Although the Malaysian stock market rose by 3% today, BN's win actually does not augur well for its future. There were outright allegations of vote rigging with pretty strong evidence, from truck loads of Bangladeshi workers sneaking into voting booths to the supposedly indelible ink easily washed off from the finger, to cars fetching secret ballot boxes to the booths.
Throughout history, when a government cheats in an election, it is usually the start of a revolution. The Arab spring comes to mind. Libya and Egypt did the same and within a year there was a change of government. A government that clings to power by such means simply has no legitimacy. Civil disobedience usually follows.
A peaceful transition of power to the opposition would have been the better outcome for investors in the long term because the states that are run by opposition tend to have strong outperformance in property prices. A win by BN without such controversies would have legitimize the regime. But this is the worst possible outcome.
The next few years many be turbulent in Malaysia. Watch this space.
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