Malaysia 2020: Regime Change, Hope and Democracy in Crisis?

On 19 March 2020, SSEAC hosted an online event discussing the short-lived Pakatan Harapan government and the possible return of kleptocracy in Malaysia. This podcast is an edited recording of the live conversation between Emeritus Professor Clive Kessler, Dr Ross Tapsell, Senator Liew Chin Tong, Mr Kean Wong, and Ms Tricia Yeoh. The dramatic few weeks in January-February 2020 in Malaysia have resulted in a contentious new government, sworn in by Malaysia’s King in the country’s biggest crisis in 20 years. The historic election victory of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition nearly two years ago, which heralded a renewed democracy and a reformist government led by nonagenarian PM Dr Mahathir Mohamad, imploded in February after a series of defections, betrayals, and backroom deals. New prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin has grabbed power in a fragile alliance with former enemy parties UMNO and the Islamist Pas, as massive corruption and kleptocracy cases of UMNO leaders are heard in court. What will this new government mean for Malaysia’s recent democracy revival, including its institutional and governance reforms already underway? And what are the longer-term implications for an uncertain nation and a new government grappling with its own legitimacy, in a region roiled by trade wars and a global pandemic? Photo credit: Franc Pallares Lopez