This paper is concerned with the nexus between a dynamic conflict structure and regime maintenance strategies in Malaysia. The central question is how the ruling political elite, especially UMNO and Mahathir, has been able to maintain its own political hegemony while at the same time maintaining a fairly high degree of regime stability. The study assumes that the conflict structure challenging or undermining the maintenance of the regime in Malaysia has been changing since independence in 1957. And, the period of changing conflict configurations provides opportunities for a fresh look at the nature of the ruling elite`s regime maintenance strategies in accommodating new social and political challenges. An assumption throughout lies in the nature of power politics that those who enjoy positions of power in the apparatus of the state are unlikely to give up their power willingly. Although the UMNO-led ruling elite has adapted to changing expectations of Malaysian society to meet new social and political confict circumstances, the single most important motive for regime change and regime maintenance is to sustain its ownpolitical power. The study has shown in detail what made the UMNO-led ruling elite transform its regime maintenance approaches (from consociational bargaining to authoritarian UMNO dominance then to Mahathir`s personal dominance) and what were the essential elements of these changing regime maintenancestrategies.