Malaysia's "Magical" General Election 2013

Malaysia's supposedly democracy system, and therefore inclusive political institution, has been in question after its General Election (GE) 2013. The election was filled with many irregularities and dirty politics, from money politics (bribing people to vote), foreign votes, indelible ink that allows a person to give multiple votes to the infamous magical blackout where two additional ballot boxes suddenly appeared after the electricity resumed. These dirty tactics have secured a victory for the incumbent Barisan Nasional and let the political party retain its power for 56 years. 

This unfair election has led me to believe that the inclusive political system in Malaysia is dubious. At first glance, Malaysia seems to put in place an inclusive political system as every Malaysian is given the right to vote and thus, as defined by Acemoglu and James Robinson, power is broadly distributed within the society. However, upon closer examination, it is not entirely true because the manipulation of votes during the GE2013 would mean that the votes given by Malaysians are as good as worthless; and this means that political power is wielded only by a handful of people in the current ruling government. As such, this analysis actually points out that Malaysia has an extractive political institution, though wrapped in a seemingly beautiful inclusive political institution from the outside - a subtle political move, indeed.