Malaysia's predominant political party, the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), has held power in coalition known as the Barisan Nasional (formerly the Alliance) with other parties since Malaya's independence in 1957.
In 1973, an alliance of communally based parties was replaced with a broader coalition – the Barisan Nasional — composed of fourteen parties. Today the Barisan Nasional coalition has three prominent members – the UMNO, MCA (Malaysian Chinese Association) and MIC (Malaysian Indian Congress). The Prime Minister of Malaysia has always been from the UMNO.