Pakatan Rakyat

Pakatan Rakyat or PR (English: People's Pact / People's Alliance is an informal Malaysian political coalition. It currently controls three state governments while in opposition to the ruling Barisan Nasional at the federal level.

The political coalition was formed by the People's Justice Party (PKR), Democratic Action Party (DAP), and Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) on April 1, 2008, after the 12th Malaysian general election, having previously formed the Barisan Alternatif (Alternative Front) in the 10th general election. On April 20, 2010, the Sarawak National Party (SNAP) officially joined as a member of the Pakatan Rakyat after being expelled from Barisan Nasional, but quit the coalition on May 6, 2011.

The former three parties had worked together in the 12th Malaysian general election, in which they gained control of five state assemblies and made significant gains at the federal level, denying the Barisan Nasional a two-thirds majority in the federal parliament. With the establishment of the Pakatan Rakyat coalition, the state governments of Kelantan, Kedah, Penang and Selangor are known as the Pakatan Rakyat state governments. Perak was also under Pakatan control, but in February 2009 3 Pakatan state assembly members switched allegiances to independent members who supported Barisan Nasional, causing a constitutional crisis that, following the judgement of the federal court, resulted in Barisan Nasional taking power.

In the recent 2013 general election, Pakatan Rakyat managed to increase its share in Parliament by additional seven seats and for two consecutive general election, denying two-third majority of Barisan Nasional. Pakatan Rakyat also increase its power in Pulau Pinang and Selangor. However, it lost another state to Barisan Nasional (Kedah).

Pakatan Rakyat is to be collectively led and managed by all constituent parties and pledges to uphold the rights and interests of all Malaysians. Each political party in People's Alliance has its own ideology; PKR promotes its ideals that revolves around social justice and anti-corruption themes, PAS with its aim to establish Malaysia as a nation based on Islamic legal theory and DAP with its secular, multi-racial, social democratic ideals.