Thammasat University students interested in ASEAN studies, Malaysia, political science, history, sociology, and related subjects may find it useful to participate in a free 13 August Zoom webinar on Federal-State Relations in Malaysia: Dynamics, Developments and a Deep Dive into Sabah.

The event, on Tuesday, 13 August 2024 at 10am Bangkok time, is presented by ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute, Singapore.

The TU Library collection includes several books about different aspects of structural change in Thailand.

Students are welcome to register for the event at this link:

https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/7717224755684/WN_Mxp9-edLSxmRd8l_kwwzrg#/registration

As explained on the event website,

About the Webinar

Federal-state relations in Malaysia today are more dynamic than ever before, with states having changed leadership several times following the 2022 general election and several state-level elections between 2020 and 2023. At present, there are seven states under the Pakatan Harapan-Barisan Nasional (PHBN) grand coalition—three with PH Chief Ministers and four with BN Chief Ministers, four states under the Malaysian Islamic Party PAS, and Sabah and Sarawak under their respective state-specific coalitions.

This webinar will first shed light on federal-state relations under the Madani government led by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, focusing on administrative, fiscal and political developments as states navigate their relationship with the federal government at the centre. Reflecting the country’s more fluid political situation, states under different coalitions have increasingly demanded more policy autonomy and higher fiscal transfers. What immediate and long-term solutions are available for policymakers at both federal and state levels to resolve these tensions?

The webinar will then zoom in on Sabah’s political context and future outlook. It will uncover the complexities and underlying factors driving the frequent changes in governance and the phenomenon of party-switching among politicians in the state. It will offer a deep dive into the intricacies of Sabah politics, providing a comprehensive analysis of its past turbulent episodes, current dynamics, and prospects leading up to the critical state election by December 2025.

About the Speaker

Dr. Tricia Yeoh is Visiting Senior Fellow at ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute and CEO of the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS).

Dr. Arnold Puyok is Deputy Dean and Senior Lecturer in Politics and Government Studies at Universiti Malaysia Sarawak’s Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities. He was also Visiting Senior Fellow at ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute.

The TU Library collection includes published research by Dr. Yeoh and by Dr. Puyok.

In 2018, Dr. Yeoh wrote an article, Notes on a New Nation, Day 1.

It begins:

A few preliminary thoughts on what is happening right now in Malaysia. Unprecedented in our political history.

Yesterday on 9 May 2018, we saw the people of Malaysia voting for change against the incumbent Barisan Nasional. Pakatan Harapan the opposition coalition making up PKR, DAP, Amanah and PPBM won the hearts and minds of its citizens, sweeping the majority of our 222 Parliamentary seats and most of the states in the country. This was a clear signal that the leadership of Najib Razak is no longer respected and desired. Major leaders in Barisan were defeated including the MCA and MIC Presidents Liow Tiong Lai and Subramaniam in their seats Bentong and Segamat respectively.

The Election Commission performed its duties despite delaying the election results severely, causing most Malaysians watching the elections closely to stay up all night, myself included. As at early this morning, the results were out and reported accurately, thankfully. But due to recounts in several hot seats, a few seats seemed to change hands at the last minute. This included Wee Ka Siong’s seat in Ayer Itam, Johor (which he won, also after a recount).

Many conflicting pieces of information are flowing out of both formal and informal channels as I type. Although late last night, Ali Hamsa the government’s Chief Secretary issued an official statement declaring today (Thursday 10 May and Friday 11 May) are public holidays upon the wishes of “the Government”, leading many to believe the civil service had finally recognised the new government, this is not yet the case.

The processes to install a government in place post a general election are simple: The Election Commission first needs to declare the results and the winner. Following that, the leader of the party with the most seats won will be invited by the Yang DiPertuan Agong to be sworn in officially and appointed Prime Minister, to form the government.

However, there are many obstacles Pakatan Harapan has ahead of it. Because it is not a formal coalition (yes, they had applied for its registration but nothing came from the Registrar of Societies), it does not exist as an official entity that can be considered to form a government. The seat tally of the informal coalition stands at PKR (104), and DAP (9), so by right the 113 already surpasses the simple majority required to prove it commands the confidence of the majority of Malaysian voters.

Because there is no single party with a clear simple majority, Malaysia is now in a situation of a Hung Parliament. This was predicted by several analysts, myself included, as a possible electoral outcome given how tight the race was. This is a constitutional debacle now on procedure on how to proceed.

President of PKR, Dr Wan Azizah, can meet with the Agong to form the government. As I am not a lawyer, I am quoting extensively from Haris Ibrahim here: “If she chooses to abdicate that responsibility and appoint Mahathir with the consensus of the other parties that they choose to work with and who choose to work with them, including the 9 MPs from DAP and others, then and only then will Mahathir be sworn in as PM… Wan Azizah can by constitution meet with the Agong and accept appointment as PM to form the government with or without Mahathir’s agreement but not the other way around i.e. Mahathir cannot be PM without Wan Azizah’s agreement.”

However, this is not unprecedented procedure. Remember that in 2008, there was no official coalition since Pakatan Rakyat had not yet been formed at the time that Selangor, Penang, and Perak were won. All that was necessary was for the winning representatives to gather and amongst themselves elect a leader, and this leader with the respective party representatives to seek a meeting with the Sultan to show they commanded the majority of the state assembly. The same thing can happen at the federal parliament level here. Also, when the Perak state government was toppled in 2010, and the three pro-Pakatan assemblyperson jumped ship to be “Barisan-supporting independents”, the Perak Sultan was sufficiently satisfied that the new majority (without having to be in official coalition) commanded the majority of the state assembly. These are very crucial in setting the precedent for our situation now. […]

(All images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)