Under the political battles of Malaysia, there are older struggles

Author directs Lowy Institute's Southeast Asia program and is a former Financial Times correspondent

Leaders betraying their protégés, acolytes knocking out their bosses, a multi-billion dollar corruption scandal that spilled over from Kuala Lumpur to Hollywood and, most importantly, the allegations of endless sodomy. Malaysian politics reads like a Shakespearean drama of the past few days, from the unprecedented overthrow of the government led by the Malaysian National Organization in 2018 to the collapse last week of the reformist, multiracial government that replaced it.

To sum up for the uninitiated: retired strong nonagenarian Mahathir Mohamad was re-elected Prime Minister in 2018 after campaigning to oust UMNO and former chief Najib Razak, a former protégé , due to his role in the 1MDB scandal (for which he is currently on trial, denying any wrongdoing). Mahathir finally promised to hand over power to Anwar Ibrahim, another former protégé who was imprisoned during the reigns of Mr. Mahathir and Mr. Najib on politically motivated charges of sodomy.

But Mr. Mahathir finally seemed reluctant to let Mr. Anwar grab his much-loved prize. The latter, meanwhile, trained with Azmin Ali, his own former sidekick. After Mr. Azmin attempted to form a behind-the-scenes coalition with UMNO last week, the "Alliance of Hope" fell apart. Mr. Mahathir made a desperate attempt to form a unity government. But he was later ousted by Yassin, another former right-hand man, who was sworn in on Sunday as the eighth Prime Minister of Malaysia at the helm of a coalition dominated by UMNO.

It makes Malaysians dizzy, not to mention anyone from outside. But the internal strife underpins the struggle of a still young nation to get out of the burdens of its disorderly and painful colonial and postcolonial history. The British have built racial divisions and antagonism in the fabric of Malaysia, with the majority of Muslim Malays enjoying social and political primacy while the Chinese ethnic minority dominated the economy. This original sin, in addition to the surface clashes between politics and personality, remains the fundamental block of essential reforms, from the fight against corruption to the strengthening of economic equity.

The battle for Malaysia to be freed from its historic baggage and complete nation-building is mirrored elsewhere in Southeast Asia – where, except in Thailand, independence was hard-won in the face of rapacious colonialism and the Second World War. In Indonesia, the fundamental questions of the role of Islam in the state and the role of the state in the economy continue to weigh heavily. In Myanmar, the key questions are who can be a citizen and who, apart from the military, can keep the country united.

In Malaysia, UMNO ruled independence in 1957 until its unexpected overthrow in 2018. It maintained its grip on power by exploiting racial cracks, offering positive action to the Malays and making rapid but uneven progress on economic development as buddy capitalism flourished. UMNO was ousted only because of an unusual and clearly unsustainable coalition between Mr. Mahathir and Mr. Anwar's multi-ethnic allies, who shared a hatred for creeping transplant on Mr. Najib's watch.

But even if he headed the most diverse cabinet Malaysia has ever seen, Mr. Mahathir, a former UMNO worshiper, would not deny his hard-line racial views on the need to protect and prioritize Digitally dominant Malays. Most importantly, his government faced a brutal reaction from Malaysian voters, losing a series of by-elections, as the UMNO and its Islamist opposition partners, PAS, stirred up the racial and religious tensions.

UMNO has indeed canceled its defeat in the 2018 elections by becoming the largest bloc in the coalition led by Mr. Muhyiddin, a Malaysian nationalist who separated from the party in 2016. It is a disturbing setback. Even though Mr. Mahathir's coalition has squabbled over the transition of leadership, it has pushed for more responsible government, cut back on unnecessary infrastructure projects and abandoned some authoritarian laws. Now, a few hours after the return of the old guard, civil society activists protesting against the takeover have already found themselves under investigation by the police for possible sedition.

All is not yet lost. The allies of Mr. Mahathir and Mr. Anwar question whether Mr. Muhyiddin really has majority support in Parliament. The last government fell due to backstage machinations, not a coup. Malaysian voters, who in 2018 rejected a government for the first time, will again have their say in the next election, which is due to take place by 2023. It is clear that the dream of Post-racial Malaysia – "Truly Asia", as the tourist advertisements put it – remains a dream.

Southeast Asia is once again at the forefront of competition between the great powers, the United States and China competing for dominance. Yet Malaysia and some of its most important neighbors are turning inward as they replay past struggles. Given the scale of the problems they have been left with, it is unlikely that they will resolve them anytime soon. Yet at least the people of Malaysia, Indonesia and Myanmar have more to say about their future than perhaps at any point in their history. There is much to fight for these unfinished nations.