Managing the Challenges of Islamic Revival in Malaysia: A Regime Perspective

Abstract

National Organization, the dominant party in the ruling Barisan Nasional), some of the social, economic, and, in particular, political challenges inherent in Malaysia's Islamic revival. The second aim is to analyze the ways in which the national leadership has responded to these challenges and to assess the effectiveness of the strategies adopted to manage the impact of Islamic revival upon the complexities of Malaysian society. Malaysia is governed by a multi-party structure-the Barisan Nasional (National Front)-comprising a number of essentially communal political parties that claim to represent the interests of each of the country's principal ethnic groups.2 This grand (which includes parties from East Malaysia) is formed around the undisputed leadership of the United Malays National Organization (UMNO). Although UMNO is sufficiently powerful to rule without coalition support, it nevertheless prefers the broader participatory system of the Barisan Nasional in the interests of communal stability. Despite its dominant position, UMNO needs to be somewhat sensitive to