ARTICLES

24 Aug 2022

Political Succession in Southeast Asia: When Dynasty Might Mean Destiny

Julia Lau

Some of the region’s political scions will be rising through the ranks in future elections, but it is not all smooth sailing in politics even if one is born with a silver spoon.

22 Aug 2022

Unretweeted Love? #KeluargaMalaysia Overtures Fall Flat

Amirul Adli Rosli

Driving a successful hashtag campaign is more complicated than blitzing social media. An analysis of tweets appending #KeluargaMalaysia suggests that such attempts have backfired because the hashtag has been appropriated by Twitter netizens to express their discontent with the government.

Malaysia Malaysian Politics

15 Aug 2022

Thai Parliamentarians Should Learn from Their Malaysian Counterparts

Termsak Chalermpalanupap

Thailand should take a leaf from Malaysia, which has effected a law to deter party hoppers in the country’s legislature.

Malaysia Malaysian Politics Thai Politics Thailand

4 Aug 2022

Malaysia’s GE15: Not All Youth Votes Are Equal

James Chai

Malaysia’s Undi18, which lowered the voting age from 21 to 18, was supposed to empower a new generation of voters. As it turns out, however, not all youth votes have the same weight.

Malaysia Malaysian Elections Malaysian Politics

1 Aug 2022

Leadership in Place, PKR Needs to Focus on Ideology

Norshahril Saat

Parti Keadilan Rakyat, the political party of Anwar Ibrahim, has a new slate of leaders in place. To make a difference, PKR will need to find a balance between pragmatism and the need to uphold multiracialism.

Malaysia Malaysian Politics

21 Jul 2022

Malaysia Must Pursue A New Order of Stability via Democracy

Liew Chin Tong

UMNO President Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has publicly argued that Malaysia should return to the old order with UMNO as the singular dominant party and Barisan Nasional ruling with two-thirds majority. It is important for the nation to ask, what sort of new political order should emerge?

Malaysia Malaysian Politics UMNO

5 Jul 2022

The Paradox of Malaysia’s Lowering of Voting Age – Expanded Enfranchisement Devalued by More Unequal Representation

James Chai

In Malaysia, the Barisan Nasional had long benefited from its dominance over the smaller rural constituencies, winning more seats even if they performed poorly in the larger, under-represented urban constituencies. CA2019 aggravates this phenomenon because the new young voters tend to be located in the urban areas.

Malaysia Malaysian Politics

10 Jun 2022

Bigger Constituencies, Lesser Political Clout

James Chai

An opposition MP’s decision not to contest in his mega-sized constituency come the next general election has thrown up a longstanding irony in Malaysian politics: bigger seats are increasingly disenfranchised.

Malaysia Malaysian Elections Malaysian Politics

3 Jun 2022

Ismail Sabri Charting His Own Course

Norshahril Saat

Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaacob appears to be holding his own, despite pressure from his party colleagues to hold a general election soon.

Malaysia Malaysian Politics

31 May 2022

UMNO’s Constitutional Amendment: A Done Deal?

Francis E. Hutchinson

Pending approval from the government, UMNO’s Supreme Council can now delay elections for up to 18 months from a full three-year term or 6 months after a general election — whichever is later. The rationale is that this would allow the party to overcome any internal divisions arising during the polls and focus its energies on the next general election.

Malaysia Malaysian Elections Malaysian Politics