Autonomy: Politics in Sarawak

By the end of his tenure, Mahathir had fundamentally changed political dynamics across the South China Sea. In Sabah, UMNO’s entry created a new political relationship with the federal government that increased its control over the long-standing troublesome state. In Sarawak, local leaders had managed to stave off federal control and remain autonomous. Under the leadership of Abdul Taib Mahmud, a Muslim Melanau, local parties dominated the political environment and the federal encroachment of parties, particularly UMNO, was checked. This autonomy, however, obscures significant changes that took place in Sarawak during the Mahathir years; changes that point to increasing contention among elites once Mahathir and his loyal ally, Taib, retire.