New Malaysia still looks like old version, says academic

The purported “new Malaysia” still looks very much like the Malaysia of old, with authoritarianism being very much visible, according to political scientist William Case ahead of the one-year anniversary of the Pakatan Harapan administration.

"I am not so optimistic, I am afraid. To me, the new Malaysia looks rather like the old Malaysia," he said.

"Maybe it is not as new as we hope. Anyway, I am the outsider," he told a forum in Kuala Lumpur today.

“New Malaysia” had become a catchphrase to describe the Harapan-led government after it won the 14th general election, in anticipation of its efforts to transform the country.

"But today, the government is behaving very much like an autocratic government that been replaced," Case said.

He pointed to the use of the Sedition Act 1948 to investigate a forum regarding the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court last weekend.

He pointed out this was a worrying trend and Harapan government was suppose to abolish the Sedition Act as pledged in its election manifesto.

He also said Harapan ministers had been seen making various promises during the by-elections, which had nevertheless not been enough for them to win the polls.

Like its Asean neighbours, Malaysia is still a hybrid regime even after the electoral turnover, according to Case, who is the the head of the school of politics, history and international relations at Nottingham University’s Malaysian campus.

Hybrid regimes refer to governments which combine democratic traits, such as frequent and direct elections, with autocratic ones such as political repression.

A hybrid regime has a strong footing in a plural society and marginalises whichever community it intends to, he said.

By inheriting a hybrid regime, a new government is able to backtrack on promises and strategise using old ways, noted Case, adding that he offered the perspective of a Western observer.

The academic was speaking today at a forum titled "GE14 and the Year Since: Analyses and Perspectives", which was organised by the International Islamic University Malaysia. - Mkini