SORRY MAHATHIR, MALAYSIANS HAVE TO PUT YOU ON WATCH: THE HONEYMOON IS OVER, WE DON’T WANT A SECOND-RATE RERUN OF YOUR RACIST, DIVIDE & RULE REGIME 1.0

Najib Razak has become an inveterate user of Facebook in recent weeks, using the social network to defend himself from allegations of corruption linked to the 1MDB fund.

It is an awkward reversal of fortunes. Just before he was ousted in last month’s election, Malaysia’s former prime minister introduced an oppressive law to combat “fake news”. Officials warned it would be used against anyone spreading unofficial information about 1MDB on social media.

The country has been turned on its head after the United Malays National Organisation was swept from power for the first time since this nation of 32m people won independence from Britain in 1957.

Outspoken activists have become government MPs and advisers, once mighty UMNO “warlords” have no cash or political favours to dish out, and mainstream media outlets linked to the old regime are trying to cosy up to the new powers-that-be.

So many civil society leaders have joined the new government that the head of one of Malaysia’s most respected think-tanks has warned the country risks being left without adequate checks and balances. It is a jarring experience for the toppled and the topplers.

Facing flagrant gerrymandering, most of those in the ragtag Pakatan Harapan, or Alliance of Hope, coalition led by new (and former) prime minister Mahathir Mohamad had not expected to win.

The opposition did not have any formal pre-election discussions with civil servants, who over the years melded with UMNO and powerful state-owned companies into a concentrated ruling blob.

“We were caught off guard and have had to improvise,” says an independent researcher who is still reeling from being unexpectedly drafted in as a government adviser.

“After so long without power,” he confessed, “we keep calling ourselves the opposition and refer to the opposition as the government.”

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Lacking trust in the civil service, new government ministers are relying on social media to get their message out, much as they did in the election campaign when millions watched Mr Mahathir’s election rallies on Facebook because he was shunned by mainstream broadcasters.

Lim Guan Eng, the finance minister, has upset some overseas investors by bringing his blunt, campaigning style into office. He pumps out spicily-worded statements lambasting the previous government for corruption and waste.

“You shouldn’t talk like an activist once you’ve become the nation’s chief accountant,” complains an economist at an investment bank.

But many Malaysians voted for Mr Mahathir because they wanted transparency about past government misdeeds — and many are enjoying seeing their arrogant former overlords on the ropes.

For his part, the 92-year-old argues that foreign investors prefer authoritarian governments because they are predictable. He should know, having ruled Malaysia as a strongman prime minister from 1981 to 2003 before returning this year in the new guise of a reformer.

Tensions in Mr Mahathir’s coalition have already emerged, not least with Anwar Ibrahim, with whom he only recently mended fences and teamed up to oust Mr Najib. But the government has come together much more quickly than recent coalitions in Germany, Belgium and Italy.

Malaysia’s historic transfer of power has also avoided the bloodshed of other changes of regime. That is because while power has changed hands, many of the people involved have stayed the same.

Twenty years ago, Mr Mahathir was prime minister and Mr Anwar was waiting in the wings to take over (before the elder statesman turned on his deputy and had him jailed for sodomy).

But after decades of misrule, most Malaysians are desperate for real change, not a second-rate rerun.

Steven Gan, editor-in-chief of the leading independent news website Malaysiakini, says the best way to make sure that happens is not to trust Mr Mahathir — who targeted the site during his first stint as prime minister — but to hold him to account.

“Like many Malaysians, we hope he’ll do what he promised,” he says. “Our job is to watch.”

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