The Hazy New Dawn: Democracy, Women and Politics in Malaysia

Abstract

Dubbed a political tsunami, Malaysia's 12th General Election, held in 2008 marked a critical turn in the politics of the nation. For the first time since Independence in 1957, the three main opposition parties took over power in five of the 13 states in the country, also denying the ruling coalition a two-thirds majority in the federal parliament. Several women and men, many of whom were associated with the women's movement and civil society, became involved, almost overnight in institutionalized politics when they stood under the opposition ticket. This paper takes stock of the experiences of these new women civil society activists turned politicians in addressing women's substantive representation in the 'opposition-controlled' states of Selangor and Penang. It argues that these contestations go beyond gendered power relations. In addition to institutional barriers made worse by the tense relations within an over centralised federal system, the article argues that women's other identities such as ethnicity, location and age, intersect with their gender identity. These competing identities are playing a big role in impacting how the ‘new’ politics of change are being negotiated. The future of Malaysian politics will see a pretty messy process unfolding as the stakes are high for opposition women contestants, who also want to retain their gender priorities in their struggle for political power.