http://dx.doi.org/10.17176/20210302-154032-0 https://verfassungsblog.de/covid-19-malaysias-fragile-constitutional-democracy/ COVID-19: Malaysia’s Fragile Constitutional Democracy Balasubramaniam, Ratna Rueban eng 2021-03-02 electronic resource text/html ddc:342 COVID 19 Malaysia Verfassungsblog Verfassungsblog--2366-7044 CC BY-SA 4.0 The COVID-19 pandemic occasioned a de facto worldwide state of exception. In Malaysia, the beginning of the pandemic would coincide with political turmoil. In 2018, a democratic reformist government surprisingly rose to power after unexpectedly winning the general election. The victory ended six decades of ethnocratic and authoritarian rule under the United Malay National Organization (“UMNO”), a Malay nationalist party committed to a political doctrine of ethnic “Malay Dominance.” However, in March 2020, just as the WHO declared a global pandemic, a series of political machinations brought down the reformist government.