"Mr. Najib's win wasn't the result the urban middle classes were expecting, " said James Chin, a visiting fellow at the Singapore-based Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.

WSJ: Malaysia Opposition Leader Vows to Fight 'Rigged' Vote

"They were close to getting a two-thirds majority, and that will mean a stable and secure government, " said James Chin, a Malaysian political science professor and a visiting fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore.

WSJ: Malaysian Prime Minister Wins Election

James draped his arms over the wheel and rested his chin on them, staring out.

NEWYORKER: Fiction