions and civil society leaders were jailed without trial, and newspapers critical of Mahathir's administration were shut down. Many remember the accusations against him of cronyism, undermining the judiciary, and suppressing dissent.
The feud between Mahathir and his former deputy Anwar Ibrahim, who was sacked in 1998 and jailed the following year on charges of corruption and sodomy, shaped the country's political landscape over the past two decades. Anwar said the charges were politically motivated.
Mahathir stepped down on October 30, 2003, but he soon found fault with his hand-picked successor, ex-deputy premier Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who led the coalition government to win a landslide victory in the 2004 election.
Calls for electoral reform marred Abdullah's second term, prompting his coalition to lose its crucial two-thirds majority in parliament in the 2008 general election. Abdullah resigned the following year in 2009 and handed over his premiership to Najib Razak, the eldest son of second prime minister Tun Abdul Razak Hussein.
Just before Najib's first term came to an end, the Malaysian military had a month-long standoff in Sabah state with Filipino gunmen in March, that ended in an all-out assault by Malaysian troops to flush out the Filipino gunmen who were pressing an ancient claim to the region. At least 64 people, including nine members of the Malaysian security forces, were killed.
In the 2013 election, the ruling coalition secured only 60 percent of a total of 222 parliamentary seats with less than 50 percent of the popular vote, amid continuous calls to reform the gerrymandered electoral system that was said to be also prone to cheating and bias.
By 2015, Malaysia state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) was caught in a multi-billion dollar scandal. The U.S. alleged that more than $4.5 billion was misappropriated from 1MDB. About $681 million was alleged to have made its way into Najib's bank account, but he was cleared by Malaysia's attorney-general, who said the money in his account was a gift from the Saudi royal family.
The relationship between Malaysia with North Korea was put on ice following the murder of Kim Jong Nam, the estranged half-brother of the North Korean leader, at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport. Two women, from Indonesia and Vietnam, were charged and went on trial in Malaysia while the U.S. and South Korea said the murder was orchestrated by Pyongyang.
After celebrating the country's 60th anniversary in August 2017, Najib dissolved parliament, paving the way for a general election -- where he would face former prime minister Mahathir from the opposition -- in arguably the toughest battle for a ruling coalition that had remained undefeated and ruled Malaysia since its independence.
Mahathir’s premiership oversaw Najib’s first 1MDB trial, as well as continued investigations into the missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370. He spent two years in office before ending his term with a shock resignation letter to the king, leaving the government in limbo amid talk that he may form a new governing coalition.
Former interior minister Muhyiddin Yassin was named by the king as the new prime minister after a week of political turmoil. His office was marred by opposition from both parliament and the public, as opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim staged protests of discontent and public protests grew amid rising COVID cases and the government's slow response towards the pandemic.
Muhyiddin’s resignation on 16 August 2021 ended 17 months of political turmoil that resulted in him losing his majority. He was succeeded by then deputy prime minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob, whose term saw Najib being convicted to 12 years in prison for the global 1MDB scandal.
In October 2022, rumours that parliament would be dissolved took flight and culminated in an audience Ismail Sabri had with the King, saying he might propose a date to dissolve parliament, although an election was not due until 2023. Under pressure from some factions of his ruling coalition to hold the vote earlier for a stronger mandate and due to infighting, he dissolved parliament on October 10.
Former prime ministers Anwar, Muhyiddin, as well as Ismail Sabri and Mahathir, were nominated by their respective parties to run in the snap election on November 19, when 21 million eligible Malaysian voters will head to the polls.
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