COMMENT | Has Malaysia’s prime minister really become powerless since 2018? It is a claim that has gained traction in public discussion recently, often presented as an obvious reading of today’s more fragmented political environment.

Coalition tensions are more visible, negotiations are more public, and decisions sometimes appear slower.

What is often missed is that this conclusion is based only on what is visible.

The office of the PM remains one of the most powerful executive positions in the country. It can appoint and dismiss cabinet ministers, set national policy direction, and control the main tools of government. These powers remain intact.

It is important to be clear that this authority has not disappeared. What has changed is not the existence of power, but the conditions under which it is used.

Malaysian prime ministers have never...