Crisis Chronology

MALAYSIA

02/02/2024

Pardons board cuts Najib Razak’s prison term in half and his fine by three-quarters. He remains on trial in several other cases related to the 1MDB corruption scandal.

01/31/2024

Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar of Johor becomes the 17th Yang di-Pertuan Agong. The nine royal families of Malaysia rotate the monarchy every five years.

12/12/2023

Ibrahim announces a major cabinet reshuffle and promises to focus on the economy, health and education amid growing public concern about the country’s economic situation.

11/24/2022

Anwar named prime minister

King Sultan Abdullah names Anwar prime minister, saying that he thinks he has the support of a majority of the legislature.

11/23/2022

Malaysia’s king, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, said neither of the leading coalitions Pakatan Harapan or Perikatan Nasional have achieved a simple majority. The king expressed a desire for a strong government “that is more inclusive in terms of race, religion, or region” and one that can focus on the economy. The majority of Malaysians are ethnic Malay Muslims, but there are substantial minorities of Chinese, Indian and indigenous people who follow Buddhism, Christianity and Hinduism among other beliefs. Race and religion can be divisive issues. Anwar’s path to the office has been long. Anwar’s imprisonment led to a clamour for reform and the founding of the multiracial Keadilan party, which means justice in Malay, a vital pillar of the PH coalition. The PH also includes the multiracial but mostly Chinese Democratic Action Party (DAP), which is unpopular with conservative Malays, and the reformist Islamist party Amanah. Barisan Nasional, a race-based coalition that also includes parties representing Malaysians of Chinese and Indian origin. BN’s performance over the weekend was its worst ever. The main beneficiary of the coalition’s woes has been PN, a conservative Malay grouping. The coalition includes Bersatu, founded by UMNO members angry about 1MDB, and expanded by former Keadilan members whose defections in February 2020 led to the collapse of the PH government.

11/21/2022

Leaders of Pakatan Harapand and Barisan Nasional, which won 30 seats, agree to some terms for an alliance, allowing different coalitions to rule some states. The king gives both coalitions another day to propose a ruling coalition.

11/20/2022

Pakatan Harapan Both Pakatan Harapan and Perikatan Nasional say they have enough seats to form a government. Pakatan Harapan won the largest number of seats, 82, and Perikatan Nasional won 73.

11/19/2022

General election. The divisions in the ruling Pakatan Harapan, led by Anwar Ibrahim, party leave the elections uncertain. Pakatan Harapan has fielded the largest number of candidates, 209, followed by Barisan Nasional, now led by the prime minister and member of UNMO, Ismail Sabri Shaakob with 178. The Perikatan Nasional, a party formed of breakaway members of Pakatan Harapan, has fielded 149 candidates. It is led by Muhammed Azmin Ali the current minister of trade. The fourth major coalition, led by veteran Matathir Mohamad, who has said he does not want to be prime minister, Gerakan Tanah Air, will contest 125 seats. No coalition is likely to gain a majority, 112 seats.

10/10/2022

PM Ismail Sabri Yaakob dissolves parliament and calls new elections, due to infighting within his own coalition. Former PM Najib Razak and party president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who is also on trial for corruption, remain influential within the UMNO and Zahid had been pushing for elections to be brought forward. It is not clear that new elections will bring greater stability, however. The election commission will determine the date of the new election.

09/01/2022

Court finds Rosmah Mansor, wife of former PM Razak, guilty of corruption.

06/02/2022

Malaysia says it will restrict export of live chickens due to internal inflation.

10/05/2021

Government protests Chinese vessels in its exclusive economic zone.

09/13/2021

Ismail Sabri signs cooperation agreement with the opposition designed to ensure political stability as the country fights the COVID-19 outbreak.

09/10/2021

Ismail Sabri announces political reforms, including limiting the term of the prime minister to 10 years, working more closely with the opposition on legislation to secure bipartisan agreement, and elevating the position of the leader of the opposition to the same rank and remuneration as a cabinet minister. He also says the voting age will be reduced to 18, after a court order to follow a law passed in 2018 but never implemented.

09/06/2021

Fisherman protest plan in Penang to create three artificial islets off the coast, saying it will devastate fishing in the area.

08/20/2021

Ismail named prime minister

King Al-Sultan Abdullah names Ismail Sabri Yaakob prime minister. Formerly a deputy prime minister Ismail is a member of UNMO, though the ruling coalition remains intact. Muhyuddin specified that the coalition would support Ismail as long as no cabinet members doesn’t include anyone with charges. Several cabinet members currently face corruption investigations.

08/16/2021

Muhyuddin resigns, acknowledging losing the support of parliament and the people over the government’s COVID-19 response.

08/02/2021

Muhyiddin closes parliament after eleven cases of COVID-19 are found in the building. Legislators protest the timing of the announcement, probably the day that a no-confidence vote would be introduced.

07/29/2021

King Abdullah criticizes Muhyiddin’s government for misleading the legislature about COVID-19 mandates. The opposition calls for a no-confidence vote.

07/08/2021

UMNO withdraws support for Muhyiddin and calls for him to resign, due to his ineffective handling of the COVID-19 crisis. The attorney general says that Yassin will remain in power until parliament formally withdraws support.

07/03/2021

Government imposes movement restrictions in many districts due to COVID-19 pandemic.

03/13/2021

Three legislators from the opposition Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) pledge to support the Perikatan Nasional, returning it to the majority.

03/04/2021

UNMO says it will not cooperate with Muhyiddin’s coalition in the next election, although it will remain in the coalition, called the Perikatan Nasional, until then. Muhyiddin’s United Indigenous Party, or Bersatu, and the Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS) remain in the coalition.

02/28/2021

Two legislators leave the People’s Justice Party and pledge support for the Perikatan Nasional.

01/12/2021

Two United Malay National Organization legislators leave the governing coalition, leaving it with only 109 of 222 seats.

11/15/2020

Fifteen Asia-Pacific nations sign the world's largest free-trade agreement, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership in Vietnam. It replaces the Trans-Pacific Partnership, from which the US withdrew the United States in early 2017. The countries are: Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, and Vietnam.

11/08/2020

Government closes schools and restricts movement to combat COVID-19 pandemic.

10/25/2020

Sultan Abdullah rejects Yassin’s proposal about a state of emergency, saying the pandemic has been handled well, but that there should be an end to politicking.

10/24/2020

King Al-Sultan Abdullah will meet the country’s sultans to discuss proposals put forward by Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, amid reports that Muhyiddin wants to impose a state of emergency and dissolve parliament, where his support seems shaky. The COVID-19 pandemic has surged in the country recently.

10/17/2020

Malaysia reports its largest number of COVID-19 cases, its highest number in the pandemic.

09/23/2020

Ibrahim says that he has enough parliamentary support to form a new government.

07/27/2020

Razak convicted of corruption charges related to the state development fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB). He faces telve years on these charges and will be tried on many other charges in other cases. Razak says he will appeal.

07/24/2020

Goldman Sachs agrees to a $3.9 billion settlement with Indonesia in return for an end to all regulatory and criminal investigations in Malaysia against the company.

05/29/2020

COVID-19 cases and deaths rising sharply. The government’s response to the pandemic has been hesitant and spotty. Malaysia reports about 7700 cases and 115 deaths, but there has been little testing.

05/29/2020

COVID-19 cases and deaths rising sharply. The government’s response to the pandemic has been hesitant and spotty. Malaysia reports about 7700 cases and 115 deaths, but there has been little testing.

05/29/2020

Matathir says he will challenge his expulsion from his party.

05/28/2020

Matathir is expelled from his party, the United Indigenous Party of Malaysia, known by its Malay acronym Bersatu, after he sits on the opposition benches in parliament.

05/28/2020

Matathir is expelled from his party, the United Indigenous Party of Malaysia, known by its Malay acronym Bersatu, after he sits on the opposition benches in parliament.

05/14/2020

Court dismisses corruption case against Razak’s stepson, Riza Aziz. He was accused of laundering $248 million embezzled from 1MDB scandal.

03/26/2020

Government introduces a $57 billion economic package due to COVID-19.

03/01/2020

Muhyiddin elected prime minister

Muhyiddin, a Muslim, wins support of United Malays National Organization (UMNO), a party that ejected him in 2015 over his criticism of Razak, then its leader.

02/29/2020

King picks Former Malaysian interior minister Muhyiddin Yassin to be prime minister. He must gain the support of parliament. The king is allowed to name a prime minister-designate without an election.

02/28/2020

King announces that there will not be a special session of parliament on 3/2. Bersatu nominates its party president, Muhyiddin Yassin, as candidate for prime minister.

02/26/2020

Matathir says parliament will vote on 3/2 to pick a new prime minister if no one else is put forward and approved before then. If parliament is unable to agree on anyone, new elections will be called. The king was unable to find a candidate a majority could agree on.

02/25/2020

King Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah interviewing all members of parliament to determine whether Matathir or Ibrahim has more support.

02/25/2020

Bersatu rejects Matathir’s resignation as party chairman.

02/24/2020

Matathir resigns

Matathir announces his resignation after a weekend of political turmoil in which his party was planning to form a new government led by Anwar Ibrahim. Mahathir also reportedly resigned from his own party, Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu). Mahathir's party also announced that it was quitting the ruling government coalition, Pakatan Harapan (Alliance of Hope), casting doubt on the future of the partnership. Matathir, who will remain as interim prime minister until a new government is formed, had run on a pledge to eventually turn the government leadership over to Ibrahim.

02/23/2020

Members of Anwar Ibrahim’s party, the People’s Justice Party (PKR) meet with parliament members, including those of the opposition UMNO, suggesting the government coalition is shaky.

12/16/2019

There are reports that a police officer on death row for the murder of a model in 2006 has accused former PM Najib Razak of ordering him to kill the woman.

11/06/2019

Malaysia detains vice-president of the CNRP Mu Sochua at its airport, on request from Cambodia, as required by the ASEAN treaty. PM Mohamed says Malaysia is looking for a third country to deport Sochua to. In France, Sam Rainsy was not permitted to board a Thai Airways flight to Bangkok.

09/17/2019

In an interview Ibrahim says he expects to take power in 5/20.

04/02/2019

Trial of Razak and associates begins. He has pled not guilty.

03/11/2019

Government offers Malaysians who joined the Islamic State the opportunity to return and keep their citizenship if they go through a program of rehabiliation.

01/13/2019

Singapore abruptly cancels meeting with Malaysia about their disputes over airspace and maritime boundaries. Singapore foreign minister conjectures that there is disagreement between Malaysia’s Matathir and the governor of Malaysia’s Johor state, which is nearest to Singapore.

01/12/2019

Government appoints Tengku Abdullah Shah to replace his father as sultan.

01/06/2019

Sultan Muhammed V abdicates, the first abdication since the country gained independence. He is said to have married a Russian woman and was on medical leave in 11/18.

12/16/2018

Government charges Goldman Sachs for money laundering in 1MDB investigation.

12/05/2018

Singapore calls for Malaysia to cease intrusions into Sinapore’s maritime boundaries, which Malaysia denies doing, differing on the actual boundaries. Singapore also objects to Malaysia increasing its airspace in the region.

12/05/2018

Singapore calls for Malaysia to cease intrusions into Sinapore’s maritime boundaries, which Malaysia denies doing, differing on the actual boundaries. Singapore also objects to Malaysia increasing its airspace in the region.

12/04/2018

Malaysia says it will seek to reclaim delegated airspace in Southern Johor state.

11/14/2018

China reports progress with Southeast Asian countries (including Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Vietnam) on an agreement about the “code of conduct” in the South China Sea. The United States is not involved.

11/05/2018

Singapore lodges formal protest with Malaysia about the Johor Bharu port extension.

11/02/2018

Malaysian Jho Low and a Goldman Sachs banker are named in indictments in 1MDB scandal.

10/25/2018

Malaysia announces changes to Johor Bahru port, which is across from Singapore, that enlarges Malaysia’s maritime boundaries.

10/18/2018

Anti-graft agency arrests former deputy prime minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

10/13/2018

Special by-election for a parliamentary seat vacated purposely to Anwar Ibrahim to run for it. If he wins convincingly, it could eventually lead to his replacing Mahathir.

09/19/2018

Najib charged with four more criminal counts relating to $681 million deposited into his account in 2013.

07/10/2018

Swiss prosecutor investigating two officials of a Saudi energy company and two UAE investment fund officials in connection with Malaysian 1MDB fund.

07/03/2018

Razak arrested in MDB scandal and government freezes 408 bank accounts in connection with the probe.

06/27/2018

Police say they have recovered $237 million in cash and luxury goods from Rajak’s properties.

05/30/2018

Mahathir cancels high-speed rail project with Singapore and announces plan to build an island on Middle Rocks, near Singapore. Middle Rocks was awarded to Malaysia in 2008 judgement by the International Court of Justice, which awarded the island of Pedra Blanca to Singapore.

01/25/2018

Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand agree to share information about terrorism, an unusual sign of mutual cooperation, in a program named “Our Eyes.”

01/15/2018

Supreme Court rejects government argument that a term reduction passed in 2015 should not apply to Pres Maithripala Sirisena.

01/06/2018

Opposition coalition Pakatan Harapan nominates Matathir for PM and Ibrahim Anwar’s wife Wan Azizah Wan Ismail for deputy PM. Despite past differences, Matathir says it is more important to defeat Najib. They pledge to seek a royal pardon for Anwar so that he can return to politics.

12/05/2017

Despite stated agreements to negotiate access to islands in the South China Sea, China continues to build up its forces there.

11/30/2017

Commission of Inquiry recommends criminal charges against former PM Mahathir Mohamed. It also recommends investigation into Ibrahim Anwar’s role in the scandal at Bank Negara Malaysia. Anwar, who remains in jail, and Mahathir are working together to unseat current PM Najib Razak, who may have extracted money from the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB), a state fund Njaib created, which is being investigated around the world for money laundering.

11/14/2017

Eleven nations sign the Asia-Americas trade agreement now called the “Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership” (CPTPP). Canada bowed out at the last minute. Canada did not make its objections explicit, but they may relate to internal politics. The signatories are Australia, Brunei, Chile, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam.