, Columnist
How Covid-19 Gave Cover for a Subtle Power Grab
With Malaysia’s parliament in recess because of the outbreak, the prime minster has been quietly trying to cement his fragile majority.
A crisis of democracy.
Photographer: Joshua Paul/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Is the pandemic a boon to autocracy? In Malaysia, efforts to constrain the coronavirus have chipped away at the very democratic principles that for decades made the country a natural U.S. ally and bastion of stability in a volatile region.
Facing the worst economic crisis in decades, Kuala Lumpur last week rolled out its fourth stimulus package since February. Together these fiscal salvos add up to about $70 billion, or 20% of gross domestic product. Such dramatic numbers are entirely necessary. The World Bank expects emerging-market economies will shrink the most since 1960 this year.