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Malaysia: Competitive Authoritarianism in a Plural Society

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Comparative Politics of Southeast Asia

Abstract

Compared to most other political systems in Southeast Asia, Malaysian politics since 1957 has exhibited an unusually high degree of political and social stability. The elite pact between political, economic, and communal elites resulted in a political and economic order that protected the interests of both elites and their ethnic constituencies. The resulting competitive authoritarian regime guaranteed efficient and peaceful conflict resolution within the ethnically segmented society, as the control of coercive, symbolic, and economic power enabled Barisan Nasional to manage existing conflicts peacefully, to co-opt relevant elites, and to survive political crises like the Asian Financial Crisis of 1997–1998. Yet, the declining electoral prowess of the ruling coalition, reflected in the outcome of the 2008 and 2013 general elections, raise serious doubts about the resilience of the very foundations of authoritarian rule in Malaysia. Especially, the dramatic weakening of minority component parties such as MIC and MCA and the formation of a broad, inter-ethnic opposition coalition, as well as the emancipation of civil society indicate that the authoritarian bargain of the 1950s may have become obsolete. So far, however, UMNO can still rely on the majority of Malay voters as well as the loyalty of bureaucrats, the police, and the military, and there is no indication that it is willing to give up on either the concept of Malay supremacy or its own status as the “natural born” ruling party. This chapter provides a systematic overview of the political actors, institutions, and dynamics of Malaysia’s political system and summarizes its history and recent developments.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    This term includes the indigenous peoples of Sabah and Sarawak in addition to the Malay majority.

  2. 2.

    At the level of the constituent states, traditional rulers can act more independently. In 2009, the Chief Minister of Perak and chair of the opposition party PAS asked the Sultan of Perak to dissolve the state assembly; he turned down this request and instead appointed an UMNO politician as chief minister (The Star 2010).

  3. 3.

    This regulation ensured that members of the Indian and Chinese community were de facto excluded from the post at the time of independence.

  4. 4.

    In addition to ministers with a portfolio, the cabinet also includes several ministers without portfolio, like heads of government agencies or the chairman of the Office of the Prime Minister.

  5. 5.

    Prior to 1994 the Federal Court was referred to as the Supreme Court.

  6. 6.

    Since 1964, state elections (except in Sarawak) are held simultaneously with the general elections. In 1976, the national government abolished electoral local governments (Funston 2006, p. 181).

  7. 7.

    Dong Jiao Zong consists of the United Chinese School Committees’ Association (UCSCA) and the United Chinese School Teachers’ Association (UCSTA).

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Acknowledgment

The authors are grateful to Stephan Giersdorf for his work on the original draft of this chapter.

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Croissant, A., Lorenz, P. (2018). Malaysia: Competitive Authoritarianism in a Plural Society. In: Comparative Politics of Southeast Asia. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-68182-5_6

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