Nicholas Chan was a Research Officer at Nalanda-Sriwijaya Centre at ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute.
He received his Masters Degree in Asian Studies from the S.Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University. He is interested in policing issues, government and politics in Southeast Asia, and political violence.
The Barisan Nasional government's U-turn on changes to RUU 355, which will give the syariah courts more extensive powers, suggests that the coalition dynamics of politics are behind the move. Put simply, the coalition’s survival is equally, if not more important than UMNO’s electoral appeal.
