2018 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
The host city was announced on April 6, 2015, by Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred; it was the fifth All-Star Game in Washington, D.C., and the first since 1969, when the second Washington Senators hosted. It was also the first time that the Nationals had hosted the All-Star Game, and the first time that the Nationals franchise had hosted it since 1982, when the franchise played as the Montreal Expos. For the second straight year, the Houston Astros led both the American League and all of baseball in sending six All-Stars to the game.


2018 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
The two leagues came into the game with identical 43–43–2 records and both had scored exactly 361 runs each in All-Star Game history. The game also broke a home run record, as ten home runs were hit in the game; the previous record being six. All but one run was scored by way of a home run. This is the second consecutive game the AL has won in the 10th inning.


2018 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
The national rating for the game was 5.2, down from 6.5 in 2017.


2018 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, Fan balloting, Starters
Balloting began on June 1 and ended on July 5. As in previous games, the top vote-getters at each position will be the selected starters for their respective positions, barring any suspensions, injuries or other issues. The reserve players are picked in a more convoluted way involving fan votes, players, and Commissioner's Office. For the fourth year, voting was conducted online exclusively. The results were announced on July 8.


2018 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, Fan balloting, Final roster spot
After the rosters were finalized, a second ballot of five players per league was created for the All-Star Final Vote to determine the 32nd and final player of each roster. The online balloting was conducted from July 8 through July 11. The winners of the All-Star Final Vote were Jean Segura of the American League's Seattle Mariners and Jesús Aguilar of the National League's Milwaukee Brewers.


2018 Major League Baseball Home Run Derby
The 2018 Major League Baseball Home Run Derby was a home run hitting contest between eight batters from Major League Baseball (MLB). The derby was held on July 16, 2018, at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C., the site of the 2018 MLB All-Star Game. On July 11, the participants were announced. Bryce Harper was the winner, as he beat Kyle Schwarber, in the final 19–18, winning the derby in front of his hometown crowd. He tied Schwarber on the last pitch as time expired in regulation; then won it with 16 seconds left in bonus time.


2018 Major League Baseball Home Run Derby, Rules
Eight players participate in the derby in a bracket-style, single-elimination timed event. Each player has four minutes to hit as many home runs as possible. Hitters are awarded an additional 30 seconds if they hit two home runs over 440 feet (130 m). Hitters are also allowed one 45 second timeout to stop the clock (two in the finals). Homers hit off a T-Mobile Ball during the final minute result in a $10,000 donation to charity by T-Mobile & MLB, to Team Rubicon.


2018 Major League Baseball Home Run Derby, Rules
The eight competing players are seeded 1-8 based on their home run totals. While the lower seed hits first, the higher seed hits second in all rounds. The round ends if the higher seed exceeds the total of the first hitter. In the event of a tie, three sets of tiebreakers are employed: first, a 90-second swing-off (with no timeouts nor bonus time awarded); second, each player gets three swings; whoever hits more home runs in the three swings will be declared the winner; thereafter, sudden death swings will occur until the tie is broken.


2018 Major League Baseball draft
The 2018 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft began on June 4, 2018. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order was determined based on the reverse order of the 2017 MLB season final standings. In addition, compensation picks were distributed for players who did not sign from the 2017 MLB Draft and for teams who lose qualifying free agents. The first 43 picks, including the first round and compensatory picks, were broadcast by MLB Network on June 4. The remainder of the draft was streamed on MLB.com on June 5 and 6.


2018 Major League Baseball draft
With a tie for the worst record in the 2017 MLB season at 64–98, the Detroit Tigers received the first overall pick ahead of the San Francisco Giants via a tiebreaker. The Detroit Tigers selected Casey Mize with the first overall pick in the draft. There were a total of 40 rounds in the draft, with 1,214 players selected.


2018 Major League Baseball draft
On September 9, 2019, the Chicago Cubs promoted Nico Hoerner to the big leagues, making him the first player to reach the MLB in this draft.


2018 Major League Baseball season
The 2018 Major League Baseball season began on March 29. The regular season ended on October 1, extended a day for tiebreaker games to decide the winners of the National League Central and National League West divisions. The postseason began on October 2. The World Series began on October 23, and ended on October 28 with the Boston Red Sox defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers in five games to win their ninth World Series championship.


2018 Major League Baseball season
The 89th Major League Baseball All-Star Game was held on July 17 at Nationals Park, the home of the Washington Nationals. The American League won, 8–6, in 10 innings.


2018 Major League Baseball season
This was also the last season for the August trade waivers.


2018 Major League Baseball season, Schedule
As has been the case since 2013, all teams will play their four division opponents 19 times each for a total of 76 games. They will play six or seven games against each of the other ten same-league opponents for a total of 66 games, and 20 interleague games. The primary interleague match-ups are AL East vs NL East, AL Central vs NL Central, and AL West vs NL West. Since "natural rivalry" matchups are part of the three-year divisional rotation, the schedule format for interleague games will be different from previous years.


2018 Major League Baseball season, Schedule
The 20 interleague games each team will play will consist of two three-game series (one home, one away) against its natural rival (total of six games), two two-game series (one home, one away) against each team for two other opponents (total of eight games), and a single three-game series against each team for the last two (one home, one away; total of six games).


2018 Major League Baseball season, Schedule
Under the new collective bargaining agreement reached in December 2016, the regular season was extended to 187 days in order to add four additional off-days for all teams. All teams were scheduled to play Opening Day, March 29—the earliest domestic start of a regular season in league history until the 2019 season. The Sunday night game before the All-Star Game was replaced by a single, nationally televised game on the Thursday after the All-Star Game (which for 2018, was played between the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs), before all other teams returned from break the next day.


2018 Major League Baseball season, Schedule
The Minnesota Twins and the Cleveland Indians played a two-game series at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on April 17 and 18, while the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres played a three-game series at Estadio de Béisbol Monterrey in Monterrey, Mexico, from May 4 to 6. The 2018 MLB Little League Classic at BB&T Ballpark in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, coinciding with the Little League World Series, returned to the schedule. It was played between the Philadelphia Phillies and the New York Mets on August 19.


2018 Major League Baseball season, Rule changes
Beginning in the 2018 season, MLB implemented new pace of play rules, which include limiting the number of mound visits for each team to six per nine innings. Teams will receive an additional visit for every extra inning played.


2018 Major League Baseball season, Uniforms, Wholesale changes
The Detroit Tigers modified the Olde English 'D' on the home jersey to match the 'D' on the cap. Other than a one-season hiatus of 'D' usage in 1960, this is the first major change to the Tigers' home jersey since 1934.


2018 Major League Baseball season, Uniforms, Wholesale changes
The Cleveland Indians have confirmed this will be the final season using the Chief Wahoo logo on its uniforms. It will be replaced at the start of the 2019 season. The team wore a Wahoo-less uniform through their September 6–9 series with the Blue Jays, as the team had been sued unsuccessfully by a group in Ontario in October 2016 to prevent the team from donning the logo during Toronto home games through the 2016 ALCS.


2018 Major League Baseball season, Uniforms, Alternate changes
The Oakland Athletics added a kelly green alternate jersey to commemorate the franchise's 50th anniversary in Oakland. The uniforms are used during every Friday home game.


2018 Major League Baseball season, Uniforms, Alternate changes
The Washington Nationals added a second navy blue jersey to commemorate the team's hosting of the 2018 All-Star Game. The uniform features the script "Nationals" in white with red trim and numerals in red with white trim.


2018 Major League Baseball season, Uniforms, Alternate changes
Both the Cincinnati Reds and the Pittsburgh Pirates replaced their camouflage uniforms with new white alternate jerseys featuring olive and military green logos, letters and numbers.


2018 Major League Baseball season, Uniforms, Anniversaries and special events
The following teams will wear commemorative patches for special occasions:


2018 Major League Baseball season, Uniforms, Other uniforms
As is the custom for the reigning World Series champions, the Astros wore gold-lettered uniforms at their home opener April 2 and April 3.


2018 Major League Baseball season, Uniforms, Other uniforms
Players, managers and coaches wore #42 on April 15, the 71st anniversary of Jackie Robinson's debut in the majors.


2018 Major League Baseball season, Uniforms, Other uniforms
The Orioles wore special caps and green uniforms on April 22, Earth Day.


2018 Major League Baseball season, Uniforms, Other uniforms
The Reds and Diamondbacks wore Spanish language "Los Rojos" and "Los D-backs" uniforms May 5, Cinco de Mayo. The Diamondbacks wore them again September 8. The Reds wore them again September 28.


2018 Major League Baseball season, Uniforms, Other uniforms
The Royals wore an alternate uniform with a crown atop the R, and a cap with a crown instead of the "KC", on June 30 in Seattle.


2018 Major League Baseball season, Uniforms, Other uniforms
The Blue Jays wore red uniforms on July 1, Canada Day. They wore a cap with a gold maple leaf, as well.


2018 Major League Baseball season, Uniforms, Other uniforms
All US-based teams wore Stars and Stripes caps and uniforms from July 2–4, ending with Independence Day. Teams wore caps denoting what league they play for (there were nine interleague series during the time period).


2018 Major League Baseball season, Uniforms, Other uniforms
For the second straight year, MLB sponsored Players Weekend, an event for which all teams wore special uniforms with design cues reminiscent of typical Little League uniforms. The event was held August 24 to 26, again coinciding with the final weekend of the Little League World Series.


2018 Major League Baseball season, Uniforms, Other uniforms
The Orioles wore Braille uniforms September 18 to mark the 40th anniversary of the National Federation of the Blind's headquarters moving to Baltimore. They became the first pro sports team ever to wear such uniforms. The uniforms had the name "Orioles" in Braille, and the players' last names were in Braille.


2018 Major League Baseball season, Uniforms, Throwbacks
The Phillies will wear their 1980s powder blue uniforms for select Thursday home games.


2018 Major League Baseball season, Uniforms, Throwbacks
The Athletics and White Sox wore 1968 throwbacks April 17 to mark the 50th anniversary of the Athletics' first season in Oakland.


2018 Major League Baseball season, Uniforms, Throwbacks
The Tigers and Royals wore Negro leagues throwbacks May 6. The Tigers wore the uniforms of the Detroit Stars, and the Royals wore the uniforms of the Kansas City Monarchs.


2018 Major League Baseball season, Uniforms, Throwbacks
The Padres wore 1998 throwbacks May 12 to mark the 20th anniversary of their 1998 NL title. They will wear them again at select Wednesday games.


2018 Major League Baseball season, Uniforms, Throwbacks
The Royals wore 1969 throwbacks May 19 to mark the franchise's 50th season. The uniforms also had the MLB 100th anniversary patch, which all teams wore that season.


2018 Major League Baseball season, Uniforms, Throwbacks
The White Sox and Brewers wore 1980s throwbacks June 2 and 3.


2018 Major League Baseball season, Uniforms, Throwbacks
The Marlins wore 1993 throwbacks June 8 to 10 to mark their 25th anniversary.


2018 Major League Baseball season, Uniforms, Throwbacks
The Braves wore 1974 throwbacks June 22 and 23 to celebrate Hank Aaron Heritage Weekend.


2018 Major League Baseball season, Uniforms, Throwbacks
The Mariners marked the 20th anniversary of their 1998 "Turn Ahead the Clock" promotion by wearing the uniforms from that game June 30 against Kansas City.


2018 Major League Baseball season, Uniforms, Throwbacks
The Brewers and Pirates wore Negro league throwbacks July 13. The Brewers wore the uniforms of the Milwaukee Bears, and the Pirates wore the uniforms of the Pittsburgh Crawfords.


2018 Major League Baseball season, Uniforms, Throwbacks
The Brewers wore Milwaukee Bears uniforms August 2. Their opponents, the Rockies, wore their regular uniforms.


2018 Major League Baseball season, Uniforms, Throwbacks
The Mariners and Astros wore throwbacks on August 10; the Mariners wore their 1979 throwbacks, and the Astros wore their "Tequila Sunrise" uniforms.


2018 Major League Baseball season, Uniforms, Throwbacks
The Angels wore California Angels throwbacks from 1976 to 1985 on August 27.


2018 Major League Baseball season, Uniforms, Throwbacks
The Rays wore their 1998 inaugural throwbacks on March 31 against the Boston Red Sox, on June 9 against the Seattle Mariners, and on June 23 against the New York Yankees, along with September 8 against the Baltimore Orioles.


2018 Major League Baseball season, Uniforms, Throwbacks
The Tigers wore their 1968 road uniforms September 8 at home to mark the 50th anniversary of their winning the 1968 World Series title.


2018 Major League Baseball season, Broadcast rights, Television, National
This was the fifth year of the current eight-year deals with Fox Sports, ESPN and TBS. Fox aired eight weeks of baseball on Saturday Nights leading up to the 2018 Major League Baseball All-Star Game which also aired on Fox. Fox also televised Saturday afternoon games for the last four weeks of the regular season. FS1 televised games on Tuesday and on Saturdays both during the afternoon and night. ESPN televised games on its flagship telecast Sunday Night Baseball as well as Monday and Wednesday Nights. TBS televised Sunday afternoon games for the last 13 weeks of the regular season. Fox and ESPN Sunday Night Baseball telecasts were exclusive; all other national telecasts were subject to local blackout.


2018 Major League Baseball season, Broadcast rights, Television, National
TBS televised the American League Wild Card Game, Division Series and televised the Championship Series. ESPN televised the National League Wild Card, along with the National League West and Central tie-breaker games. FS1 and MLB Network televised the National League Division Series. Fox and FS1 will televise the National League Championship Series. The World Series aired exclusively on Fox for the 19th consecutive year.


2018 Major League Baseball season, Broadcast rights, Television, Local
On September 6, Fox Sports Detroit suspended Detroit Tigers play-by-play announcer Mario Impemba and color commentator Rod Allen for the remainder of the season after an alleged physical altercation that occurred on September 4, in which Allen reportedly placed Impemba in a choke hold at Chicago's Guaranteed Rate Field after a game they called between the Tigers and the Chicago White Sox, a claim Allen's agent has denied. Backup announcers Matt Shepard and Kirk Gibson replaced them for the rest of the season. It was later announced that Impemba and Allen's contracts were not renewed for future seasons, ending their 17 years together as broadcast partners.


2018 Major League Baseball season, Broadcast rights, Digital
Nine regular season games were broadcast exclusively in the United States on Facebook Watch, beginning with the April 4 game between the New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies.


2018 Major League Lacrosse season
The 2018 Major League Lacrosse season is the 18th season of Major League Lacrosse. The season began on Saturday, April 21 with three games. For the third straight year, the league consists of nine teams playing 14 games each. However, the league announced on November 16, 2017 that the Rochester Rattlers, one of the league's four remaining charter franchises, would relocate to Frisco, Texas and become the Dallas Rattlers. The reigning champions for the first time are the Ohio Machine, who would take a hard fall and finish 3-11 in 2018. The season culminated on Saturday, August 18 with the Denver Outlaws hoisting their third Steinfeld Trophy in Charleston, South Carolina at MUSC Health Stadium after defeating the Rattlers, 16-12.


2018 Major League Lacrosse season, Milestones and events, Team movement
On November 16, 2017, the league announced at The Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas that the Rochester Rattlers would be relocating to the Dallas market to become the Dallas Rattlers.


2018 Major League Lacrosse season, Milestones and events, Partnership with Women's Professional Lacrosse League
In June, the MLL and upstart Women's Professional Lacrosse League, the second pro women's lacrosse league in the United States, will play three doubleheaders. On June 2, the Baltimore Brave (WPLL) took the field in the afternoon before the Bayhawks hosted the Ohio Machine. On June 28, the New England Command hosted the Philadelphia Fire at Harvard Stadium in Boston before the MLL All Star Game. On June 30, the New York Lizards will play a host a doubleheader with the New York Fight.


2018 Major League Lacrosse season, Attendance
For the seventh straight year, league attendance dropped. Only the Rattlers (first season after relocating from Rochester) and Machine posted better attendances in 2018 than the year prior. The Outlaws' Fourth of July game was the only contest all season that drew a five-digit attendance figure.


2018 Major League Lacrosse season, Collegiate Draft
The 2018 MLL Collegiate Draft was held on Wednesday, April 18 at the U.S. Lacrosse Headquarters in Sparks, Maryland. With the first overall pick, the Boston Cannons selected prolific faceoff specialist, Trevor Baptiste, from the University of Denver.


2018 Major League Lacrosse season, All Star Game
On February 13, the league announced the 2018 All Star Game would be held in Boston at Harvard Stadium on Thursday, June 28. The game featured the MLL All-Stars facing Team USA in preparation of the 2018 FIL World Lacrosse Championship from July 12-21 in Netanya, Israel. On June 27, the league announced that the ESPN family of networks would be airing the game. The next day in front of 6,589 fans, the MLL All Stars defeated Team USA for the first time thanks to seven unanswered goals resulting in a 15-14 overtime victory.


2018 Major League Lacrosse season, Playoffs
Four teams will make the Major League Lacrosse playoffs. Two semifinal games were played on August 11 at Frisco, Texas and Annapolis, Maryland. The winners, the Dallas Rattlers and Denver Outlaws, advanced to the championship game on August 18 in Charleston, South Carolina at MUSC Health Stadium. The matchup resulted in the Outlaws claiming their third championship in five years after a 16-12 defeat of the Rattlers.


2018 Major League Rugby Final
The 2018 Major League Rugby Final was the championship match of the inaugural season of Major League Rugby (MLR), a rugby union club competition in the United States. It was played on July 7, 2018, at Torero Stadium in San Diego, California, between the Glendale Raptors and the Seattle Seawolves. Seattle won the match 23–19 to take their first title.


2018 Major League Rugby Final
The Glendale and Seattle teams finished first and second in the regular season, respectively, and advanced to the MLR Championship Series, contesting the semifinals against San Diego and Utah.


2018 Major League Rugby Final, Background
Major League Rugby was established in 2017 and began play in April 2018.


2018 Major League Rugby Final, Background
Seattle and Glendale played each other twice during the regular season, with Glendale winning both matches.


2018 Major League Rugby Final, Venue
Torero Stadium, home field of Major League Rugby team San Diego Legion, was selected as the venue for the final before the beginning of the Championship Series playoffs. The stadium with a seating capacity of 6,000 on the campus of the University of San Diego is also home to the various athletics teams of the university.


2018 Major League Rugby Final, Broadcasting
The match was broadcast on CBS Sports Network. Dan Power served as the play by play commentator for CBS and was joined by color analysts Brian Hightower and Peter Steinberg.


2018 Major League Rugby Final, Match, Details
Assistant Referees: Adam Leal (England) Derek Summers (United States)Television Match Official: Marc Nelson (United States)


2018 Major League Rugby Final, Match, Highlights
The champion Seattle Seawolves was awarded the "America's Championship Shield", an oversized 80-pound (36 kg) metal shield of the MLR logo, which they hoisted. Seawolves flanker Vili Tolutaʻu was named the MLR Championship Series "MVP", equivalent to man of the match. For his efforts, he received a Shinola Detroit American Made watch.


2018 Major League Rugby season
The 2018 Major League Rugby season was the inaugural season of Major League Rugby, an annual rugby union competition sanctioned by USA Rugby. The seven inaugural teams were based in the United States. The competition began the weekend of April 21–22 with three matches, with New Orleans defeating Houston 35–26 to open the season.


2018 Major League Rugby season
Glendale and Seattle were the best two teams at the end of the regular season and won their respective semi-final matches to advance to the championship game at Torero Stadium in San Diego. Seattle became Major League Rugby's first champion team with a surprise come-from-behind 23–19 win in the final over Glendale, who had only lost once previously during the season.


2018 Major League Rugby season, Regular season
All seven participating teams played eight matches and received two rounds of byes during the regular season held over ten weeks from April through to June. The schedule was short of a full home and away draw by four match rounds, so each side played two of the other teams twice and four of them only once. The top four teams at the end of the regular season advanced to the MLR playoffs.


2018 Major League Rugby season, Regular season, Standings
The final standings for the 2018 Major League Rugby regular season were:


2018 Major League Rugby season, Regular season, Standings
Four points for a win, two for a draw, and no points for a bye. One bonus point for scoring four or more tries (TB).One bonus point for losing by seven or less (LB). •  Teams 1 to 4 (Green background) at the end of the regular season qualify for the semifinals.


2018 Major League Rugby season, Regular season, Matches
The following matches were played for the 2018 Major League Rugby regular season:


2018 Major League Rugby season, Regular season, Matches
Updated to match(es) played on June 23, 2018. Colors: Blue: home team win; Yellow: draw; Red: away team win.


2018 Major League Rugby season, Playoffs
The top four teams from the regular season qualified for the playoffs. The format was two semifinal matches – first versus fourth, and second versus third – followed by a Championship game between the semifinal winners to determine the MLR champion team.


2018 Major League Rugby season, Playoffs
The semifinals were played as a double header at Infinity Park in Glendale on June 30, followed a week later by the final at Torero Stadium in San Diego on July 7.


2018 Major League Rugby season, Player statistics
The leading scorers in 2018 over the regular season and playoffs combined were:


2018 Major League Soccer season
The 2018 Major League Soccer season was the 23rd season of Major League Soccer, top division of soccer in the United States and Canada. The regular season began on March 3, 2018 and concluded on October 28, 2018. The MLS Cup Playoffs began on October 31, 2018 and concluded with MLS Cup 2018 on December 8, 2018. The league took a nine-day hiatus in early June for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, reduced from previous breaks.


2018 Major League Soccer season
Los Angeles FC joined the league as an expansion franchise, while D.C. United debuted their new soccer-specific stadium, Audi Field.


2018 Major League Soccer season
Toronto FC were the defending Supporters' Shield champions and defending MLS Cup champions.


2018 Major League Soccer season
New York Red Bulls won their third Supporters' Shield, with a league record 71 points, while Atlanta United FC won their first MLS Cup in their second year in the league.


2018 Major League Soccer season, Regular season, Format
During the 2018 MLS regular season, each team played 34 games, including 17 home games and 17 away games. Teams faced each of their conference opponents (10 in the East, 11 in the West) twice during the season with one game at home and one game away. Western Conference teams played one additional intra-conference game and Eastern Conference teams played two. All teams faced each non-conference opponent once.


2018 Major League Soccer season, Regular season, Aggregate 2017 and 2018 table
As Toronto FC won MLS Cup 2017, one of the U.S. berths for the 2019 CONCACAF Champions League had to be reallocated, to the U.S. non-champions with the best aggregate record over the 2017 and 2018 MLS regular seasons. As the top ranked team in the table, Atlanta United FC, also qualified for the Champions League by winning MLS Cup 2018, the Champions League spot via the aggregate table was instead awarded to the second-placed team, the New York Red Bulls.


2018 Major League Soccer season, Player transfers, SuperDraft
The MLS SuperDraft is an annual event, taking place in January of each year, in which the teams of Major League Soccer select players who have graduated from college or otherwise been signed by the league. The first two rounds of 2018 MLS SuperDraft were held on January 19 in Philadelphia. Rounds three and four of the 2018 SuperDraft were held via conference call on January 21. Los Angeles FC selected João Moutinho with the first overall pick.


2018 Major League Soccer season, Player transfers, Allocation ranking
The allocation ranking is the mechanism used to determine which MLS club has first priority to acquire a player who is in the MLS allocation list. The MLS allocation list contains select U.S. National Team players and players transferred outside of MLS garnering a transfer fee of at least $500,000. The allocations are ranked in reverse order of finish for the 2017 season, taking playoff performance into account. As an expansion team, Los Angeles FC took the top spot.


2018 Major League Soccer season, Player transfers, Allocation ranking
Once the club uses its allocation ranking to acquire a player, it drops to the bottom of the list. A ranking can be traded provided that part of the compensation received in return is another club's ranking. At all times each club is assigned one ranking. The rankings reset at the end of each MLS season.


2018 Makassar mayoral election
The 2018 Makassar mayoral election took place on 27 June 2018 as part of the simultaneous local elections. It was held to elect the mayor of Makassar and the deputy mayor.


2018 Makassar mayoral election
CEO of Indonesian professional football club  PSM Makassar Munafri Arifuddin, who was supported by 8 of 9 political parties in the People's Representative Council, was the only candidate in an uncontested election. Incumbent mayor Mohammad Ramdhan Pomanto initially registered to run for a second term as an independent candidate, but his candidacy was later revoked by a Supreme Court ruling.


2018 Makassar mayoral election
Despite running as a single candidate, Arifuddin lost the vote to an empty ballot (kotak kosong), forcing the election to be repeated in 2020 and for an acting mayor to be appointed by the Ministry of Home Affairs. Although a lawsuit was brought to the Constitutional Court,  the appeal was rejected, making the election the first in Indonesian electoral history in which an empty ballot won.


2018 Makassar mayoral election, Timeline
The KPU set a temporary voter count at 862,731 in March 2018, spread across 15 subdistricts. The voters  voted at 2,765 polling stations. A budget of Rp 60 billion (US$4.35 million) was assigned for the  election, of which 16.4 billion came from the 2017 budget and the rest from the 2018 fiscal year. Registration for party-backed candidates was opened between 8 and 10 January 2018, while independent candidates were required to register between 22 and 26 November 2017. The campaign period was from 15 February to 24 June, with a three-day election silence before voting on 27 June. The vote itself follows a first past the post system.


2018 Makassar mayoral election, Timeline
The candidates were assigned their ballot numbers on 13 February 2018.


2018 Makassar mayoral election, Candidates
Munafri Arifuddin, a member of Golkar and nephew of the then-Vice President Jusuf Kalla, was supported by 10 parties. Also the CEO of the PSM Makassar football club, he had promised to keep this position if elected. Arifuddin's running mate Rachmatika Dewi was a deputy speaker of the city council and the chief of Nasdem in Makassar.


2018 Makassar mayoral election, Candidates
Although initially supported by some political parties, Mohammad Ramdhan Pomanto registered with the KPU as an independent candidate, having collected 117,492 valid copies of ID cards out of the ~65,000 required as an independent candidate. Demokrat was the only party represented in the People's Representative Council that officially supported him. Other parties declared their initial support to him, but withdrew later. His running mate Indira Mulyasari was the deputy speaker of the city council, although she resigned for the election.


2018 Makassar mayoral election, Candidates
In February, the Munafri-Dewi pair sued the local KPU in order to cancel Pomanto's candidacy, citing a case in which Pomanto distributed smartphones while serving as the city's mayor. The South Sulawesi high court on national administration (Pengadilan Tinggi Tata Usaha Negara) on March 21 ordered the KPU to cancel Pomanto's candidacy. The election body then brought the case to the Supreme Court, which upheld the PT TUN decision. Pomanto stated that he would continue pressing his case through the legal system. However, the electoral commission decided to disqualify him following a closed-door meeting, making the election an uncontested one. However, Arifuddin was still required to win a majority of the votes (voters could vote for an empty ballot) or the elections would be redone in 2020.


2018 Makassar mayoral election, Aftermath
Following the announcement of the results, the Munafri-Dewi campaign team filed a lawsuit to the Constitutional Court, claiming "structured, systematic and massive cheating", accusing Pomanto of having interfered in favor of the "none of the above option" within his capacity as mayor, and demanding that the "none of the above" option/empty column be cancelled. In 10 August, the court ruled against the appeal, hence awarding "victory" for the none of the above option - the first in Indonesian electoral history.


2018 Makati Super Crunch season
The 2018 Makati Super Crunch season is the 1st season of the franchise in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL).


2018 Mako Brimob standoff
The 2018 Mako Brimob standoff was a three-day prison takeover and stand-off between the Indonesian National Police and inmates convicted of terrorist activities who were imprisoned at the Police's Mobile Brigade Corps's headquarters (Mako Brimob) in Depok, West Java, Indonesia. The inmates took control over one prison block and 6 police officers were taken hostages. As a result of the standoff, five police officers lost their lives, with one inmate dead after being shot by the police. Four policemen were also injured in the incident. The Islamic State claimed its fighters were in the standoff. Another policeman was stabbed to death at the headquarters of the elite Mobile Brigade police after the siege by an Islamic fighter who was later shot and killed.


2018 Mako Brimob standoff, Chronology, May 8
After midnight, pictures began circulating on social media, depicting several detainees holding firearms, a black IS flag, nursing wounds and holding hostages. Mako Brimob and surrounding areas were secured and civilians were prohibited from coming closer to the area. Brimob officers began to secure the surrounding streets, extending extra security to a nearby church and hospital.


2018 Mako Brimob standoff, Victims
The police have announced that five members of Police's Densus 88 counter-terrorism unit have been killed while another officer was held hostage, in a standoff between police and terror convicts since rioting broke out on Tuesday evening at the Mobile Brigade headquarters (Mako Brimob) detention center in Kelapa Dua, Depok, West Java.


2018 Mako Brimob standoff, Victims
One terror detainee was also killed during the incident after making repeated threats and attempting to steal a police weapon.


2018 Mako Brimob standoff, Victims
The Mako Brimob has been in lockdown since rioting broke out at its detention center on Tuesday evening, with local roads cordoned off and affecting traffic on Wednesday.


2018 Mako Brimob standoff, Victims
According to National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. M. Iqbal, the officers' bodies have been transferred to the National Police Hospital in Kramat Jati, East Jakarta.


2018 Mako Brimob standoff, Victims
Meanwhile, the police officer who was held hostage was identified as Chief Brigadier Iwan Sarjana.


2018 Mako Brimob standoff, Responses
Netizens were worried about Jakarta's former governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama who is serving sentence in Mako Brimob for blasphemy against Islam. Although the police have reported him to be safe, they suspect that the attackers are planning to attack him as well.


2018 Malacca state election
The 14th Malacca election was held on 9 May 2018 to elect the State Assemblymen of the 14th Malacca State Legislative Assembly, the legislature of the Malaysian state of Malacca. The Malacca State Legislative Assembly dissolved on 7 April 2018 by the Head of State (Yang di-Pertua Negeri of Malacca) on the advice of the Head of Government (Chief Minister of Malacca).


2018 Malacca state election
The election was conducted by the Malaysian Election Commission and utilised the first-past-the-post system. Electoral candidates were nominated on 28 April. On 9 May, between 8.00 a.m. and 5.00 p.m. Malaysian time (UTC+8), polling was held in all 28 state constituencies throughout Malacca; each constituency elects a single State Assemblyman to the state legislature.


2018 Malacca state election
Barisan Nasional (BN), the ruling coalition in Malacca, lost to opposition Pakatan Harapan (PH). PH won 15 seats while BN won 13.


2018 Malacca state election, Background
The upcoming state election will be the 14th state election in the State of Malacca since the independence of Malaya (now Malaysia) in 1957.


2018 Malacca state election, Background
A state election must be held within sixty days after the dissolution. Accordingly, the Malaysian Election Commission set 28 April as the nomination day and 9 May as the polling day.


2018 Malacca state election, Background, Political parties
Barisan Nasional (BN), the ruling coalition in Malacca, has been in power since its formation and led by Chief Minister Idris Haron.


2018 Malacca state election, Background, Political parties
BN was challenged by two opposition coalitions, the Pakatan Harapan (PH) and the Gagasan Sejahtera (GS). The PH and GS coalitions were led by Adly Zahari and Kamarudin Sidek respectively.


2018 Malacca state election, Election pendulum
The 14th General Election witnessed 15 governmental seats and 13 non-governmental seats filled the Malacca State Legislative Assembly. The government side has 4 safe seats and 1 fairly safe seat, while the non-government side has just 2 fairly safe seats.


2018 Malagasy presidential election
Presidential elections were held in Madagascar on 7 November. As no candidate received a majority of the vote, a second round involving the top two candidates, Andry Rajoelina and Marc Ravalomanana, was held on 19 December. On 27 December Rajoelina was announced as the winner with 56% of the vote.


2018 Malagasy presidential election, Electoral system
The President of Madagascar is elected using the two-round system; if no candidate receives a majority of the vote in the first round, a run-off will be held.


2018 Malagasy presidential election, Presidential candidates
Former President Marc Ravalomanana, who resigned following a political crisis in 2009, announced that he would run again for the presidency. His successor, Andry Rajoelina, also announced his intention to contest the elections. Incumbent Hery Rajaonarimampianina unsuccessfully sought to block Ravaolmanana and Rajoelina from running on grounds that they had participated in the 2009 coup d'état. In September 2018, Rajaonarimampianina stepped down to run for reelection, allowing a caretaker government to administer the vote, in accordance with the constitution.


2018 Malagasy presidential election, Presidential candidates
There were a record 36 candidates in the race (surpassing the previous record of 33), including four of the five most recent presidents. However, only five candidates were women, seen by some of illustrating the historic patriarchal dominance of Malagasy politics and culture.


2018 Malagasy presidential election, Campaign
Despite the majority of Malagasy people living in poverty, the elections are expected to be one of the most expensive per capita in 2018. The top three candidates; Hery Rajaonarimampianina, Andry Rajoelina, and Marc Ravalomanana are at a significant financial advantage over the other contenders, with candidate Ny Rado Rafalimanana complaining that due to financial constraints it was impossible for any other candidate to compete with the top three, as there are no campaign finance limits.


2018 Malagasy presidential election, Campaign
Some election observers believe that the winner of the election will have more to do with that candidate's financial power and influence than their political positions. The lavish spending on the election has also been criticized due to the large amount of poverty in the country, with many believing the money could be better spent elsewhere.


2018 Malagasy presidential election, Campaign
Although two-thirds of the population is under 25, turnout and interest among young people is low.


2018 Malaysia Challenge Cup
The 2018 Malaysia Challenge Cup or Challenge Cup (Malay: Piala Cabaran Malaysia 2018) is the first edition of Malaysia Challenge Cup tournament organised by Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) and Football Malaysia LLP (FMLLP).


2018 Malaysia Challenge Cup
The 2018 Malaysia Challenge Cup will start with a preliminary round. A total of 8 teams took part in the competition. The teams were divided into two groups, each containing four teams. The group leaders and runners-up teams in the groups after six matches qualified to the semi-finals.


2018 Malaysia Challenge Cup, Format
The competition will be one involving eight teams-one team from Malaysia Super League (12th placed team), seven teams from Malaysia Premier League (6th to 12th placed teams). However due to the fact that Kuantan were thrown out of the league, another team will be invited into the Challenge Cup to replaced them.


2018 Malaysia Challenge Cup, Round and draw dates
The draw for the 2018 Malaysia Challenge Cup was held on 1 August 2018.


2018 Malaysia Challenge Cup, Knockout Stage, Final
The first legs will be played on 8 October 2018, and the second legs will be played on 15 October 2018


2018 Malaysia Challenge Cup group stage
The 2018 Malaysia Challenge Cup group stage featured 8 teams. The teams were drawn into two groups of four, and played each other home-and-away in a round-robin format. The top two teams in each group advanced to the semi finals.


2018 Malaysia Challenge Cup group stage
The group stage will start on 7 August 2018 and concludes on 19 September 2018.


2018 Malaysia Cup
The 2018 Malaysia Cup (Malay: Piala Malaysia 2018) was the 92nd edition of Malaysia Cup tournament organised by Football Association of Malaysia (FAM). Known as the unifi Malaysia Cup due to the start of a sponsorship deal with unifi.


2018 Malaysia Cup
The 2018 Malaysia Cup began on August with a preliminary round. A total of 16 teams took part in the competition. The teams were divided into four groups, each containing four teams. The group leaders and runners-up teams in the groups after six matches qualified to the quarterfinals.


2018 Malaysia Cup
Johor Darul Ta'zim are the title holders. They were eliminated by Terengganu in the semi-finals.


2018 Malaysia Cup, Format
In the competition, the top eleven teams from the 2018 Malaysia Super League were joined by the top five teams from the 2018 Malaysia Premier League. The teams were drawn into four groups of four teams.


2018 Malaysia Cup, Round and draw dates
The draw for the 2018 Malaysia Cup was held on 30 July 2018 at Damansara Performing Arts Centre on live telecast iflix with the participating team coaches and captains in attendance.


2018 Malaysia Cup, Group stage
The draw for the group stage was held on 30 July 2018, 15:30 MYT (UTC+8), at the Damansara Performing Arts Centre in Petaling Jaya, Selangor and has been broadcast live on iflix and Unifi TV. The 16 teams were drawn into 4 groups. In the group stage, each group was played on a home-and-away round-robin basis. The winners and runners-up of each group advanced to the knockout stage.


2018 Malaysia Cup, Knockout stage
The first legs will be played on 21 to 25 September 2018, and the second legs will be played on 28 to 30 September 2018.


2018 Malaysia Cup, Knockout stage, Semi-finals
The first legs were played on 6 and 7 October 2018, and the second legs were played on 20 and 21 October 2018.


2018 Malaysia Cup, Statistics, Goalscorers
Players sorted first by goals scored, then by first name.


2018 Malaysia Cup, Statistics, Clean sheets
Note: Players and teams in bold are still active in the competition.


2018 Malaysia Cup Final
The 2018 Malaysia Cup Final was a football match which were played on 27 October 2018, to determine the champion of the 2018 Malaysia Cup. It was the final of the 92nd edition of the Malaysia Cup, competition organised by the Football Association of Malaysia.


2018 Malaysia Cup Final
It was played at the Shah Alam Stadium, in Shah Alam, Selangor, between Terengganu FC and Perak.


2018 Malaysia Cup Final, Road to final
Note: In all results below, the score of the finalist is given first.


2018 Malaysia Cup group stage
The 2018 Malaysia Cup group stage featured 16 teams and will start on 4 August and concludes on 16 September 2018. A total of 16 teams will compete in the group stage to decide the 8 places in the knockout stage of the 2018 Malaysia Cup.


2018 Malaysia Cup group stage, Draw
The draw for the group stage was held on 30 July 2018, 15:30 MYT (UTC+8), at the Damansara Performing Arts Centre in Petaling Jaya, Selangor and has been broadcast live on iflix and Unifi TV. The 16 teams were drawn into 4 groups. In the group stage, each group was played on a home-and-away round-robin basis. The winners and runners-up of each group advanced to the knockout stage.


2018 Malaysia FA Cup
The 2018 Malaysia FA Cup (also known as Shopee Malaysia FA Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the 29th season of the Malaysia FA Cup, a knockout competition for Malaysia's state football association and clubs.


2018 Malaysia FA Cup, Qualified teams
The following teams are qualified for the competition. Reserve teams are excluded.


2018 Malaysia FA Cup, Matches
Key: (1) = Super League; (2) = Premier League; (3) = FAM League; (4) = Liga Sosial


2018 Malaysia FA Cup, Final
The final was played on 7 July 2018 at Bukit Jalil National Stadium.


2018 Malaysia FA Cup Final
The 2018 Malaysia FA Cup Final was the 29th final of the Malaysia FA Cup, the Malaysia football cup competition. Pahang won the cup after defeating Selangor 2–0.


2018 Malaysia FA Cup Final, Background
The final was played on 7 July 2018 at Bukit Jalil National Stadium.


2018 Malaysia FA Cup Final, Route to the final
Note: In all results below, the score of the finalist is given first.


2018 Malaysia FA Cup Final, Ticket allocation
Each club received an allocation of 80,000 tickets; 30,750 tickets for Selangor, 30,750 tickets for Pahang and 18,500 tickets for online purchase.


2018 Malaysia FA Cup Final, Rules
The final was played as a single match. If tied after regulation, extra time and, if necessary, penalty shoot-out would be used to decide the winner.


2018 Malaysia FAM Cup
The 2018 Malaysia FAM League is the 67th season of the Malaysia FAM League since its establishment in 1952. The league is currently the third level football league in Malaysia. The season started on 25 February 2018 and concludes in 6 September 2018. Sime Darby are the defending champions.


2018 Malaysia FAM Cup, Teams
For 2018 season, there are 14 teams will compete in the league, including nine sides from the 2017 season, two relegated from the 2017 Malaysia Premier League and three new teams.


2018 Malaysia FAM Cup, Teams, Season Changes, Teams withdraw
1 Originally Sime Darby F.C. were promoted along with UKM F.C. as finalists of the 2017 Malaysia FAM League final, but after Sime Darby announced their withdrawal from the Premier League participation, Felcra F.C., the next highest team in the FAM League table, were invited as replacement.


2018 Malaysia FAM Cup, League stages, League table
From this season, only top two teams for each group qualify for the knockout round.


2018 Malaysia FAM Cup, League stages, League table
2Marcerra United and Hanelang results are expunged in the table as a result of the teams withdrawal from the league on 20 July 2018 and 25 July 2018 respectively.


2018 Malaysia FAM Cup, League stages, Fixtures and results, Matchday 14
322 and 23 April 2018 marked the first time in the season two teams played twice in a twenty-four hour period. Adverse weather conditions halted an afternoon match between ATM FA and MOF F.C. on 22 April. The game resumed at 9 am the following morning, and ATM won 1–0.


2018 Malaysia FAM Cup, Knock-out stage
The teams that won the semi-final stage will be promoted to the 2019 Malaysia Premier League.


2018 Malaysia HFMD outbreak
Beginning in January 2018, an outbreak of hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) occurred among children nationwide across Malaysia. Nearly 38,000 cases were recorded between January 1 and July 26, and by August 14 the total number of cases had risen to 51,000. Among the states and federal territories affected by the outbreak, Selangor recorded the highest cases with 11,349, Kuala Lumpur with 4,428 and Sarawak with 4,412 cases as reported in July 2018. At least two children in Sarawak and Penang died from complications caused by the virus.


2018 Malaysia HFMD outbreak, Background and history
HFMD transmission outbreak in Malaysia was first reported in the state of Sarawak in 1997 where between 28 and 31 children died as a result of infection by the Enterovirus 71 (EV-A71) virus. Since then, recurrent cyclical epidemics of HFMD have occurred in the country every two to three years. While the root cause behind the recurrence of the disease remains a mystery, another factor that has been identified as increasing the spread of the disease among children is travel to neighbouring countries with high infection rates.


2018 Malaysia HFMD outbreak, Background and history
Through autopsies performed on deceased individuals, death has been attributed to several symptoms linked to the disease such as poor peripheral perfusion, tachycardia and cardiac failures. These individuals had also developed symptoms earlier on such as shock, pallor, cold extremities, delayed capillary refill and weak peripheral pulses. In 1998, the Ministry of Health acknowledged that the disease was endemic in the country with periodic outbreaks among young children. Since the first outbreak, the Ministry of Health has periodically ordered the closure of affected kindergartens and schools which are likely to be the source area of the disease. A further outbreak of 1,178 cases, mostly in kindergartens nurseries, was reported in the state of Johor in 2000 following an outbreak in neighbouring Singapore a month before.


2018 Malaysia HFMD outbreak, Authorities response
In July 2018, Malaysian Health Ministry Disease Control Division director Chong Chee Keong said toys were among the cause of immediate spread of the virus to other children. The Health Ministry further reported that HFMD disease cases had exceeded warning levels. To prevent spread, the Ministry urged parents to act as "gate-keepers" in order to ensure children infected with the disease did not go to school and to seek immediate treatment if their children showed signs of infection. The Education Ministry issued a letter to every school to monitor the health of their students.


2018 Malaysia HFMD outbreak, Authorities response
The Health Ministry also considered the use of vaccines from other countries, though research on vaccines had to be carried out before they could be approved for local use. As infection rates increased among children, the local health department of Penang ordered all supermarkets and shopping complexes in the state to disinfect trolleys, toys and benches on their premises. Disinfection was also carried out in all villages, schools and preschools in a district in Sarawak.


2018 Malaysia Masters
The 2018 Malaysia Masters, officially the Perodua Malaysia Masters 2018, was a badminton tournament which took place at Axiata Arena in Malaysia from 16 to 21 January 2018 and had a total purse of $350,000.


2018 Malaysia Masters, Tournament
The 2018 Malaysia Masters was the second tournament of the 2018 BWF World Tour and also part of the Malaysia Masters championships which had been held since 2009. This tournament was organized by the Badminton Association of Malaysia with the sanction from the BWF. It was also the first ever new Super 500 Level 4 tournament of the BWF World Tour schedule.


2018 Malaysia Masters, Tournament, Venue
This international tournament was held at Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.


2018 Malaysia Masters, Tournament, Point distribution
Below is a table with the point distribution for each phase of the tournament based on the BWF points system for the BWF World Tour Super 500 event.


2018 Malaysia Masters, Tournament, Prize money
The total prize money for this tournament was US$350,000. Distribution of prize money was in accordance with BWF regulations.


2018 Malaysia Open (badminton)
The 2018 Malaysia Open (officially known as the Celcom Axiata Malaysia Open 2018 for sponsorship reasons) was a badminton tournament which took place at Axiata Arena in Malaysia from 26 June to 1 July 2018 and had a total purse of $700,000.


2018 Malaysia Open (badminton), Tournament
The 2018 Malaysia Open was the eleventh tournament of the 2018 BWF World Tour and also part of the Malaysia Open championships, which had been held since 1937. This tournament was organized by the Badminton Association of Malaysia with the sanction of the BWF. It was also the first ever new Super 750 Level 3 tournament of the BWF World Tour schedule.


2018 Malaysia Open (badminton), Tournament, Venue
This international tournament was held at the Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.


2018 Malaysia Open (badminton), Tournament, Point distribution
Below is the point distribution for each phase of the tournament based on the BWF points system for the BWF World Tour Super 750 event.


2018 Malaysia Open (badminton), Tournament, Prize money
The total prize money for this tournament was US$700,000. Distribution of prize money was in accordance with BWF regulations.


2018 Malaysia Premier League
The 2018 Malaysia Premier League, known as 2018 100Plus Malaysia Premier League for sponsorship reasons, was the 15th season of the Malaysia Premier League, the second-tier professional football league in Malaysia since its establishment in 2004.


2018 Malaysia Premier League, Team changes
A total of 12 teams contested the league, including 6 sides from the 2017 season, four relegated from the 2017 Malaysia Super League and four promoted from the 2017 Malaysia FAM League.


2018 Malaysia Premier League, Disbandment of Kuantan FA
After failing to settle bad debt with former players for last season campaign, 4 months failing to pay current team wages. and unable to turn up for a league fixture against PDRM, FMLLP decided to disqualify Kuantan from the rest of the campaign. Because of their disqualification, all points that were won by other teams against Kuantan will not count and the league was left with 11 teams out of initial 12 with teams that were due to play Kuantan were given a bye week. It is the first time this has ever occurred in the professional level of Malaysian football where a team is disallowed to compete after breaking the rules and regulations with the season on-going.


2018 Malaysia Premier League, Disbandment of Kuantan FA
Kuantan stated that Marcerra (the team that bought their license) wanted to take over the bad debts amounted to RM 3.5 million and clear all the overdue payment from last season. But it seemed fruitless as after 4 months into the league campaign, the problem was still unsettled as the current squad players decided to leave the team and opted to join teams in the FAM league. Kuantan were awarded RM 500,000 annual grant but minus RM 200,000 for fined after failing to complete their registration papers.


2018 Malaysia Premier League, Stadium and locations, Personnel and sponsoring
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2018 Malaysia Premier League, Stadium and locations, Coaching changes
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2018 Malaysia Premier League, Stadium and locations, Foreign players
The number of foreign players is restricted to four each team including at least one player from the AFC country.


2018 Malaysia Premier League, Stadium and locations, Foreign players
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2018 Malaysia Premier League, Stadium and locations, Naturalisation
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2018 Malaysia Premier League, Season statistics, Top scorers
Players sorted first by goals scored, then by last name.


2018 Malaysia Super League
The 2018 Malaysia Super League (Malay: Liga Super Malaysia 2018), known as 2018 unifi Malaysia Super League (Malay: unifi Liga Super Malaysia 2018) for sponsorship reasons, was the 15th season of the Malaysia Super League, the top-tier professional football league in Malaysia.


2018 Malaysia Super League, Club licensing regulations
Starting this season, every team in the Liga Super Malaysia must have a FAM Club Licence to play in the league, or else they are relegated. To obtain a FAM Club Licence, teams must be financially healthy and meet certain standards of conduct as organisations. As part of privation effort for the league, all clubs compete in Liga Super Malaysia and Liga Premier Malaysia will be required to obtained FAM Club Licence.


2018 Malaysia Super League, Club licensing regulations
As in other national leagues, there are significant benefits to being in the top division:


2018 Malaysia Super League, Club licensing regulations
Despite several reminders from FAM from the beginning of 2015, however there are few teams failed to get the approval for both AFC and FAM club licenses from First Instance Body (FIB) .


2018 Malaysia Super League, Teams
Sarawak and Penang were relegated to 2018 Malaysia Premier League after finished 11th and bottom place of last season league. Kuala Lumpur and Terengganu promoted to 2018 Malaysia Super League after securing place as champions and runners-up in 2017 Malaysia Premier League.


2018 Malaysia Super League, Teams
On 21 November 2017, it was announced that T-Team who finished ninth in the Super League last year, will play in the 2018 Malaysia Premier League pending approval from Football Malaysia LLP (FMLLP). The suggestion then were approved on 4 December 2017, followed by an announcement stating that Felda United, who finished third last season are ineligible to compete in this year top-tier competition. They were replaced by Negeri Sembilan and PKNP.


2018 Malaysia Super League, Teams, Venues
1:   Perak plays at Lumut due to the upgrading of their own stadium at Perak Stadium2:   PKNP plays at Batu Kawan due to the upgrading of Perak Stadium3:   Kelantan plays their home games at their opponents stadium during Ramadan, due to ban of Sultan Muhammad IV Stadium usage by state government during Ramadan


2018 Malaysia Super League, Teams, Foreign players
Southeast Asia (SEA) players need to have acquired at least 30 international caps for their senior national team with no period restriction on when caps are earned and those who has less than 30 international caps will be subjected to FMLLP approval.


2018 Malaysia Super League, Teams, Foreign players
Players name in bold indicates the player is registered during the mid-season transfer window.


2018 Malaysia methanol poisonings
The 2018 Malaysia methanol poisonings occurred in September 2018 in three states and two federal territories in West Malaysia comprising Selangor (64 cases), Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya (18 cases), Perak (13 cases) and Negeri Sembilan (3 cases). Until October, 45 people from the total of 98 cases have been reported dead by the Malaysian Health Ministry. Most of the victims are foreign workers from Bangladesh, Indonesia, Myanmar and Nepal with several Malaysians.


2018 Malaysia methanol poisonings
Based on investigation, most of the victims had bought a cheap liquor from hole in the wall stores in bid to evade the tax rates on Malaysian alcohols that range from 150–560%. As a response towards the incident, the Malaysian government has confiscated 15,630 bottles of liquor from 1,961 premises across the country. Around 30 people in connection with the distribution had been arrested despite little response and insufficient enforcement against the black market in the country from the authorities had attracted criticism.


2018 Malaysian Chinese Association leadership election
A leadership election was held by the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) on 4 November 2018.


2018 Malaysian Chinese Association leadership election
Both Wee Ka Siong and his running mate Mah Hang Soon won the presidency and deputy presidency respectively.


2018 Malaysian general election
The 2018 Malaysian general election, formally known as the 14th Malaysian general election, was held on Wednesday, 9 May 2018, for members of the 14th Parliament of Malaysia. At stake were all 222 seats in the Dewan Rakyat (the legislature's lower house) and 505 seats in 12 out of the 13 state legislative assemblies of Malaysia. The 13th Parliament of Malaysia was dissolved by Prime Minister Najib Razak on 7 April 2018. It would have been automatically dissolved on 24 June 2018, five years after the first meeting of the first session of the 13th Parliament of Malaysia on 24 June 2013.


2018 Malaysian general election
In an unprecedented victory, the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition, which had been the country's federal Opposition prior to the election, won a simple majority in the Dewan Rakyat together with the Sabah Heritage Party (WARISAN), with PH and WARISAN cumulatively securing 121 seats. The election heralded the first regime change in Malaysia's history, as the erstwhile ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition, which had enjoyed an uninterrupted reign over the country since Malaya's independence in 1957, was voted out of power.


2018 Malaysian general election
PH's leader, Mahathir Mohamad, who previously served as Malaysia's Prime Minister from 1983 to 2003, was sworn in for the second time on 10 May, a day after the election. At 93 years of age, Mahathir was also the world's oldest elected head of government. Barisan Nasional (BN), led by Najib, held onto 79 seats and became the new federal opposition, along with Gagasan Sejahtera (GS), which won 18 seats. The United Sabah Alliance (USA) won one seat, while three seats were won by independent politicians.


2018 Malaysian general election
In the simultaneous state elections held for 12 of the state legislative assemblies, PH retained Penang and Selangor with larger majorities, while gaining Negeri Sembilan, Malacca, Johor, Kedah and Perak from BN. WARISAN also seized Sabah from BN, which retained only two states – Perlis and Pahang. GS held onto Kelantan while gaining Terengganu from BN. State-level elections were not held in Sarawak, as the state had held its elections separately in 2016. However, as a consequence of the election, Sarawak-based BN component parties left the coalition to form Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS), thereby taking over the state from BN.


2018 Malaysian general election
Following the election, Mahathir secured a royal pardon for the jailed PH leader, Anwar Ibrahim, and indicated that he would give way to the latter within the next few years. Meanwhile, Najib resigned as BN's chairman on 12 May and was succeeded as Leader of the Opposition by his party colleague, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi. Investigations within Malaysia into the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal, which had been halted during Najib's tenure, were resumed in the aftermath of the election, resulting in several ongoing criminal indictments against the former Prime Minister.


2018 Malaysian general election
However, PH only ruled for 22 months before being replaced by a new Government named Perikatan Nasional, a coalition led by Muhyiddin Yassin after BERSATU left the Pakatan Harapan coalition together with ex-PKR members to join with Barisan Nasional (BN) , Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) and Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) and again replaced back to Barisan Nasional led by Ismail Sabri Yaakob 17 months later.


2018 Malaysian general election, Background
In the previous general election in 2013, the incumbent Barisan Nasional government won re-election for the 13th consecutive time, but with a decreased mandate and losing the majority vote. Barisan Nasional chairman, Najib Razak, was re-elected as Prime Minister to a second term. The main opposition, Pakatan Rakyat, led by Anwar Ibrahim, won the majority vote but was unable to win enough seats to form the government due to Malaysia's first-past-the-post voting system and alleged gerrymandering. The election marked the first time Barisan Nasional lost the majority vote in the party's history.


2018 Malaysian general election, Electoral system
Elections in Malaysia exists at two levels: the federal level and the state level. Federal elections are held to elect members of the Dewan Rakyat, the lower house of Parliament, while state elections are held to elect members of the 13 State Legislative Assemblies of Malaysia. The heads of executive branch at both the federal and state levels, the Prime Minister and Menteri Besar/Chief Ministers respectively, are indirectly elected, usually filled by a member of the majority party/coalition in the respective legislatures


2018 Malaysian general election, Electoral system
The Dewan Rakyat is made up of 222 members of parliament, elected for a five-year term; these seats are distributed between the thirteen Malaysian states in proportion to the states' voting population. Members are elected from single-member constituencies that each elects one representative to the Dewan Rakyat using the first-past-the-post voting system. If one party obtains a majority of seats, then that party is entitled to form the Government, with its leader as Prime Minister. If the election results in no single party having a majority, there is a hung parliament. In this case, the options for forming the Government are either a minority government or a coalition. Malaysia does not practice compulsory voting and automatic voter registration. The voting age is above 21 although the age of majority in the country is 18.


2018 Malaysian general election, Electoral system
The redistribution of electoral boundaries for the entire country had been presented to and passed by the Dewan Rakyat, and subsequently gazetted on 29 March 2018 after obtaining the royal consent of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong ahead of the 14th general election. Elections are conducted by the Election Commission of Malaysia (EC), which is under the jurisdiction of the Prime Minister's Department.


2018 Malaysian general election, Date and cost of the election
The Constitution of Malaysia requires a general election to be held in the fifth calendar year unless it is dissolved earlier by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong due to a motion of no-confidence or at the request of the Prime Minister. The Dewan Rakyat will be automatically dissolved five years after the first meeting of the first session of the Parliament of Malaysia.


2018 Malaysian general election, Date and cost of the election, Timetable
The key dates are listed below in Malaysia Standard Time (GMT+8):


2018 Malaysian general election, Date and cost of the election, Cost
The cost to the taxpayer of organising the election was RM100 million – RM500 million more than the previous general election.


2018 Malaysian general election, Date and cost of the election, Cost
Part of the spending was spent on indelible ink, which costed around RM4.8 million for a total of 100,000 bottles of 60mL ink imported from Mysore Paints and Varnish Limited in India.


2018 Malaysian general election, Date and cost of the election, Election spending
Before the campaign, there were no limits to what a political party, candidate, or third party (corporations, unions, special interest groups, etc.) can spend: spending rules are only in force after the writs have been dropped and the campaign has begun. Malaysian election law set election spending limit at RM200,000 for each parliamentary candidate and half of the latter for each state legislature candidate.


2018 Malaysian general election, Dissolution of state legislative assemblies
While any state may dissolve its assembly independently of the Federal Parliament, the traditional practice is for most state assemblies to be dissolved at the same time as Parliament. In accordance with Malaysian law, the parliament as well as the legislative assemblies of each state (Dewan Undangan Negeri) would automatically dissolve on the fifth anniversary of the first sitting, and elections must be held within sixty days of the dissolution, unless dissolved prior to that date by their respective Heads of State on the advice of their Heads of Government.


2018 Malaysian general election, Dissolution of state legislative assemblies
Below are the dates of which the legislative assembly of each state dissolved:


2018 Malaysian general election, Dissolution of state legislative assemblies
The Sarawak State Legislative Assembly was not dissolved as the last election was held in 2016 and the term of the state assembly is due to end in 2021.


2018 Malaysian general election, Parties and leaders
Altogether 53 parties were eligible to contest in the election and get on the ballot and can therefore elect a representative in the Dewan Rakyat. Furthermore, there are several independent candidates running in single-member constituencies.


2018 Malaysian general election, Parties and leaders
The leader of the party commanding a majority of support in the Dewan Rakyat is the person who is called on by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to form a government as Prime Minister, while the leader of the largest party not in government becomes the Leader of the Opposition.


2018 Malaysian general election, Parties and leaders
The table below lists parties which were represented in the 13th Dewan Rakyat.


2018 Malaysian general election, Last election pendulum
The previous General Election witnessed 133 governmental seats and 89 non-governmental seats filled the Dewan Rakyat. The government side has 44 safe seats and 34 fairly safe seats, while the other side has 33 safe seats and 18 fairly safe seats.


2018 Malaysian general election, Endorsements
Newspapers, organisations and individuals have endorsed parties or individual candidates for the election.


2018 Malaysian general election, Election observers
The Election Commission (EC) has invited 14 countries to participate in the polls as foreign observers, comprising representatives of election management bodies from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Commonwealth of Nations, Asian and European countries as well as a study and support centre for the Malaysian Commonwealth Studies Centre based in Cambridge, United Kingdom. Seven countries agreed to send representatives to observe the elections, namely Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Indonesia, Kyrgyzstan, Maldives, Thailand and Timor-Leste. The invitation was also extended to India, Pakistan and Uzbekistan of which nine countries observers arrived on 7 May. The EC also appointed 1,236 election observers from 14 local non-governmental organisations.


2018 Malaysian general election, Results
All 222 parliamentary seats (and 505 seats of 12 state legislative assemblies) were contested in this election. The nationwide counting of votes began at 17:00 Malaysian time on 9 May. The decision to close the polling stations at 17:00 was met with protests by disgruntled would-be voters who contended that, given the longer-than-usual queues, the Election Commission (EC) could have extended the polling hours, as had been done in the previous elections.


2018 Malaysian general election, Results
The first unofficial result came from the constituency of Baram in Sarawak, which was won by Barisan Nasional (BN). Despite BN's early lead, by 20:30, Pakatan Harapan (PH) and BN were almost neck and neck. The states of Sarawak and Sabah, long regarded as BN's "fixed deposits", witnessed a significant swing in favour of PH and the Sabah Heritage Party (WARISAN) respectively. In a further blow to BN's chances, several leaders of BN's component parties, such as Subramaniam Sathasivam (MIC), Liow Tiong Lai (MCA) and Mah Siew Keong (Gerakan), were defeated in their respective constituencies by PH candidates. Mahathir Mohamad, PH's Prime Ministerial candidate, secured the constituency of Langkawi by 21:45. As the night wore on, it was reported that PH also retained the states of Penang and Selangor with larger majorities.


2018 Malaysian general election, Results
Stunned by the rapidly deteriorating turn of events, federal authorities attempted to stymie the release of unofficial election results. At 21:13, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) ordered Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to block Malaysiakini and its sister websites, which were providing live updates of the poll counting, on the grounds that the updates "may affect national stability, public order and harmony, and economic stability". Meanwhile, unmarked cars, allegedly carrying fake ballot boxes, were spotted entering some of the counting stations. Enraged onlookers tried to stop the cars, leading to sporadic rioting. The most serious rioting occurred in the town of Ayer Hitam in Johor; the rioters in the town were eventually dispersed by the Royal Malaysia Police's Federal Reserve Unit (FRU).


2018 Malaysian general election, Results
At about 23:20, Mahathir claimed during a press conference at the Sheraton Hotel in Petaling Jaya that PH had already exceeded the simple majority of 112 seats needed to form the federal government. He added that PH had successfully wrested the states of Negeri Sembilan, Malacca, Johor and Kedah from BN. However, Mahathir alleged that some EC officers were refusing to sign Form 14 in their respective constituencies, which is required for the results to be announced. He further warned that although "Malaysians are not violent people, they should not take this lying down".


2018 Malaysian general election, Results
Following the press conference, the EC started releasing the official election results just after midnight. However, the official results were continuously delayed and announced only gradually, as the counting of votes was said to be still ongoing in several places.


2018 Malaysian general election, Results
At about 02:30, right after unofficial results had confirmed PH's simple majority, Mahathir, flanked by several PH leaders, gave another press conference, announcing that the Istana Negara (National Palace) had summoned the leader of the People's Justice Party (PKR) - the party whose logo was used by PH in the polls - and that he would be sworn in as the nation's seventh Prime Minister later that day.


2018 Malaysian general election, Results
Tellingly, BN's victory celebrations at Kuala Lumpur's Putra World Trade Centre, which had been customary in the event of a BN electoral victory, did not materialise. Instead, BN's top echelons held a closed door meeting at the private residence of the outgoing Prime Minister and BN chief, Najib Razak. This sparked fears that the defeated incumbent government would resort to martial law to cling to federal power. When informed of the coalition's impending defeat, a distraught Najib asked "do people really hate me that much? ", while another BN politician told the press after the meeting that "whatever it is, we need to respect the will of the people". In any event, martial law was never touched upon in the meeting.


2018 Malaysian general election, Results
The EC announced the full official election results shortly before 05:00, where it was revealed that the states of Sabah and Perak were left with hung legislative assemblies. Meanwhile, the Gagasan Sejahtera (GS) coalition, led by the Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), was not only able to retain Kelantan, it also captured the state of Terengganu from BN. Najib finally conceded defeat during a press conference at 11:00.


2018 Malaysian general election, Results, Results by state
** Fraction of total popular votes in each state rounded to the nearest percent


2018 Malaysian general election, Results, Results by state
* Fraction of total seats in each state rounded to the nearest percent


2018 Malaysian general election, Results, State assemblies
** Fraction of total popular votes in each state rounded to the nearest percent* Fraction of total seats in each state rounded to the nearest percent


2018 Malaysian general election, Aftermath
Pakatan's victory triggered nationwide celebrations, marking the end of a 61-year rule by Barisan Nasional (and preceding Alliance Party). Mahathir Mohamad was sworn in as the Prime Minister on the night of 10 May at the Istana Negara by Yang di Pertuan Agong Muhammad V, triggering more nationwide celebrations.


2018 Malaysian general election, Aftermath, Defections and state government formations
The general election resulted in a hung parliament in the 60-seat Sabah State Legislative Assembly, after Barisan Nasional and the Warisan-Pakatan pact both won 29 seats in the election. This made the Homeland Solidarity Party (STAR) as the 'kingmakers', as the party won two state seats, giving them the power to give either bloc the mandate to form the state government. Considering that STAR is an opposition party, it was wildly expected for them to support a Warisan-led government. However, the party's leadership chose to support a Barisan government instead, sparking mass protests across the state by opposition supporters.


2018 Malaysian general election, Aftermath, Defections and state government formations
As such, Barisan Nasional, with the support of STAR, formed the next Sabah state government, with Musa Aman chosen as Chief Minister. However, the formation of government didn't last long after one of Barisan's component parties, the United Pasokmomogun Kadazandusun Murut Organisation (UPKO), which won five state seats, withdrew from the coalition and announced support for a Warisan-led government in Sabah. Warisan president, Shafie Apdal, was later sworn in as the new Sabah Chief Minister the day after. On the same day, another Sabah-based Barisan Nasional component party, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), also announced their withdrawal from the coalition, citing their poor performance in the election, losing in every constituency they contested in.


2018 Malaysian general election, Aftermath, Defections and state government formations
The day afterwards, another two Sabah-based Barisan Nasional component party, the United Sabah People's Party (PBRS) and the United Sabah Party (PBS), also announced that they had left Barisan. PBRS stated that they will seek an alliance with Pakatan Harapan and will apply for membership in the ruling party coalition, while PBS stated that they are seeking to form a new Sabah-based coalition, compromising of all Sabah Opposition parties.


2018 Malaysian general election, Aftermath, Defections and state government formations
Meanwhile, the general election also resulted in a hung parliament in the 59-seat Perak State Legislative Assembly, in which Pakatan won 29 seats, two short of a majority, while Barisan and the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) each won 27 and 3 seats. This would mean neither of the three parties would have enough seats to form the Perak state government. PAS proposed the formation of a unity government compromising of all sides in the State Legislative Assembly, but was rejected by Pakatan.


2018 Malaysian general election, Aftermath, Defections and state government formations
However, Pakatan succeeded in forming the state government after two Barisan assemblymen announced their support for Pakatan to form the state government, thus ending the hung parliament status-quo. Their action resulted in the two assemblymen having their UMNO membership dropped, meaning they'll have to stand as an Independent in the Perak State Legislative Assembly. Perak Pakatan chairman, Ahmad Faizal Azumu, was later sworn in as the new Menteri Besar of Perak on 12 May.


2018 Malaysian general election, Aftermath, Defections and state government formations
On the same day, three Johor BN assemblymen announced that they have left the coalition to join PPBM. Their defection gives Pakatan a total of 39 seats, giving them a two-thirds majority in the 56-seat State Legislative Assembly. Subsequently, two Independent MPs, Lubok Antu MP, Jugah Muyang, and Julau MP, Larry Sng Wei Shien, announced that they have joined PKR. Jugah Muyang won in a three-cornered fight against both Barisan and PKR, while the latter was endorsed by Pakatan against Barisan Nasional.


2018 Malaysian general election, Aftermath, Defections and state government formations
A third Independent MP, Prabakaran Parameswaran, who won in the constituency of Batu, announced that he had joined PKR in the day afterwards, thus increasing Pakatan's total tally in the Dewan Rakyat to 125. He was endorsed by Pakatan Harapan during the general election after the coalition's original candidate, Tian Chua, was disqualified from contesting due to a RM2,000 fine.


2018 Malaysian general election, Aftermath, Defections and state government formations
On the following day, an Independent Perak assemblyman, Zainol Fadzi Paharudin, who was one of the two Barisan assemblymen who had their UMNO membership dropped for supporting a Pakatan government, announced that he had joined PPBM, His defection from Barisan to Pakatan increases the coalition's tally in the Perak State Legislative Assembly to 30 seats, enough to form a simple majority.


2018 Malaysian general election, Aftermath, Defections and state government formations
On 19 May, the disputed president of the People's Progressive Party (myPPP), M. Kayveas, declared that the party has left Barisan Nasional. However, Kayveas' statement was denied by the party's deputy secretary-general, Simon Sabapathy, who insisted that the party was still part of the coalition and that Kayveas' announcement was invalid as he was no longer the president of the party, after he was supposedly sacked by the party on April.


2018 Malaysian general election, Aftermath, Defections and state government formations
This resulted in a party leadership crisis, as the party's leadership was split between the party's former president, M. Kayveas, who's pursuing to make the party leave Barisan, and the party's current president, Maglin Dennis D'Cruz, who wants the party to remain in Barisan. Eventually, Kayveas won the struggle, and announced that myPPP has left Barisan. The party would eventually be de-registered by the Registrar of Societies in January 2019, amid the leadership dispute.


2018 Malaysian general election, Aftermath, Defections and state government formations
Nearly a month after the General Election, on 12 June, another four BN component parties, the United Bumiputera Heritage Party (PBB), the Sarawak People's Party (PRS), the Sarawak United People's Party (SUPP) and the Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) announced their withdrawal from Barisan Nasional and the formation of a new Sarawak-based coalition, the Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS). The four parties altogether has 19 seats in the Dewan Rakyat and 72 seats in the 82-seat Sarawak State Legislative Assembly, thus decreasing Barisan's seat tally even further. Two weeks later, on 24 June, the Malaysian People's Movement Party (Gerakan) became the latest party to leave Barisan Nasional.


2018 Malaysian general election, Aftermath, Defections and state government formations
The election resulted in a mass defection of UMNO MPs from the party, mostly becoming independents, some eventually changing their alliance and joining PH. On 24 June, the MP of Bagan Serai, Noor Azmi Ghazali, announced his withdrawal from the coalition to become an Independent Member of Parliament, and expressed interest to join the Malaysian United Indigenous Party (PPBM), a component party of Pakatan Harapan. Three days later, UMNO's Bukit Gantang MP, Syed Abu Hussin Hafiz Syed Abdul Fasal, announced his departure from the party to also become an Independent Member of Parliament.


2018 Malaysian general election, Aftermath, Defections and state government formations
Further on 1 July, UMNO's Masjid Tanah MP, Mas Ermieyati Samsudin left the party to become an Independent Parliamentarian after disappointment with the party's election result. Two more defections occurred in the month of September. UMNO's Jeli MP, Mustapa Mohamed, left the party on 18 September, proceeded by UMNO's Kimanis MP, Anifah Aman, the day after. On 11 October, UMNO's Labuan MP, Rozman Isli, left the party and joined Warisan, citing for the benefit of Labuan. Another series of defections occurred in December.


2018 Malaysian general election, Aftermath, Defections and state government formations
On 12 December, five Sabah UMNO MPs and nine of the state assemblypersons left the party to become independents, pledging support for Pakatan. On 14 December, six UMNO MPs, Hamzah Zainudin (Larut), Ikmal Hisham Abdul Aziz (Tanah Merah), Latiff Ahmad (Mersing), Rosol Wahid (Hulu Terengganu), Mohd Fasiah Mohd Fakeh (Sabak Bernam) and Shahbudin Yahya (Tasik Gelugor) altogether left the party due to disappointment with UMNO's current leadership.


2018 Malaysian general election, Aftermath, Defections and state government formations
The series of defections and parties withdrawing from Barisan Nasional leaves the coalition with only three component parties, UMNO, MCA and MIC (the original three parties that formed the Alliance Party), a decrease of ten parties from the 13 they had prior to the election, and 40 seats, a substantial decrease from the 79 seats they won in the election.


2018 Malaysian general election, Aftermath, Party leadership changes
After facing a defeat in the election, losing nearly a third of its seats in the Dewan Rakyat, former Prime Minister Najib Razak announced his resignation as president of UMNO and chairman of Barisan Nasional on 12 May. Party deputy president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi took over the role as  acting president of UMNO and chairman of Barisan Nasional, while vice-president Hishammuddin Hussein took over the duties of acting deputy president and deputy chairman of Barisan. Najib's resignation resulted in a party leadership election, in which seven candidates eyed to become the party's new president. The result was that Zahid won the party leadership elections. He and former Negeri Sembilan Menteri Besar Mohamad Hasan are now president and vice president of UMNO respectively.


2018 Malaysian general election, Aftermath, 2020 political crisis
PH government, however, served just 22 months before the take over of administration by PN, led by Muhyiddin Yassin, who was sworned in as the 8th Prime Minister on 1 March 2020. This came after PH lost its majority in the Dewan Rakyat following the withdrawal of Muhyiddin's party PPBM from PH, as well as defection of MPs led by Azmin Ali from PKR. Change in government of states of Johor,  Malacca and Perak, followed suit. Kedah, on the other hand, is still governed by PH in spite of PPBM's withdrawal from PH until 17 May 2020 when PN took over of state government.


2018 Malaysian general election, Controversies
There had been many controversies even before the general election began, mostly regarding gerrymandering and the electoral boundary re-delineation in favour of the Barisan Nasional coalition. The body regulating elections in Malaysia, the Election Commission of Malaysia (which is under the control of the Prime Minister's Department), has been criticised by election watchdogs, including Bersih, the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia and various other organisations for electoral malpractices, arbitrary decisions and a lack of transparency.


2018 Malaysian general election, Controversies, Gerrymandering
Opposition parties, non-governmental organisations and even politicians from the ruling party have accused the government of gerrymandering, manipulating the composition of electoral seats in favour of Barisan Nasional. The opposition claims that the manipulation primarily involves merging opposition-dominated areas into large, single seats and dividing BN-favouring areas among several, smaller seats so as to favour rural voters who are more inclined to support the ruling party. An analyst with electoral reform group Tindak Malaysia estimates that this latest redelineation process would allow Barisan Nasional to regain control with just 33% of the vote.


2018 Malaysian general election, Controversies, Gerrymandering
The Electoral Integrity Project (EIP), an independent academic project based at Harvard University and the University of Sydney that studies election integrity and assigns PEI scores (Global Perceptions of Electoral Integrity) to countries across the world, had in its most recent research paper published in November 2017, ranked Malaysia's election integrity at 142nd out of 158 countries, just above Zimbabwe (143th), Vietnam (147th) and Afghanistan (150th).


2018 Malaysian general election, Controversies, Polling day on midweek
Many Malaysians protested the Election Commission's decision to set the Polling Day on midweek (Wednesday, 9 May) rather than to set it on a weekend (i.e. Saturday) as it had been in the previous General Elections. Some of them, including Pakatan Harapan chairman Mahathir Mohamad, PAS deputy president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man and Bersih chairperson Maria Chin, viewed such a decision to be unfair, undemocratic, and an attempt to discourage people overseas or interstate from returning to their hometowns to vote. In response, Najib Razak declared Wednesday a national holiday.


2018 Malaysian general election, Controversies, Overseas ballot issues
Since the 2013 elections, overseas voting has been open to the majority of Malaysian registered voters living abroad. However, registered overseas Malaysian voters were reported to have received their ballots late, some even on election day, despite the election commission requiring their ballots to be returned before the close of polling stations to be counted as valid. As a result, many of these overseas voters organised on social media to bring theirs and other ballots back through casual couriers. The Election Commission of Malaysia currently denies trying to stop overseas Malaysians to vote.


2018 Malaysian general election, Controversies, Nomination Day controversies
Controversies have erupted after six candidates for the opposition coalition, Pakatan Harapan, were disqualified from running under suspicious circumstances on Nomination Day (Saturday 28 April 2018). The most prominent disqualification was that of PKR vice-president Chua Tian Chang, who the local returning officer prevented from defending his Batu parliamentary seat due to an earlier court conviction, despite a High Court judgement which made clear he was eligible to continue as an MP. A subsequent High Court appeal was thrown out, under the claim that they did not have jurisdiction over election-related matters. Chua and his party are consequently endorsing independent candidate, 22-year-old P. Prabakaran, for the seat.


2018 Malaysian general election, Controversies, Nomination Day controversies
Meanwhile, in Rantau, Negeri Sembilan, the state's Chief Minister Mohamad Hasan was re-elected unopposed after opposition candidate Dr. Streram Sinnasamy was prevented from entering the nomination centre, ostensibly as he did not have an entry pass, despite his claim that he was never issued one and despite the fact that there are no laws requiring candidates to have entry passes. Four other opposition candidates were barred for being undischarged bankrupts, despite claims that earlier checks with the authorities had confirmed their ability to participate.


2018 Malaysian general election, Controversies, Nomination Day controversies
Lawyers and other political analysts have criticised these returning officers for a "gross abuse of power" that went beyond their primary role (to assist with filing nomination papers) and deprived several candidates of the chance to exercise their democratic right. They claim that incidents like this contribute to the perception that Malaysian elections are inherently unfair and weaken the rule of law. Pakatan Harapan chairman Mahathir Mohamad has confirmed that he will appeal these decisions to the courts, alleging an "abuse of power" by "officers who are willing to do illegal things on orders".


2018 Malaysian general election, Controversies, Alleged vote-buying
The ruling coalition, Barisan Nasional, has faced criticism for alleged vote-buying. The Nikkei Asian Review has noted that measures like cash bonuses being handed out to civil servants and pensioners, key components of its support base, occurred just before the dissolution of the lower house of Parliament, with other measures announced during the campaign trail including "special aid" of RM500 (US$127) and reserved social housing units for employees of government-linked company DRB-HICOM as well as minimum wage increases.


2018 Malaysian general election, Controversies, Alleged vote-buying
Within constituencies, Barisan Nasional MPs have come under significant criticism from electoral watchdog Bersih, with seven out of ten individuals named in their "Election Offenses Hall of Shame" being from Barisan Nasional component parties. Musa Aman, Noh Omar, Hamzah Zainudin and Shahanim Mohd Yusuf (BN-UMNO) as well as P. Kamalanathan and Jaspal Singh (BN-MIC) were publicly reprimanded for handing out free food, petrol, furniture, groceries and motorcycles in their respective constituencies, in what was widely seen as an attempt to sway the vote in favour of them.


2018 Malaysian general election, Controversies, Alleged vote-buying
Controversy has also erupted over Barisan Nasional's battle for the Sekinchan constituency, considered a marginal seat held by opposition party DAP, where an election event organised by Datuk Seri Jamal Yunos (the UMNO chief for Sungai Besar) in support of local candidate Lee Yee Yuan (BN-MCA) included an all-you-can-eat buffet, chances to win a motorcycle and a RM25,000 (US$6,345) cash prize, as well as a promise of a RM2,000 (US$508) payment for every voter if they are elected.


2018 Malaysian general election, Controversies, Alleged vote-buying
All payments, along with a claimed RM150,000 in donations and a Mercedes-Benz C200 to be offered at the next event, were claimed to have been donated by "successful businessmen" in the small fishing village (population: 20,000) who wanted to show their "gratitude" to BN. While Yunos denies any wrongdoing, claiming that he is not a candidate but is "only conveying contributions from certain individuals," the Sekinchan DAP branch has lodged a police report against him for alleged vote-buying.


2018 Malaysian general election, Controversies, Alleged vote-buying
Yunos has also faced controversy for being caught on video handing out RM50 (US$13) notes from a bag at a function in the Sungai Leman Bendang Utara village, which is also part of Sekinchan. He has claimed that those being paid were "party workers" responsible for "putting up flags, buntings and other materials," a claim that media were unable to independently verify. Media outlet Malaysiakini noted that most of those being paid were not dressed in Barisan Nasional colours, and that significant numbers of senior citizens and children were present at the event.


2018 Malaysian general election, Controversies, Alleged vote-buying
The main opposition alliance, Pakatan Harapan, has also not been immune to allegations of vote-buying. Pakatan Harapan's manifesto, particularly, lists as a key promise the abolition of Malaysia's 6% GST and increasing minimum wages, which journalists and financial analysts claim amounts to pork-barrel populism that could negatively affect Malaysian government finances. Bersih also included Afif Bahardin (PH-PKR) on their Election Offenses Hall of Shame for utilising Penang state government programmes to give handouts such as hampers to voters in his constituency of Seberang Jaya.


2018 Malaysian general election, Controversies, Alleged vote-buying
Additionally, Ahmad Yakob, the Menteri Besar of Kelantan, was singled out for criticism after "repeatedly using Kelantan state government resources" to benefit the campaign of his party, PAS (competing as the main component of the Gagasan Sejahtera coalition), including by handing out cash to religious leaders in a state government hall covered in PAS flags.


2018 Malaysian general election, Controversies, Release of results
On polling night, the announcement of results took longer than usual, as it was alleged that the Election Commission officers were delaying their signing of Form 14 for announcing the results. This was later revealed in an interview between Mahathir and The Mekong Review, where he revealed that there were attempts to get winning PH candidates to cross over to BN and PAS, fearing that PH "were not going to respect the position of Islam as much as the previous government had". He added that they had already won as early as 8.30 pm but did not receive the official announcement until 2 AM.


2018 Malaysian general election, In popular culture, Film
Rise: Ini Kalilah was a 2018 Malaysian political drama film based on an actual events on 9 May 2018 in the aftermath 14th General Election.


2018 Malaysian motorcycle Grand Prix
The 2018 Malaysian motorcycle Grand Prix was the eighteenth round of the 2018 MotoGP season. It was held at the Sepang International Circuit in Sepang on 4 November 2018.


2018 Malaysian state elections
State elections were held in all states and territories in Malaysia except Sarawak on 9 May 2018, alongside general elections. Pakatan Harapan alliance received over 50% of the vote across the 12 states and territories where elections took place and won the most seats. They emerged as the largest faction in all states and territories except Kelantan, Terengganu, Perlis and Pahang.


2018 Maldives political crisis
A political crisis in the Maldives intensified on after President Abdulla Yameen decided to disobey the Supreme Court order to release 9 political prisoners and reinstating 12 parliament members which will give the opposition control of the chamber and potentially paving the way for Yameen's impeachment.


2018 Maldives political crisis
On 5 February 2018 president Abdulla Yameen declared a state of emergency and ordered the arrest of two judges of the Supreme Court of the Maldives, including Chief Justice of the Maldives Abdulla Saeed and justice Ali Hameed Mohamed and former President (also his half-brother) Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.


2018 Maldives political crisis, Events, February 1, 2018
After a few hours after the Supreme Court released the court order on its website. The state-owned TV channel Television Maldives and Channel 13 owned by president Abdulla Yameen went to discredit the order by saying the Supreme Court website was hacked. The Supreme Court immediately responded by tweeting the website is not hacked.


2018 Maldives political crisis, Events, February 1, 2018
Maldivian Democratic Party was already holding a small peaceful gathering in front of their campaign headquarters who heard the news and many broke into tears including some Parliament members. They announced a gathering to be held on February 2, 2018 that night at 2:00 a.m.