After the stunning victory of Pakatan Harapan (Alliance of Hope) over the incumbent Barisan Nasional (National Front) in May 2018’s 14th Malaysian General Election, 2019 was a year of political transition, with Pakatan governing, Barisan rising from its political grave, and the Malaysian people getting accustomed to a two-party coalition system. In a chaotic year of party-political and electoral fatigue, social discontent, and economic slowdown, Malaysia endured its domestic troubles to remain a stable country.

After decades of rule by the Barisan Nasional, spearheaded by the United Malays National Organisation, 2018 witnessed a change in government when the Pakatan Harapan opposition secured a stunning victory in the general election. The incumbent prime minister, Najib Razak, was defeated by his political nemesis, Mahathir Mohamad. Malaysia’s economy was stable but sluggish, growing slower than expected in 2018.