Reviving UMNO: Party Institutionalization and Coalition Management in Selangor and Malacca

Since Malaysia’s independence in 1957 until 2018, the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) was the single dominant party in control of an authoritarian regime, having been the main party within the long-ruling National Front (Barisan Nasional, or BN). Since its fall from power in 2018, key events have reshaped its party structure, leadership and overall support. Today, it sits in a large-tent coalition at the federal level, is part of the state government in seven states, and of these, controls the position of chief minister in three. Using the states of Malacca and Selangor as case studies, this paper examines UMNO’s current state of leadership, how the PH-BN coalition is being managed and how this relationship is being communicated to the grassroots, and how these key elements contribute to the deinstitutionalization of the party. While grappling with party factionalism and leadership gaps at the national level, UMNO in both Selangor and Malacca has also undergone significant leadership changes. Serious efforts are being made to strengthen state-level leadership, but these remain overshadowed by the gaps in the party’s central leadership. As political operatives of UMNO and Pakatan Harapan (PH) work together, there is some indication that this cooperation is beginning to coalesce, although resistance from the grassroots remains apparent within both the selected states. UMNO is in a unique position of being positionally stable but institutionally weak, and the cases of Selangor and Malacca offer some insight into how its internal dynamics play out on the ground. A revival of UMNO in its original form is highly unlikely given its significant hollowing out over the last four years. Whether or not the formerly dominant party will revive is dependent on the current leadership’s decisions over cooperation with PH. While the party may never fully reclaim its past strength, it can, however, leverage its existing resources and use this period to reorganize and strengthen its institutional foundations.

About the Author :
Tricia Yeoh is Associate Professor of Practice at the School of Politics and International Relations, University of Nottingham Malaysia. She is also Visiting Senior Fellow at the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute Singapore.