摘要：This article discusses the phenomenon of re-Mahathirisation which engulfed the politics of Malaysia's ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition and its main component party, the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO). Re- Mahathirisation refers to the increase in attachment towards the legacy of Malaysia's fourth Prime Minister, Dr. Mahathir Mohamad (1981–2003). Transpiring not long after Mahathir's relinquishment of official power, the process was seen as approaching a peak with BN-UMNO's campaign for the 13th General Elections (GE13) of May 2013. It was orchestrated especially by conservative elements in UMNO disillusioned with the political liberalisation began by his successor Abdullah Ahmad Badawi (2003–2009) and continued by Najib Razak. In line with an understanding of conservatism as characterised by resistance against radical change and by admiration of past values, re- Mahathirisation was employed by the BN-UMNO regime during the GE13 hustings to court the large pool of conservative-minded Malay voters. The successful dislodging of Abdullah Badawi from the party-cum-national leadership in 2009 signified a powerful return of Mahathirism to the foreground of UMNO and national politics. Although Najib Razak has pursued Abdullah's political liberalisation initiatives, he felt compelled to tolerate a rising public presence of Mahathir. Re-Mahathirisation has not proceeded without salient implications for UMNO. In the short term, UMNO as a dominant conservative party has strongly rebuilt its legitimacy as the vanguard of the Malay-Islamic agenda ever circumspect of attempts to reform existing multi-racial power sharing arrangements. However, Mahathir's aligning with right wing Malay conservative groups has countered the gains that could be reaped from Najib Razak's dogged advocacy of political reform. As a consequence, BN managed to retain power by virtue only of the heavy electoral weightage given to rural areas. To non-Malays and middle class Malays, UMNO's intransigence to change arguably owes much to its association with Mahathir's recent divisive approach, fear-mongering and unbridled use of conservative rhetoric
关键词：Mahathir Mohamad; Abdullah Badawi; Najib Razak; conservatism; ; general election
