Politik & Perniagaan dalam PRU-15: Perspektif Elit (Politics & Business in GE-15: Elite Perspective)

Abstract

The dynamics of the relationship between politics and business ahead of the 15th General Election in Malaysia is very interesting to be analyzed. The fall of Barisan Nasional (BN) in the previous 14th General Election has ended the dominance of the coalition of parties that dominated the accumulation and concentration of wealth at the federal level through the practice of patronage politics in Malaysia since independence. In addition to ending BN’s dominance, GE-14 also opened critical awareness among the masses about political funding and the relationship between politics and business, especially following the biggest kleptocracy scandals in history, namely 1MDB and Najib Razak. Through secondary data, this study analyzes the relationship between politics and business through the perspective of the elite who lead the parties in the 15th General Election. The findings of the relationship between the political elite and business are analyzed through the aspects of direct ownership of the political elite in private companies, ownership of the political elite in government-linked companies (GLC), ownership of the closest family members of the political elite in private companies and GLCs, as well as ownership of the closest friends of the political elite in private companies and GLC. This study also reflects the implications of the relationship between the political elite and business from the point of view of the equality of political funding which is quite critical for fair political competition in a democratic system.