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...
Category: Opinion Pieces
In Malaysia, Religious Controversies Threaten Anwar Ibrahim’s Government
In his attempts to mollify Malay nationalists and Islamic conservatives, Anwar risks alienating his liberal and multi-ethnic support base. Malaysia has long been portrayed as a peaceful mosaic of cultures and a fascinating example of Arab, South, and Southeast...
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...
Malaysia’s Backwaters: Women and Children’s Rights
After two decades of struggle for democracy, Anwar Ibrahim finally became the 10th prime minister of Malaysia last November. His election comes with very high expectations on human and civil rights reforms. However, after more than 100 days in power, Anwar’s promises...
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...
Anwar Ibrahim, Prisoner of Political Allegiances
Having finally scaled the pinnacle of Malaysian politics, will political compromises undermine Anwar’s dream of a genuinely democratic Malaysia? Last November, after two decades of struggle for democracy in Malaysia, Anwar Ibrahim, the former leader of the Islamist...
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...
Spotlight – Malaysia: January 19, 2023
Malaysia’s 15th general election did not disappoint and has resulted in a series of unprecedented events. The alliance between Pakatan Harapan (PH) and Barisan Nasional (BN) to form a government and counter the electoral weight of Perikatan Nasional (PN) left...
Anwar Ibrahim: Between Campaign Promises and Real Politics
With the rise of Anwar Ibrahim as Malaysia’s 10th prime minister and the fall of Mahathir Mohamad, whose once-in-a-lifetime defeat expedited the 97-year-old leader to an overdue retirement, Malaysia has entered a new political era. Since 2018, Malaysia’s tectonic...
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...