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Since Malaysia’s independence in 1957, the country has experienced a series of national elections, but never a change in national government.  The ruling coalition, known as Barisan Nasional (BN) since 1973, has held power continuously during Malaysia’s post-independence era.  In the 2008 general elections, for the first time, the BN lost its two-thirds majority in parliament and control of five state assemblies to the opposition coalition, Pakatan Rakyat (PR).  Subsequently, in April 2011 in Sarawak (the only state holding assembly elections before national elections occur) the BN retained control of the state assembly but suffered a reduction in its majority.  It is in this context that IRI provides technical assistance, training, and consultation to political parties to build knowledge and impart skills that enable both ruling and opposition Malaysian political leaders to more effectively address citizen concerns.

Download Summary (PDF)
Since Malaysia’s independence in 1957, the country has experienced a series of national elections, but never a change in national government.  The ruling coalition, known as Barisan Nasional (BN) since 1973, has held power continuously during Malaysia’s post-independence era.  In the 2008 general elections, for the first time, the BN lost its two-thirds majority in parliament and control of five state assemblies to the opposition coalition, Pakatan Rakyat (PR).  Subsequently, in April 2011 in Sarawak (the only state holding assembly elections before national elections occur) the BN retained control of the state assembly but suffered a reduction in its majority.  It is in this context that IRI provides technical assistance, training, and consultation to political parties to build knowledge and impart skills that enable both ruling and opposition Malaysian political leaders to more effectively address citizen concerns.

Political Party Strengthening
IRI is working to strengthen political parties at both the national level and in targeted states, assisting political parties to run better campaigns, develop get-out-the-vote (GOTV) drives, improve platform development and messaging and identify and respond to constituent concerns via utilization of public opinion research.  For example, in advance of the 2011 Sarawak elections, IRI conducted training workshops for ruling BN and opposition PR coalitions, focusing on campaign training programs, GOTV drives and developing Sarawak-specific polling to better enable parties to develop platforms and messages that met the needs of all Sarawakians.

Public Opinion Research
IRI continues to support the public opinion research of its longtime local partner, the Merdeka Center, and use this as a mechanism for keeping parties in tune with the citizenry.  IRI has conducted several national, peninsular and state polls and focus group discussions on issues such as the economy, politics and social issues.  IRI uses this research to increase the knowledge of political parties about voter concerns and beliefs and to assist parties in crafting strategies, platforms and messages.

IRI’s current work in this area started in 2009 when the Institute began a groundbreaking series of training sessions designed to assist political parties in developing the in-house capacity to conduct and analyze focus group discussions.  These sessions were followed by workshops which allowed focus group moderators to present their findings to their colleagues and craft messages that were used to recruit new political party members and retain existing ones.

Democratic Governance
IRI began governance programs at the state level in 2010, building the capacity of elected leaders to carry out democratic governance practices and develop and implement policies that respond to citizen priorities.  The Institute has engaged members of state parliaments, political parties and their associated think tanks in productive dialogue, working with them to address the needs of their respective constituencies and to improve their governance practices, and has continued using public opinion research as a basis for these efforts.