Kuala Lampur, Jan. 26 -- Malaysia is often described as politically stable, even resilient.

It is not a country prone to coups, nor one that easily succumbs to the collapse of constitutional order.

Yet it is equally true that Malaysia has never been instinctively shaped to be governed by coalitions.

This is the central paradox of contemporary Malaysian politics: stability without simplicity, continuity without cohesion.

Whether it is branded as the Madani Government or the Unity Government, Malaysians have yet to fully internalise the sheer difficulty of sustaining a coalition in a deeply plural, federal, and regionally uneven polity.

Coalitions are not simply about forming governments after elections; they are about managing contrad...