Is Malaysian democracy backsliding or merely staying put?

Abstract

Observers proclaimed Malaysia's first-ever transfer of federal power through elections in 2018 as marking a democratic transition, only to see in the reversal of that change two years later evidence of backsliding. I argue instead that these concepts lack nuance: we should not read too much into a change of leadership. At best, the electoral-authoritarian regime wobbled; it neither transitioned convincingly in 2018 nor qualified as backsliding per se in 2020. That said, the regime has been edging toward liberalization, but less in the electoral sphere than in civil society and prevailing norms.

Civil Society's Inconsistent Liberalism in Southeast Asia: Exercising Accountability Along Differing Diagonals

“…Democratisation may never have made so much headway, in reality, as optimistic assessments supposed (Levitsky and Way, 2015: 48–49); its reversal may also, or concomitantly, also be less dire than pessimists propose. I have suggested previously (Weiss, 2022) that scholars have been inclined to read too much into minor oscillations in regimes such as Malaysia's: a regime that has not transitioned to liberal democracy might not be backsliding so much as standing pat when it reveals its illiberal aspects. And we do need to consider also the sort of democracy emplaced in the first place if asking about democratic regression.…”

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

“…In our respectful disagreement with fellow neighbouring intelligentsias, we think their fictionalisations seem louder in their mockery of our national politics but disciplinary silenced over their inorganic intellectual bravery to expose the paradox of progress and illusion of the republic (see Yin and Fei 2022). Let us be fair, that every single and everyone, be it reformist or conservative of society is an in-built subversive actor since we hold a sharp dagger to strike against anyone if we wish to be cast as evil (see also Welsh 2022;Weiss 2022Weiss , 2014Pepinsky 2013;Mohd Sani 2015). Thus, to simplify the complex election equation, a division between minority versus majority communal clashes in which ethnopolitical patronage is constant systematic discrimination against minority of racial and reformist actors is a rather half-baked story.…”

“…As such, it will be imprecise to propagate these elections as a battle between political reforms versus political protectionism (Wan Zainodin et al 2022;Ting et al 2022;Venkiteswaran 2020). Radicals from both sides of the alleged reform factions of the urban-based PH and the rest of communal-based supports pushed the rhetoric of hatred against one another (see also Weiss 2022). Worse, the use of social media technology further pushed the country into the apex of extremism and unleashed hate speeches against anyone, as it seemed that there was no longer moderation in this country Wilnat et al 2013;).…”