Malaysia 2018. From independence in 1957 until recently, Malaysia was a “competitive authoritarian” state whose political system was dominated by an alliance known since the 1970s as the Barisan National (BN). The BN controlled all national political institutions, including the national Election Commission. The Commission determines district boundaries and supervises the conduct of elections. By the early 2010s, the BN’s dominance was fraying because of internal divisions and the increasing consolidation of a single opposition group.