Thammasat University students interested in political science, Malaysia, ASEAN studies, history, law, communications, and related subjects may find it useful to participate in a free 22 February Zoom webinar on DAP in post-2022 Malaysia: Deals, Ambitions, Provocations.
The event, on Thursday, 22 February 2024 at 1pm Bangkok time, is presented by ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute, Singapore.
The TU Library collection includes books about different aspects of Malaysian politics.
Students are invited to register at this link:
https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/1017073569013/WN_FaJYTcjXRTeQ-A54c47KbA
The event webpage explains:
Malaysia’s Democratic Action Party (DAP) is the largest party in the Unity Government formed in November 2022. DAP’s number of MPs (40) exceeds Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s National Justice Party (PKR)’s 26, and constitutes half of Pakatan Harapan’s 81. The party won a whopping 94% of the urban, ethnically mixed seats it contested at the 2023 state elections. However, DAP’s presence in the federal cabinet is disproportionately small, and it is routinely maligned by the all-Malay Perikatan Nasional opposition, continuing a trend started by the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), DAP’s former nemesis turned partner.
This seminar addresses three major questions surrounding DAP in contemporary Malaysia. First, what are the ongoing challenges, at the party leadership and grassroots levels, regarding the deals—in federal and state governments—struck in order to be in power? Second, what are the priorities and compromises in DAP’s pursuit of political ambitions and policy platforms, especially its staple of reforms? Third, how is DAP negotiating the treacherous terrain of ethno-religious politics, particularly with its defense of human rights and equality while regularly being provoked and stigmatised?
At this seminar, first-time MP, party youth leader, policy thinker, and former Perak state assemblyman Howard Lee will share his perspective on these timely and searching questions.
About the Speaker
Howard Lee Chuan How is a Malaysian politician, activist and chef who has served as the Member of Parliament for Ipoh Timor since November 2022. He is also a member of the Malaysian Foreign Minister’s Consultative Council for Foreign Policy, and the sole Member of Parliament to be appointed in the Council.
Last September, an article was posted on the website of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a private, tax-exempt institution focusing on international public policy issues. Malaysia on the Edge of Democracy: Will Anwar’s Government Step Forward? by Sophie Lemière noted in part:
In November 2022, Anwar Ibrahim, leader of the democratic movement Reformasi, finally became prime minister of Malaysia. At 75, Anwar spent 8 years of a 20-year struggle in prison for “sexual offenses”—accusations he claimed to be politically motivated. His party, Parti Keadilan Rakyat, is the only multiracial formation in a highly racialized landscape where all parties are religion- and race- based. Considering the context of the global threats against democratic systems, and the country’s past hijacking of democratic institutions by autocratic political agendas, the Anwar government’s “Malaysia Madani,” or “Civil Malaysia,” seemed timely. However, the political slogan remains misunderstood by many and has failed to gain traction with the Malay masses, who are exhausted by years of economic distress and slow economic growth. While Malaysia has long been waiting to finally achieve its democratic transition, Anwar embodies the hopes of an entire generation of activists. Will his vision finally move Malaysia beyond its illiberal path? […]
In a context of constant threats, Anwar is in a precarious position, and democratic reforms have taken a back seat. Between UMNO and a ferocious opposition, a thin majority in parliament, and growing discontent and fear within the Malay majority constituency, Anwar has become a circus acrobat. His fruitless attempts to please the Malay crowds coupled with his efforts to maintain influence within his own circles have led the prime minister down a path of populism and confusion, sparking criticism from both external civil society organizations and within his own ranks.
Malaysia’s elections watchdog Bersih and the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs exposed the many political appointments made from within Anwar’s circle of supporters to manage government-owned companies or to occupy top positions in business conglomerates owned by his campaign funders. Human rights organizations warned against Anwar’s contradictory positions towards LGBTQ+ rights and exposed the Ministry of Home Affairs’ intentions to amend the constitution by removing provisions that protect children against statelessness.
Malaysia’s August 6 state elections confirmed the slim government majority and maintained the existing status quo. The northern states of Kedah, Terengganu, and Kelantan remain in the opposition, while the ruling coalition managed to keep Penang, Negeri Sembilan, and Selangor, though not without losing a few seats. During the campaign, the opposition maintained its strategy of attacking the government on the weakness of its economic policies in racially framed rhetoric. For PN, Malays are economically disadvantaged in spite of decades of economic policies favoring the Malay majority.
Despite several electoral losses, the government maintained its majority and should finally be able to implement its agenda. Looming elections and the need for Anwar to gather Malay conservative votes (in vain) can no longer be used as an excuse to avoid any big political decisions that could antagonize the conservative Malay majority.
During the state elections, cracks started to show in the ruling coalition, with MUDA youth party leader Syed Saddiq deciding that his party would go solo in the polls as a sign of protest against the government’s “false promises.” This move was criticized by PH component parties, especially the Malaysian Chinese Democratic Action Party (DAP), which recently has focused on attempts to smooth its relationship with longtime foe UMNO. Though the rival parties are now sharing power, their respective members seem unwilling to revise their decades-old narratives of right-wing chauvinistic racial rhetoric. An alliance of convenience for power is not sufficient to change the hateful language set in stone of both parties.
The danger remains in the ruling party’s strategy to compete with PN’s influence on the Malay majority. Anwar and Keadilan Malay MPs are upping their conservative game. Recent moves—including photo ops of Anwar assisting the conversion to Islam of a Hindu man, recent complaints by the Keadilan wing in Kelantan regarding the lack of separation of men and women at concerts, and an uptick in media censorship—are not only seen as absurd by Keadilan’s traditional supporters, but are also worrying for a party that claims to have an inclusive and democratic agenda. Meanwhile, PN is attempting to temper its extremist discourse by focusing on corruption, the economy, and the contradictions of Anwar’s government.
In this endless political game, hopes for democratic reforms are fading away as the political lines between old friends and new enemies are blurring further. The government’s current policies are the perfect image of the Malaysia Madani concept: they translate poorly both on the ground and in the people’s imagination, and for the past few months have been evasive at best—and condescending at worst. Anwar’s government needs urgently to muscle up its political communication and strategy, implement fundamental reforms, regain legitimacy among Malays while avoiding the caveat of populism, and reconnect with its supports within civil society. Rather than falling deeper into UMNO’s political cracks, Anwar needs to step up to retake ownership and revamp the Reformasi that Malaysians have been voting for.
(All images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)