Malaysia: Politics organized along racial lines?

On 2 March 2019, the ruling Pakatan Harapan coalition lost its second bi-election in a row, after ousted UMNO and Islamic PAS joined forces to further the Malay and Islamic cause, as reported by RSIS on 6 March 2019. Thomas Muller, persecution analyst at World Watch Research, comments: "Until now, UMNO and PAS had always declared that they were two very different parties and even despised each other. But they paid a high price by splitting the Malay vote. Now in March, UMNO announced a plan of cooperation to defeat the government for the "˜sake of the country", as Benar News reported on 5 March 2019. This is a potential game-changer for future elections, although the Chinese and Indian parties standing with UMNO may decide to break with them if racial remarks against minorities continue (Benar News, 4 March 2019). Prioritizing the Malay and Islamic cause will have the downside of causing the rights of Christian and other minorities to be neglected." Thomas Muller continues: "Meanwhile, the government has fulfilled its human rights commitments by signing the International Criminal Court Statute and by abolishing the death penalty. In order to remain in power, however, the government will need to prove that its policies will benefit all citizens, whatever their ethnicity and religion."