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Spotlight – Malaysia: July 3, 2023

With six state assemblies dissolved in advance of elections to be held within the next couple of months, the ruling and opposition coalitions are in order of battle. The Negeri Sembilan assembly was dissolved on July 1, the Kedah, Terengganu, and Penang assemblies...

Spotlight – Malaysia: May 30, 2023

The historic alliance between Pakatan Harapan (PH) and Barisan Nasional (BN) to form government last November has left many voters in both coalitions confused. With no less than six state elections to be held by July (in Kedah, Terengganu, Kelantan, Penang, Selangor...

Spotlight – Malaysia: April 24, 2023

Now that the first 100 days of Anwar Ibrahim’s government are over, the democratic path that the iconic leader of the Reformasi movement had promised to set the country on remains extremely sinuous. Stuck between his allies in the United Malays National Organisation...

Spotlight – Malaysia: March 24, 2023

Anwar Ibrahim became the tenth prime minister of Malaysia in November 2022. His popularity is at an all-time high with an approval rating of 68 percent, according to a recent poll by the Merdeka Center. This number at best nuances or at worst contradicts the November...

The (Final) Rise of Anwar Ibrahim

The democratic icon’s path to prime minister has been tortuous and long. But is Malaysia’s pluralism slipping away precisely when Anwar is getting his shot to lead the nation?  In 1998, Anwar Ibrahim was the icon of the reformasi movement, the largest democratic...