comment Malaysia is in trouble. The current political arrangement - the elite inter-ethnic bargaining - is fraying. The ruling coalition - Barisan Nasional (BN) - faces serious internal struggles both among and within the component parties. The majority of urban Malaysians had rejected them at the 2008 general election. Socially, the rise of religious and racial extremism driven by the United Malays National Organisation (Umno) has reached unprecedented heights.