DAP’s crushing defeat exposes Malaysia’s stalled reform agenda

The DAP’s abysmal performance in the recent Sabah state elections has spurred the party’s central leadership into stating that they would work towards regaining public confidence by working closely with the prime minister to accelerate reforms.

The Center to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4 Center) welcomes the DAP’s renewed commitment to the reform agenda, but remains cautious whether these commitments will follow through or remain mere statements. 

DAP secretary general Anthony Loke said that the elections were a “strong and unmistakable message from the voters” and reflected a serious crisis of confidence faced by both the DAP and Pakatan Harapan.

He added that leaders and members of the party who were involved in the campaign were made aware of the widespread public dissatisfaction throughout the campaign trail.

For many in Malaysia, these statements are unlikely to come as a surprise. The current “Madani” (trustworthy) government led by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, which the DAP is part of, is widely perceived to have long fallen short of introducing widespread anti-corruption and good governance reforms.

Many of these were promised during Anwar’s campaign trail for the 2022 general election and reiterated through public statements and policy documents such as the national anti-corruption strategy for 2024–28.

Instead, civil society organisations have strongly noted that many such ‘promised’ reforms have been silently shelved or faced serious delays, including the: 

• Separation of the attorney general and public prosecutor’s office
• Reform of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), including the appointment process of the chief commissioner
• Freedom of information act
• Asset declaration laws
• Political financing act
• Ombudsman act and the establishment of an ombudsman’s office

Some good governance reforms were introduced, but were heavily criticised for their marginal efficacy at best, or at worst, a regression of anti-corruption efforts: 

• The Government Procurement Act, passed in 2025 – heavily criticised for centralising disproportionate and discretionary decision-making powers in the hands of the finance minister
• The Parliamentary Services Act 2025 – did not go far enough to truly uplift Parliament as an instrument of effective checks and balances on the executive
• Amendments to the Whistleblower Protection Act 2010 – while some were welcome, disclosure avenues were still restricted to government agencies alone

The spate of discharges not amounting to acquittals and acquittals granted to individuals implicated in corruption scandals – such as former Prime Minister Najib Razak, current Deputy PM Zahid Hamidi and Segambut Bersatu deputy chief Adam Radlan – have greatly eroded public trust that the government is capable or willing to prosecute corruption cases involving high-profile individuals.

Political appointments have also not abated despite earlier promises to the contrary.

Further disappointment has come with the thrice re-appointment of Azam Baki as MACC chief commissioner despite being mired in a scandal of his own. 

Over and above everything else, repressive laws that curtail civil liberties are still being used by the government to crack down on critics:

• The Sedition Act 1948 and the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 are both used to arbitrarily detain individuals based on broad and ill-defined criteria.
• Provisions of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998, the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984 and the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012 greatly limit the rights to self-expression and freedom of assembly to a great extent, resulting in state-sanctioned censorship.
• The Official Secrets Act 1972 is still widely used to prevent access to information, while Section 203A of the Penal Code criminalises disclosure of information obtained by civil servants during their service, even for the purposes of whistleblowing against corruption.

It must be made unambiguously clear that DAP’s crushing defeat in the Sabah elections is of their own making.

There is a clear link between the Madani government’s failure to introduce reforms and the revelations made by the Sabah whistleblower.

The lack of disclosure avenues for the whistleblower and inadequate regulations for the granting of government contracts and concessions led to the scandal’s exposé, with the Madani government struggling to hold on to credibility and public trust.

Had the above reforms been implemented earlier, public trust would not have suffered anywhere near as much as it has.

C4 Center reiterates its longstanding call for the Madani government to keep to its promises to adhere to the reform agenda.

The embarrassment suffered by the DAP in the Sabah election should serve as a wake-up call that good governance is not and has never been a secondary concern for voters.

Should the government continue down its current path, it would signal a return to the rampant corruption and repressive authoritarianism of previous governments, and a betrayal of all those who voted in record numbers for a better nation. – C4 Center

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