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This article examines the strategies employed by the ruling coalition, Barisan Nasional (or National Front), and the opposition alliance, Pakatan Rakyat (People’s Alliance), in the 13th general election held in Malaysia in May 2013. It argues that while the opposition used the right strategy for the 2013 campaign, it lost because it could not overcome the three biggest hurdles for opposition politics in Malaysia: East Malaysia, the rural Malay votes and a biased electoral system. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Since the 2008 Malaysian general election the Chinese vote has swung overwhelmingly to the opposition, and this trend has continued in the 2013 general election. When announcing the results of the 2013 general election, Prime Minister Najib labelled it as a ‘Chinese tsunami’. Taking the case of Kepong, this article attempts to explain the reasons for the urban Chinese voters’ continuing support for the Democratic Action Party. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]