Democracy In Malaysia Research Articles

Political Modernization and Digital Democracy: The Internet Participation of Malaysia Domestic Citizens to “2021–2022 Malaysian Floods” Event in Public Policy Process of Flood Response

In the mid-century, Internet information technology began to flourish worldwide, and a dramatic revolution brought about the Internet information age. The Internet has changed the way of human political life. A staggering number of Internet users began to form a significant force to participate in and influence national politics and public policy. The Internet has transformed traditional public policy processes on a global scale. Citizen participation on the Internet has gained widespread attention in politics, public administration, and public policy issues. The staggering amount of politically relevant information posted by citizens on the Internet has begun to form a significant political force that involves and influences politics and government public policy decisions. This study discusses the Malaysian government’s response to the flood event, the well-known “2021–2022 Malaysian Floods,” to explore the current state of political modernization and digital democracy in Malaysia based on bottom-up participation mechanisms of citizens’ Internet involvement in public policy processes. This paper argues that public participation in our public policy through effective Internet will have a broader democratic base and will be closer to the goal of democratic and scientific decision-making.

The Perception of Social Media Usage on the Development of Democracy in Selangor

The main of this study is to identify the relationship between the perception of social media usage on the development of democracy in Malaysian as reference. This study used a quantitative approach and survey analysis research method. Data were collected systematically based on data structured questionnaire survey.. The sample selection is based on a randomly-target focus and consists of 384 local youth in Selangor as respondents. Probability sampling is selected, and the collection of systemic information requires careful selection and accurate measurement of the unit explored for each variable to clarify the purpose of the study at the end. The study's findings show a significant relationship between social media influences towards the development of democracy in Malaysia. The relationship shows a positive correlation between the perception level of social media users and the level of understanding towards the development of democracy (r=0.838, p=0.001). Furthermore, the relationship between the level of understanding reported a strong and positive correlation with the level of attitudes of social media users towards the development of democracy in Malaysia (r=0.807, p=0.001). Meanwhile, there is a strong positive correlation between the perception level of social media users and the level of attitudes towards the development of democracy (r=0.884, p=0.001). This indicated that the respondents' perception, understanding and attitudes towards the development of democracy in Malaysia are good and correlated.

BOOK REVIEW: Electoral Reform and Democracy in Malaysia, edited by Helen Ting M.H. and Donald L. Horowitz

BOOK REVIEW: Electoral Reform and Democracy in Malaysia, edited by Helen Ting M.H. and Donald L. Horowitz

"If there is a Declaration of War, We Welcome the War": Undi-18, TikTok Election and Normalisation of Violence

Malaysia's democracy has come under attack due to the radicalisation of young and first-time voters on social media platforms. The widespread usage of TikTok as a primary campaign battleground by the political parties during the 15th General Election (GE-15) marks the anomaly pattern of first-time youth voters. Moreover, having social media influencers courting youth voters as a pawn in the electoral war is considered an accentuation of provocation of hate speech, endangering the prospect of moderate democracy in Malaysia. This commentary studies such anomalies by interviewing youth from varying socio-economic standing and educational backgrounds across Malaysia. Our research note highlights two crucial areas of unexplored terrain for future research. The first is the immediate need to invest in an emancipatory discourse of civic and political education and unabated expansions of democratic space and rights. Secondly, alarming concerns of electoral terrorism and hate speech via social media unravelled the under-research angles or assumed organic political divisions between analogue generations of corrupted warlords versus digital politics of technocratic youth savvy. Inadvertently, our observation of the 15th GE has discerned an increasing political worrisome pattern of widespread manipulative tendency by politicians, including using Industrial Revolution 4.0 (IR 4.0) technology to predict the voting pattern and understand the population sentiment through social media. We also concluded that tactics employed by the cyber troopers of political parties have significantly manipulated and poisoned the neutrality and perspectives of first-time youth voters.

THE CHALLENGES OF PUBLIC PARTICIPATION IN THE MALAYSIAN PLANNING SYSTEM

This study provides an overview of the development of Malaysia’s planning system, particularly in relation to public participation. A case study of Malaysia is critical as this study highlights the challenges in planning practice, thereby presenting a critical reflection of planning experiences in response to a specific context. Specifically, this study aims to assess how the public participation process operates within the mechanisms of the planning system, including the challenges presented to the Malaysian planning practice. This study was conducted at Gasing Hill in the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur. Secondary data were gathered by performing an in-depth interview with 20 respondents. The findings revealed how planners deal with the public concerning the formation of the Gasing Hill case. The planners had been given the privilege to take decisions governing the consultative process. Thus, understanding the roles and responsibilities of planners is necessary if the practices that epitomise the ethos of participatory democracy in Malaysia are to be changed. This study adds to the growing literature that suggests the importance of public participation in shaping the future development of Malaysia.

The Malaysian Election Commission: Navigating Electoral Authoritarianism and Political Change

AbstractThe urgency of electoral reforms has long been identified as a key to improving democracy in Malaysia. For decades, electoral manipulation through gerrymandering, malapportionment, and issues with the electoral roll and conduct of elections have undermined democratic quality and competition. The Malaysian Election Commission (EC) has – understandably – come under scrutiny for its role in facilitating and sustaining these problems. However, what requires a greater level of attention is the question of how the EC – despite its position as a constitutional institution that exists independently from the other branches of government – has operated in ways that undermined Malaysia's democracy and maintained a dominant party regime for over six decades. This Article brings this to light by examining the structural, institutional, and political conditions that shape the EC's operation, particularly with regard to re-delineation of constituencies and the conduct of elections. It argues that flaws in constitutional design, along with subsequent constitutional amendments, have rendered the EC vulnerable to partisan capture and thus affected its ability to function as an independent constitutional institution. In addition, this Article demonstrates how changes in political imperatives and judicial restraint in reviewing the EC's decision-making have also contributed to the deficiencies in Malaysia's electoral democracy.

From Electocracy to Democracy: Coalition, Cohesion, and Function

Generally, democracy composes the elements of election, rights and liberty, middle class, and the rules of law to govern the state and people. Malaysia had limited experience of a democracy that was absent from the elements above. It had its first election during the colonial era that dictates the function of an election. Later, the election becomes routine every five years that makes it an electocracy or a political culture lacks political literacy. The post-independence context of a strong leader and a dominant party alliance to rule the state and society resulted in making political analysts criticizing Malaysia as a state of the quasi, semi, and syncretic democracy. The recent power transition with no record of violence in Fourteen General Election (2018) proves that the previous label of democracy in Malaysia is obsolete. Therefore, the analysis tool of assessing Malaysian politics is still dormant with the Western perspective of the two-party system, the end of racial politics hence assuming the beginning of an ideology-based party and the belief that the new Malaysia will fit in the western mold of democracy. The robust information technology via social media harvesting new challenges for democracy in Malaysia. It cannot escape the spread of fake news or disinformation to influence voters. The game of fake news has put Malaysia as a state of electocracy full of unskilled politicians to govern the multiethnic nation.

Managing Democracy in Malaysia (Identity, Minorities, and Representation)

The Malaysian General Election (GE-14) in May 2018 raised an interesting and new phenomenon. For the first time since independence of Malaysia in 1957, the rulling alliance known as the National Front (Barisan Nasional, BN) which led by UMNO failed to secure simple majority in parliament and lost control of seven of Malaysia’s 13 states. This was due to the challenge presented by the new opposition alliance known as Pakatan Harapan (Alliance of Hope, PH) which won 113 of seats in parliament and gain control the central government. It is interesting that this significant increase in support for the opposition is due to their change the way minorities, identity and representation is managed. The Malaysian Supremacy as political manifesto of Pakatan Harapan which involves eradicating affirmative action based on etnicity, basing it instead on need, for instance need due to prosperity through the removal of government service tax (GST), and reformation of law. This would potentially increase the justice and equality for all ethnic or racial groups. This paper links the 2013 and 2018 elections, the more global trend in which minorities and youth representation are standing up to demand their right and to the challenge multiracial presents in Malaysia as a Muslim country. Therefore, the fundamental questions in this paper of how Pakatan Harapan manage minorities, identity and representation within in the process of democracy and to what extent the opportunities and the involvement of youth as voters and parliamentary candidates in order to support a progressive democracy in Malaysia.

Political Parties and Democracy in Malaysia: A Case of United Malay National Organization (UMNO)

Political Parties and Democracy in Malaysia: A Case of United Malay National Organization (UMNO)

Islam Supports Democracy:The Views of Partai Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS) and Their Implementation in the Recruitment of the Party’s Members and Leaders

<p><em>This paper discusses the views of Partai Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS) on democracy and its implementation in real politics in Malaysian context. I analyze PAS views on the relationship between Islam and democracy, their style in recruiting members and leaders of the party to demonstrate that this Islamic political party follows democratic rules. PAS believes that democracy and Islamic values are compatible and it is a good political tool for an Islamic party like PAS to reach its political goals. By examining the process of recruitment of members and leaders of PAS as the cases, the paper shows that commitment of PAS in toning up democracy in Malaysia could be viewed in their style of recruiting their leaders. The PAS has exercised democratic rules in their internal party activities, particularly in the way they recruit their members and how they chose their leaders. </em></p>

Catharsis: A Second Chance for Democracy in Malaysia, by Ooi Kee Beng

Catharsis: A Second Chance for Democracy in Malaysia, by Ooi Kee Beng

Managing Democracy in Malaysia (Identity, Minorities, and Representation)

The Malaysian General Election (GE-14) in May 2018 raised an interesting and new phenomenon. For the first time since independence of Malaysia in 1957, the rulling alliance known as the National Front (Barisan Nasional, BN) which led by UMNO failed to secure simple majority in parliament and lost control of seven of Malaysia’s 13 states. This was due to the challenge presented by the new opposition alliance known as Pakatan Harapan (Alliance of Hope, PH) which won 113 of seats in parliament and gain control the central government. It is interesting that this significant increase in support for the opposition is due to their change the way minorities, identity and representation is managed. The Malaysian Supremacy as political manifesto of Pakatan Harapan which involves eradicating affirmative action based on etnicity, basing it instead on need, for instance need due to prosperity through the removal of government service tax (GST), and reformation of law. This would potentially increase the justice and equality for all ethnic or racial groups. This paper links the 2013 and 2018 elections, the more global trend in which minorities and youth representation are standing up to demand their right and to the challenge multiracial presents in Malaysia as a Muslim country. Therefore, the fundamental questions in this paper of how Pakatan Harapan manage minorities, identity and representation within in the process of democracy and to what extent the opportunities and the involvement of youth as voters and parliamentary candidates in order to support a progressive democracy in Malaysia.

Democratic Transition in Malaysia: Prerequisites and Obstacles

This paper discusses three factors accounting for the transition to democracy, namely the absence of mass or armed resistance to democracy, the internal strength of the state, and the cohesion of the political elite. In the case of Malaysia, the structural conditions that emerged in the late colonial period, that is the absence of mass resistance movements, allowed for the rise of a relatively democratic postcolonial state. Conditions had been relatively conducive to the development of democratic political culture. However, recent years have seen the development and exertion of a more authoritarian trend among the political and religious elite that has accompanied a process of Islamisation of governance. These developments resonate with a more feudal, hierarchical and authoritarian culture that can be traced to the pre-colonial past and which has an affinity with a more authoritarian interpretation of Islam so typical of the contemporary state religious establishment. The future of democracy in Malaysia depends on the ability of democratic tendencies within the state as well as civil society to work against these authoritarian forces. This future would require drawing upon the more egalitarian and humanist tradition of precolonial Islam and the modernist movement of the colonial Malay world.

ISLAM DAN POLITIK DI MALAYSIA: SATU PENELITIAN AWAL TERHADAP SEJARAH, PERGOLAKAN DAN PERJUANGAN POLITIK HARAKAH, 1987-2007

This article aims to analyze two aspects. First, the historical development of Harakah. Second, the Harakah political role and its contribution to the development of politics and Islam in the context of political democratization and controversial democracy in Malaysia. The main questions which this article wishes to address are: how did political crisis scenario influence the reputation of Harakah; and why Harakah could act as an alternative newspaper during the national political crisis since the late 1990s?

Party Politics and Institutional Internal Party Democracy in Malaysia

Internal party democracy shows an intensive examination of the thought, idea and demonstration of democracy within the political parties. Each political party stands for internal party democracy through a course of actions and decisions, made in relation to those which are affiliated with power and authority. In the case of Malaysia where internal party democracies are low level institutionalization where the absence of free and powerful internal conflicts minimize confrontational political culture. It is acknowledged that political partiescannot undertake their democratic activities if they themselves are not democratic in their internal undertakings. It is much more important to understand how the political parties offer themselves to the general voters. These functions show intra-party democracy as crucial for development of institutional democracy. Firstly, it supports a political culture where the democratic argument and collective ownership are in the decision-making process. Secondly, it is practiced party solidarity through the minimizing f of factionalism. Thirdly, it offers a reasonable internal conflict resolution framework and fourthly, it reduces pioneering and the discretionary utilization of power.Thus, the degree to which political parties can retain internal party democracy relies on the degree to which procedures of successful membership supports are formally practiced. It is basically actualized in the party’s authoritative rules and strategies.Therefore, the objective of this paper is to assess internal party democracy among the major political parties and their political culture and its impact on party politics in Malaysia. Finally, this paper concludes by explaining how the prevailing political culture is pushing the country to the brink of an abyss and discusses the way out as well. Methodologically, it is a qualitative in nature and mostly secondary data such as newspaper reports, observers’ reports, and research reports have been used to prepare this article.

Bahasa

This study aimed to compare the historical descriptive-interpretative effect general election implementation and socio-economic and cultural conditions of democracy and democratic process in Malaysia during the government period of Tunku Abdul Rahman to Mahathir Mohamad. The research based on the secondary data study-method. Based on the research, the general election implementation and socio-economic and cultural condition do not significant effect on democracy and the democratic process in Malaysia, except in the middle of Tun Abdul Razak’s government which the socio-economic conditions have a significant effect on democracy in Malaysia.

Social Implications of Using Online Alternative Media towards Participatory Democracy in Malaysia

Modern technology has resulted in rapid communication over unlimited space and it must be understood as a network of human and non-human actors bound together in seamless web. In this context, understanding the Internet should be in terms of the relationship between different actors to serve for participatory democracy. Now many types of horizontal dialogues are possible through email, chat rooms, discussion boards, usenets, real-time audio and video conferencing. Public feel disappointed since their opinions, needs, and consumptions were not wellcovered and reported through the mainstream media. Dissident voices become dominant group in order to voice out their views. This study explores the social implications of using online alternative media towards participatory democracy in Malaysia. The method employed for the collection of data is through phenomenological study where the data were collected using online asynchronous interview via emails. The researcher used thematic analysis. Nine themes emerged for the data analysis which falls under social implication. Participants need to fulfill eight criteria of being selected as interview participants. The findings showed that there is high level of awareness among the general public to participate through online alternative media. They have tendency to contribute for participatory democracy. This study suggests to other researchers who are interested in doing the same area of this study to conduct a hyperlink study; to explore other websites or other resources to enable to see the whole macro picture about the implications of online media towards participatory democracy.

Malaysia’s Elections: A Step Backward

Despite losing the popular vote, Malaysia’s long-ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) triumphed again in the country’s 2013 elections, disappointing an emboldened opposition that had high hopes after a strong performance in 2008. Why and how did Najib and the BN win? What do the answers to those questions mean for his government and for democracy in Malaysia? In many ways, the 2013 polls typify those of competitive authoritarian systems, in which incumbents use finely honed tactics and institutional leverage to stay in office. But the 2013 general election also revealed social forces pushing for greater democracy. The nature of BN’s victory, the voting patterns, and the broader political forces within society point to continuing pressures for further democratization and high levels of political contestation in the future.

Twin Coalition Politics in Malaysia since 2008: A Path Dependent Framing and Analysis

On 8 March 2008 the opposition parties in Malaysia deprived the ruling National Front coalition of its two-thirds majority of seats and defeated it in five out of thirteen states it contested in. This result led analysts to suggest that electoral politics had breached a new watershed in Malaysia, and that it augured well for the development of a full-fledged two-party system. Political systems which feature electoral turnovers of ruling parties are seen by political scientists to be the sine qua non of democratic politics. This paper argues that March 2008 augurs the beginnings of a new path dependent emergence of a turnover electoral system in Malaysia. Path dependence theory could be used to explain why the National Front increasingly lost its “first-mover advantage” in electoral politics which for decades dominated political and economic institutions which reproduced the racialized political structures. March 2008 represents a rupture and departure from this earlier path dependence. Put differently, the National Front was not able to continue to reap “increasing returns” from its established electoral processes and institutions. This rupture has been reinforced by the fact that in the sixteen by-elections held after March 2008, eight were won by the opposition coalition of the People’s Alliance ( Pakatan Rakyat ). It has become increasingly clear that newer forms of political processes and sensibilities are being introduced by the opposition coalition. This new trajectory is also one which puts the premium on participatory politics. Such a trajectory need not mean a departure from ethnicized politics but rather a political shift in the direction of more universal and democratic politics. The overall impact of this new path dependent process is the valorization of electoral democracy in Malaysia.

The transformation of political party opposition in Malaysia and its implications for the electoral authoritarian regime

Malaysia's electoral authoritarian system is increasingly coming under pressure. Indicators of this are the metamorphosis of opposition forces since 1998 and, in particular, the results of the 2008 parliamentary elections. From 1957 until 1998 political party opposition was fragmented. An initial transformation of political party opposition began at the height of the Asian financial crisis, after a major conflict within the ruling United Malays National Organization in 1998. However, the regime was able to weaken the opposition, resulting in its poor performance in the 2004 elections. Afterwards, in a second transformation that has continued until the present time, an oppositional People's Alliance (Pakatan Rakyat) has emerged that now has a serious chance of taking over the federal government. This article argues that the increase in the strength and cohesion of political party opposition since 1998 has been caused mainly by five combined factors: the emergence of pro-democratic segments within a multi-ethnic and multi-religious middle class; the intensified interaction of political parties and civil society forces; the impact of new media; the eroded legitimacy of the United Malays National Organization and other parties of the ruling coalition; and the internal reforms within the Islamist Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (Parti Islam SeMalaysia). Consequently it has become conceivable that the country will incrementally democratize in a protracted transition. Although the 1999 and 2008 elections were not foundational, they have been transitional. They may not have inaugurated a new democratic regime, but they have marked important phases in the struggle for democracy in Malaysia.