Malaysia
Malaysia exhibits mid-range performance across all categories of the Global State of Democracy framework, and it is among the bottom 25 per cent of countries with regard to Freedom of Religion and Local Democracy. Over the last five years, it has experienced notable advances in multiple factors of Representation, Rights and Rule of Law. The country is home to a very dynamic market economy and boasts the highest GDP per capita in Southeast Asia, after Singapore and Brunei.
Malaysia is a multi-ethnic and multi-confessional state that was consolidated out of a variety of sultanates and independent kingdoms by European colonial powers, most prominently Great Britain. Parts of Malaysia became independent from Great Britain in 1957, with additional territories joining later in 1963. The country has sizable ethnic Indian and Chinese minorities, but the largest group, representing nearly 70 per cent of the population, are bumiputera, a term that encompasses ethnic Malays and a number of small “aboriginal” populations, although specific definitions vary between regions.
From independence in 1957 until 2018, the country was ruled by the United Malays National Organization (UMNO) party and the coalition it led, the Barisan Nasional (BN). The UMNO was and is dedicated to advocating for special privileges for the bumiputera population, and since 1971 bumiputera have enjoyed a wide range of constitutionally protected special privileges in education, employment, access to finance, and more. The broader BN coalition was always dependent on ethnic Chinese and Indian parties under a consociational arrangement, marked by cooperation between elites in each group. This also produced an entrenched system of patronage and corruption among economic and political elites in the country.
The 1997 Asian Financial Crisis was a turning point for Malaysian democracy, galvanizing the political opposition around a reform movement that sought better governance and improved ethnic inclusion. As the opposition gained support, the UMNO turned to tactical polarization and ethnonationalist rhetoric to maintain support, sparking racial and religious tensions. Consociationalism broke down as the BN coalition lost both Malay and non-Malay popular support.
While the collapse of consociationalism has ushered in a governance system marred by complex extra-parliamentary agreements and horse-trading among political elites without significant democratic expansion, a key milestone for the country´s democracy occurred in 2018 when the UNMO and BN were ousted from power for the first time. The election was an expression of public dissatisfaction with high-profile and systemic corruption, such as the 2016 1MDB money laundering and embezzlement scandal. Although long a Muslim-majority society, conservative interpretations of Islam have become more ingrained in daily life and politics in recent decades. This, however, has gone hand-in-hand with significant gains for women’s equality in social life and the labour market, although the gains have been unequally distributed, with women of low socioeconomic status suffering more discrimination and being more likely to be victims of gender-based violence.
In the coming years, it will be important to watch whether tension along ethnic and religious lines increases, especially in light of an increase in racial discrimination. This, along with declining trust in politicians, could impact a number of factors. A lack of sufficient judicial independence and possible erosion of media integrity due to recent restrictions imposed by the government will also impact Rights.
Monthly Event Reports
March 2024 | Proposed citizenship amendments provoke furore
Malaysia’s parliament is set to consider contentious constitutional amendments that will change how citizenship is conferred in June. A wave of criticism from opposition and government lawmakers and civil society led the bill’s backers to abandon plans to hold the vote in March. The amendments would require abandoned children to apply for citizenship, revoke the automatic granting of citizenship to children of permanent residents, revoke the citizenship of naturalized wives of Malaysian men if the marriage ends within two years of citizenship acquisition, and more. An amendment that allows the children of Malaysian women born abroad to automatically receive citizenship, however, received widespread support. The amendments’ many critics argue it will drastically increase the number of stateless people in Malaysia. Stateless people are denied access to healthcare and education in the country and also struggle to obtain employment.
February 2024 | Najib Razak receives partial pardon
Former Prime Minister Najib Razak received a partial royal pardon from a pardons board headed by Malaysia’s outgoing monarch for his role in the 1MDB corruption scandal on 2 February. Razak’s jail sentence was reduced from 12 to six years and his fine from MYR 210 million (USD 44.5 million) fine to MYR 50 million, or slightly more than the MYR 42 million he was found to have personally received for his role in the 1MDB scheme. The pardons board did not provide an explanation for its decision, which was met with criticism by lawmakers and anti-corruption campaigners. The reduced sentence means Razak will be eligible for parole before Malaysia’s next general elections in early 2028. Razak is reportedly unhappy to have not received a full pardon and has appealed again to the pardons board.
September 2023 | Charges against Deputy PM dropped
Prosecutors dropped all 47 corruption charges against Deputy Prime Minister and United Malays National Organization (UMNO) head Ahmad Zahid Hamidi on 4 September. Ahmad Zahid was the target of widespread public dissatisfaction over corruption scandals that led to the UMNO being voted out of government for the first time in Malaysian history in 2018, and the announcement was met with public protests and questions about the government’s commitment to anti-corruption reforms. The UMNO is the largest junior partner in Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s ruling coalition. The Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (MUDI) announced it would leave the ruling coalition in protest of the decision, which might cause the coalition to lose the supermajority it needs to pass constitutional amendments and other major reforms.
August 2023 | Malaysia holds state elections
Malaysia held elections in six of 13 state legislatures on 12 August. In what was held as an early referendum on Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s government, voters returned a result that matched the status quo, as both Anwar’s coalition governments and the opposition Perikatan Nasional (PN) held on to power in their respective three state legislatures. However, the PN made gains overall, taking 146 of the 245 contested seats nationwide. Official information on gender representation and voter turnout were not immediately available.
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GSoD Indices Data 2013-2022
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