Relevance of the current electoral system in Malaysia: time for change?

• Main Authors: Ayub, Zainal Amin, Mohamed Yusoff, Zuryati, Yeon, Asmah Laili
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: New Bratain USA 2017
• Subjects: JA Political science (General)
• Online Access: http://repo.uum.edu.my/22063/1/IJAS%209%204%202017%2083%2090.pdf; http://repo.uum.edu.my/22063/; http://www.universitypublications.net/ijas/0904/html/DE6C291.xml

Malaysia is a Federation and a democratic country which elects the government through ‘first past the post’ system adopted from the British Electoral system since 1954.One of the advantages of the system is creating stability in the country since the sole party in the cabinet of the ruling government is only, the winning party.This system, however, becomes the limelight due to growing support garnered by the opposition during the 1999 and 2014 general elections.There is a cry for change of Malaysian current electoral system to proportional representation system. Is this the best for Malaysia? This article seeks to explore the possibility of introducing the new electoral system in Malaysia.The research data were collected through interview with thirteen experts in the fields of politics, law, and management of Malaysia’s electoral system.The data were analysed using content analysis by employing the thematic approach.It is found that both the simple majority and the propositional representation system have its strengths and weaknesses.Also, the study found that the first past the post system is the best system to be implemented in Malaysia as for now.Any future changes to the current electoral system in Malaysia require a large preparation and arrangement primarily to the current legal and institutional frameworks and most importantly, readiness of the people to change to a new system.