ASEAN Regional Coalition to #StopDigitalDictatorship Country Event Contextualisation The Emergency (Essential Powers) (No. 2) Ordinance This law has been particularly used to control the dissemination of certain information deemed sensitive or potentially detrimental to the management of the health crisis. Elections (2020) Muhyiddin Yassin was appointed as the Prime Minister in politically complex circumstances triggered by the sudden resignation of Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad in February 2020. Subsequently, a political crisis erupted. The manner in which Muhyiddin Yassin became Prime Minister sparked controversies and debates on the legitimacy of the process. Elections (2021) Ismail Sabri Yaakob was elected as the Prime Minister of Malaysia on August 21, 2021. He assumed office following the resignation of his predecessor due to political pressure. Ismail Sabri was appointed Prime Minister after gaining the support of a majority of members in the Malaysian Parliament, and there were no elections per se. Instead, Ismail Sabri was selected through the internal political process of Parliament, where members expressed their confidence in his ability to form a stable government. Elections (2022) Anwar Ibrahim became the Prime Minister of Malaysia on November 24, 2022, following legislative elections. His appointment marked the end of a prolonged period of political uncertainty post-elections. The 15th Malaysian General Elections (GE15), the first since the Covid pandemic lockdown, aimed to restore political stability after three different prime ministers since 2018. However, the results were inconclusive, with no single coalition winning the minimum seats to form a government. Subsequently, the King entrusted Anwar Ibrahim with the task of forming a new government. MALAYSIA Fig. 4.2B: Contextualisation for Malaysia’s timeline, 2020-2023. 156 Dawn of Digital Dictatorship: Weaponizing the Law Against Online Speech in Southeast Asia