The Malaysian political system incorporates a mix of democratic and authoritarian characteristics. In this comprehensive account, Harold Crouch argues that, while they may appear contradictory, the responsive and the repressive features of the system combine in an integrated and coherent whole. Consistently dominated by the Malay party UMNO, which represents the largest ethnic group, the Malaysian government requires the support of its Chinese, Indian, and East Malaysian minorities to retain control. The need to appeal to a politically and ethnically divided electorate restrains the arbitrary exercise of power by the ruling coalition. As a result, the government responds to popular aspirations, particularly since a split in the dominant Malay party in the 1980s. Yet it also controls the electoral process, ensuring victory in all national elections. Communal, social, and economic factors have all contributed in rather ambiguous ways to shaping the Malaysian political system. Communal tensions, change in the class structure, and the consequences of economic growth have generated pressures in both democratic and authoritarian directions. The government has been remarkably stable despite sharp ethnic divisions and, Crouch suggests, it is unlikely to move swiftly toward full democracy in the near future.

Bringing together a group of both international and Malaysian scholars, this book offers an up-to-date and broad analysis of the contemporary state of Malaysian politics and society. Transcending disciplinary boundaries, it offers a look at Malaysian politics not only through the lens of political science but also anthropology, cultural studies, international relations, political economy and legal studies touching on both overlooked topics in Malaysian political life as well as the emerging trends which will shape Malaysia's future. Covering silat martial arts, Malaysia's constitutional identity, emergency legislation, the South China Sea dilemma, ISIS discourse, zakat payment, the fallout from the 1MDB scandal and Malaysia's green movement, Illusions of Democracy charts the complex and multi-faceted nature of political life in a semi-authoritarian state, breaking down the illusions which keep it functioning, to uncover the mechanisms which really underlie the paradoxical longevity of Malaysia's political, economic and social system.

This book uses the concepts of rent and rent-seeking to study Malaysian political economy.

This book analyses the exponential growth of independent news portal (INPs) in Malaysia and discusses the extent of impacts generated from these portals in Malaysian electoral conduct especially during Malaysia's 12th and 13th general elections. The mainstream media in Malaysia has for decades been controlled by strict laws such as the Printing Presses and Publications Act (PPPA) and the Sedition Act, as well as self-censorship by print and broadcast journalists and editors. The rise of INP in Malaysia has challenged this government stranglehold, as well as making information available much faster than the mainstream media. The undeniable speed of the news posted on INP which often come with interactive contents are seen to have caused a remarkable increment on public’s options with regards to expressing their political views. Some of the INPs have also impressively taken up a notch by providing live streaming videos or interesting online visual news which indirectly unifies various sectors of pressure groups in providing options of circulating and disseminating information to the public. The interviews conducted for this book provide deeper insights from those producing news and at the same time provide a specific and thorough observation on political events including representatives of the Malaysian middle class, Opposition parties, youth and university students, NGOs and civil society movements. Chinnasamy investigates key questions relating to this shift in relation to media preference concerning on the mainstream and political landscape in Malaysia. Did the INP evolve new democratic movement in the country or induce a change in the way the government retains its power by increasing people's active engagement in political participation? Did any revolution in government-managed media landscape occur drastically? If so, how did they accomplish these changes? This book will fill the gap of existing research on how far have the INP empowered themselves to be the third force in fighting democratic movement in the country and how the ruling government continues seeing it as a contention, as foreseen by many experts in the industry.

This book aims to give a comprehensive picture of law, government and the constitution in Malaysia, and to set constitutional developments in their proper political and social context. It is written in such a way that lawyers may see how perspectives other than the purely legal can enrich the understanding of constitutional issues in Malaysia and that others may comprehend the lawyer's perspective on these issues. There has been an increasing interest in constitutional issues in Malaysia since the mid-1980s following a number of important events, including the advent of judicial activism and the curtailment of royal powers. There is now a pressing need for a reappraisal of the Malaysian constitution in terms of its political and social dimensions and dynamics, and the extent of its adherence to, or its interpretation of, those principles which are collectively known as `constitutionalism', that is, democratic government, the rule of law, the separation of powers, and the observance of fundamental human rights and liberties. The book examines how the constitution has adjusted to its environment, how it actually operates and how its abstractions differ from reality. The author concludes that the principles of the constitution have been eroded to such a degree that a new constitutional settlement is needed - one which makes it clear what the basic tenets of the Malaysian polity are.

Few challenges to the modern dream of democratic citizenship appear greater than the presence of severe ethnic, religious, and linguistic divisions in society. With their diverse religions and ethnic communities, the Southeast Asian countries of Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia have grappled with this problem since achieving independence after World War II. Each country has on occasion been torn by violence over the proper terms for accommodating pluralism. Until the Asian economic crisis of 1997, however, these nations also enjoyed one of the most sustained economic expansions the non-Western world has ever seen. This timely volume brings together fifteen leading specialists of the region to consider the impact of two generations of nation-building and market-making on pluralism and citizenship in these deeply divided Asian societies. Examining the new face of pluralism from the perspective of markets, politics, gender, and religion, the studies show that each country has developed a strikingly different response to the challenges of citizenship and diversity. The contributors, most of whom come Southeast Asia, pay particular attention to the tension between state and societal approaches to citizenship. They suggest that the achievement of an effectively participatory public sphere in these countries will depend not only on the presence of an independent "civil society," but on a synergy of state and society that nurtures a public culture capable of mediating ethnic, religious, and gender divides. The Politics of Multiculturalism will be of special interest to students of Southeast Asian history and society, anthropologists grappling with questions of citizenship and culture, political scientists studying democracy across cultures, and all readers concerned with the prospects for civility and tolerance in a multicultural world.

Analyses discourses pertinent to democratic politics in Malaysia, including the political elite's interpretation of 'Asian values' and 'Asian democracy', contending Islamic views on democracy, the impact of developmentalism on political culture, and the recovery of women's voice in everyday politics.