Today marks one month after the historic GE14. It is early days yet for the new Pakatan Harapan government with only a core minimalist cabinet in place. Yet, in the past month, there have been important messages that illustrate a commitment to a genuinely different form of governance....
Articles, News & Commentary / 03.04.2017
Trends in Soft Power in East Asia: Distance, Diversity and Drivers
Kai-Ping Huang and Bridget Welsh discuss trends in soft power for Global Asia’s In Focus section, themed “Battle for Influence: Perceptions in Asia of China and the US”. The battle for soft-power supremacy among Great Powers in East Asia holds some surprises as China’s influence is not gaining in ways commensurate with its...
Reviews and comments on the book, “The End of UMNO?: Essays on Malaysia’s dominant party” ─ a collection of essays written together with John Funston, Clive Kessler, James Chin....
Articles / 01.07.2016
A Tuesday night in Istanbul
Most journeys begin with a sense of expectation of arrival at the destination, but last Tuesday - as terror struck Istanbul’s Ataturk airport - the experience was one of rising above expectations. As the world rightly condemns the use of violence against innocent civilians, there is a tendency to overlook...
Articles / 21.06.2016
The June by-elections and the politics of losing
The by-election results for Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar are in. Umno held onto their seats, and increased its majorities....
In the past few weeks, two important publications have come out. Terence Lee and Kevin YL Tan have published Change in Voting: Singapore’s 2015 General Election and the special journal of Singapore’s GE in the Round Table edited by James Chin. These publications, featuring younger scholars and diverse views, will contribute to scholarly...
Taken from New Mandala With the ‘landslide’ results of the Sarawak election last week, it would appear on the surface that Malaysia’s Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak has been given a political reprieve. His close ally Sarawak’s Chief Minister Adenan Satem secured an overwhelming majority of 72 out of 82 seats,...
As Sarawakians head to the polls today, it is important to understand that the BN-created electoral constituencies in the state will significantly impact the result. Malaysia’s non-independent Electoral Commission (EC) has staked the system in its favour in how it has delineated and recently redrawn the state’s electoral boundaries....
Articles, News & Commentary / 06.05.2016
It’s raining money in Sarawak
From projects and vote-buying to patronage and betting, money politics in Sarawak is raining everywhere. But, as Bridget Welsh reports, there is little concern for the long-term damages as candidates and voters seek to cash in....
Bridget Welsh on the the slowly-shifting sands of the Sarawak political landscape and what it means for the 7 May election....