https://www.scmp.com/rss/507479/feed Sophie Lemière is a Visiting Fellow at the Asia Research Institute, University of Nottingham, Malaysia. She is also Adjunct Fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, DC and runs a political consulting firm based in Kuala Lumpur. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Malaysia’s major political parties are preparing for the Johor state election on March 12. The campaign in the state with the country’s third highest GDP after Selangor and Sarawak started on February 27. The political battle will test traditional alliances and could herald the formation of a new opposition alliance. Three political parties created over the past five years, namely Warisan, Pejuang and the Malaysian Democratic Alliance (MUDA) are attempting to form a new coalition as an... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3169766/will-malaysias-johor-polls-herald-start-new-opposition-front?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3169766/will-malaysias-johor-polls-herald-start-new-opposition-front?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 10 Mar 2022 01:00:29 +0000 D-E-A-D. That was the state of former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak’s political career on May 10, 2018. His party, the United Malays National Organisation (Umno), had just lost a general election for the first time since independence, ending 61 years of political monopoly. On that day, Najib, heir to a long line of Umno leaders, faced the terrible fall of his party and of his own name. The former prime minister is of noble descent and the second generation of Umno politicians: his father... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3158412/forget-1mdb-could-najib-razak-be-malaysias-next-prime-minister?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3158412/forget-1mdb-could-najib-razak-be-malaysias-next-prime-minister?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 06 Dec 2021 00:00:25 +0000 From pandemic premier to pendulum politician, it’s as if Malaysia’s former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin never left. He survived numerous crises after being appointed to lead the nation in March last year, but barely two weeks after his resignation, Muhyiddin has made a comeback as the chairman of the country’s pandemic-related National Recovery Council (NRC). No matter which direction the government swings, it seems, it returns to where it has gone before. Muhyiddin – who stepped down under... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3147780/malaysias-political-pendulum-has-already-swung-back-umno?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3147780/malaysias-political-pendulum-has-already-swung-back-umno?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 07 Sep 2021 02:30:12 +0000 Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has scored again. Despite all the excitement in the opposition ranks – including another claim that opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim had the numbers to take over as premier; a youth demonstration; a march by MPs to demand the opening of parliament, after it was suspended again for a Covid-19-related issue; the resignation of a member of Cabinet; and an attempt by the United Malays National Organisation (Umno) to take over – Muhyiddin remains. One more time, the... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3143808/pandemic-premier-muhyiddin-survives-yet-again-whats-next-him-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3143808/pandemic-premier-muhyiddin-survives-yet-again-whats-next-him-and?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 05 Aug 2021 01:00:22 +0000 In the past week, events in Malaysia and Tunisia have highlighted the unprecedented challenges faced by two young democracies, brought on by complex domestic politics and leadership struggling to respond to the coronavirus pandemic. In Malaysia, the state of emergency is poised to end, as announced by Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s government during a special session of parliament. In Tunisia, the turmoil may be just beginning after President Kais Saied invoked a state of emergency, which... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3143383/malaysia-and-tunisia-alike-young-democracies-are-being?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3143383/malaysia-and-tunisia-alike-young-democracies-are-being?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 01 Aug 2021 08:00:06 +0000 An unusual series of meetings held last week between King Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin and the leaders of other key parties created an avalanche of rumours and scenarios for Malaysia, after more than a year of political crisis. Muhyiddin, who took power in March last year, has never had a strong majority, relying instead on a fragile alliance with the Islamist PAS and two Borneo-based parties. Together they form a majority Malay political front known as... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3137929/malaysias-constant-crisis-conditions-are-perfect-muhyiddin?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3137929/malaysias-constant-crisis-conditions-are-perfect-muhyiddin?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 18 Jun 2021 10:29:07 +0000 Malaysia’s recent debate about rape culture in schools and the backlash against the student who instigated the discussion have drawn attention to the country’s conservative Islamic norms. But the systemic discrimination that produces gendered violence occurs around the world and singling out Islam as the problem risks masking the most damaging underlying factors. Ain Husniza Saiful Nizam, a 17-year-old Malaysian high school student, last month posted a video online reporting one of her teachers... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3133330/malaysia-confronts-rape-culture-schools-conservative-norms-are?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3133330/malaysia-confronts-rape-culture-schools-conservative-norms-are?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 13 May 2021 09:00:14 +0000 Recent months have seen Malaysia’s king take on a prominent role in the country’s chaotic political arena. On several occasions, King Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah called upon members of parliament to support next year’s budget in a bid to prevent further political instability – which was seen by many as contradictory to the monarch’s constitutional role, given how it was perceived as indirectly supporting the beleaguered administration of Prime Minister Muhyiddin... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3112663/amid-malaysias-political-chaos-countrys-king-carving-out-new?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3112663/amid-malaysias-political-chaos-countrys-king-carving-out-new?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 06 Dec 2020 02:30:15 +0000 The Muslim world has fallen out of love with France since President Emmanuel Macron this month stated that “Islam is in crisis”. Macron’s war with what he calls “radical” or “separatist Islamism” has been backed up by interior minister Gerald Darmanin, whose declaration this month that France was “at war with the Islamist ideology” was followed by the closure of a mosque in a city on the outskirts of Paris and the arrest of its leader. These extreme measures and statements are responses to the... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3107875/mahathir-always-right-his-comments-about-macron-need-context-so?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3107875/mahathir-always-right-his-comments-about-macron-need-context-so?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 31 Oct 2020 00:00:22 +0000 Last month, Anwar Ibrahim – leader of Malaysia’s opposition – announced he had the parliamentary support required to unseat current Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin. It is not the first time he has made such a claim, however, having promised much the same in 2008, 2013 and earlier this year. On every previous occasion he has failed, but this time Malaysians are torn between hope and scepticism as on Tuesday, Anwar will meet the king, who has the constitutional power to appoint a new prime... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3105185/anwar-ibrahims-prophecy-power-could-come-true-last-malaysia-it?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3105185/anwar-ibrahims-prophecy-power-could-come-true-last-malaysia-it?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 12 Oct 2020 10:28:47 +0000