Social Transformation and the Reinventions of Parti Islam in Malaysia

In the 12th General Election of 8 March 2008 (GE12) in Malaysia, the combined opposition — of the Democratic Action Party (DAP), Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS, or the Islamic Party) and Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR, or People’s Justice Party) — won 49 per cent of the popular vote, 82 out of 222 parliamentary seats,1 ten out of 11 parliamentary seats in the capital of Kuala Lumpur and five out of 13 states in the country. Thereafter, the opposition parties entered into a coalition, Pakatan Rakyat (PR, or the People’s Pact), that formed state governments led by PAS in Kedah, Kelantan and Perak,2 by DAP in Penang and by PKR in Selangor. Although the ruling coalition, Barisan Nasional (BN, or National Front) retained power with a large majority, its first ever loss of a two-thirds majority in Parliament and of five states was taken as a sign that BN could be defeated by PR in a subsequent election.3