Malaysia Gabungan Parti Sarawak, Gabungan Rakyat Sabah, Malaysian United Democratic Alliance, Warisan, Parti Bangsa Malaysia, as well as independents. As a government comprised of different parties, the prospect of the collapse of the coalition due to the withdrawal of support of its partners is a major factor that makes it challenging to implement reforms. Such collapse was seen during the earlier PH government after 22 months in power. The government was led at that time by Mahathir Mohamad. However, in 2020 following an incident known as the “Sheraton Move”, PH member BERSATU withdrew from the coalition forcing Mahatir to resign. Bersatu’s move was said to arise from fear of losing support from its ethnic Malay support base because the coalition included the ethnic Chinese-led Democratic Action Party (DAP). Race continues to be an important political factor in Malaysia. Despite the criticism, there were still some developments on progressive reform. The Anwar government announced a plan to enact a Freedom of Information Act to improve public access to government information. However, despite this, dissidents were still being charged and prosecuted under the Sedition Act and the Communication and Multimedia Act. 145 The notable case is that Mohammad Sanusi Md Nor, a controversial political figure from the Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), who was charged under the Sedition Act in 2023 for remarks on two sultans, one of whom was the then king of Malaysia145. Sanusi’s pronouncements as a religious conservative made the situation more complex. Anwar remarked that this incident underlined the need for the Sedition Act in cases involving Malaysia’s royal institution. The prime minister’s comments drew widespread criticism, as these exposed the law’s repressive character that made its repeal part of the coalition’s campaign manifesto. 2. Legal and Policy Developments During the election campaign for the 2022 General Election (GE15), Anwar’s Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition campaigned to review and repeal a list of repressive laws, including the 1948 Sedition Act and the 1998 Communications and Multimedia Act. The coalition also pledged to introduce a Freedom of Information Act, and to amend the Official Secrets Act to promote greater transparency in governance and enable the media to do their reporting more effectively. The British colonial-era Sedition Act of 1948 originally aimed to contain local communist insurgents and opposition to colonial rule. The law bans any act, speech or publication “Malaysia Charges Politician with Sedition over Sultan Remarks.” Al Jazeera, 18 July 2023, www.aljazeera. com/news/2023/7/18/malaysia-charges-politician-with-sedition-over-sultan-remarks. 47