Dr Norshahril Saat is a Senior Fellow at the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute and Coordinator at the Regional Social and Cultural Studies Programme.
In 2015, he was awarded a PhD in International, Political and Strategic Studies by the Australian National University (ANU). he received a BA (Hons) in Political Science and MA in Malay Studies from the National University of Singapore. He was a recipient of the following scholarships and awards: NUS MA Scholar (2008), Tun Dato’ Sir Cheng Lock Tan ISEAS MA Scholar (2008), MUIS PhD Scholar (2012), and Syed Isa Semait Scholar (2015).
He is currently a member of the Editorial Committee for the journal SOJOURN. He also sit as volunteer in numerous advisory boards, including as the Chairman of Malay Heritage Foundation (MHF).
The appointment of Ismail Sabri Yaakob as Malaysia’s ninth prime minister is welcome. At best, however, his ascent represents an agglomeration of compromises between the players concerned. As the country experiences another Covid-19 surge, he will have his work cut out for him.
Malaysia Prime Minister Muhyiddin pulled off a historic coup in February last year, when he ditched the then-ruling Pakatan Harapan coalition to form a new government. Eighteen months on, he might soon be getting a taste of his own medicine.
The Malaysian government’s decision to reconvene Parliament has been welcomed. But this in itself will not resolve the list of problems facing the country in the throes of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The growing popularity of media savvy celebrity preachers – not all of whom are theologically well-trained – could erode the quality of Islamic discourse in the longer term.
In the May 2018 general election, UMNO lost power for the first time in history but clawed back into government in March 2020 through defections from the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government. However, the party is now deeply split. A close examination of the positions of various UMNO leaders demonstrates that not all is well within the party, and its path to recapture Putrajaya is rocky.
