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  • Home
  • About RSIS
      • Introduction
      • Building the Foundations
      • Welcome Message
      • Board of Governors
      • Staff Profiles
        • Executive Deputy Chairman’s Office
        • Dean’s Office
        • Management
        • Distinguished Fellows
        • Faculty and Research
        • Associate Research Fellows, Senior Analysts and Research Analysts
        • Visiting Fellows
        • Adjunct Fellows
        • Administrative Staff
      • Honours and Awards for RSIS Staff and Students
      • RSIS Endowment Fund
      • Endowed Professorships
      • Career Opportunities
      • Getting to RSIS
  • Research
      • Research Centres
        • Centre for Multilateralism Studies (CMS)
        • Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies (NTS Centre)
        • Centre of Excellence for National Security (CENS)
        • Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies (IDSS)
        • International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research (ICPVTR)
      • Research Programmes
        • National Security Studies Programme (NSSP)
        • Studies in Inter-Religious Relations in Plural Societies (SRP) Programme
      • [email protected] Newsletter
      • Other Research
        • Future Issues And Technology (FIT)
        • Science and Technology Studies Programme (STSP) (2017-2020)
  • Graduate Education
      • Graduate Programmes Office
      • Overview
      • MSc (Asian Studies)
      • MSc (International Political Economy)
      • MSc (International Relations)
      • MSc (Strategic Studies)
      • NTU-Warwick Double Masters Programme
      • PhD Programme
      • Exchange Partners and Programmes
      • How to Apply
      • Financial Assistance
      • Meet the Admissions Team: Information Sessions and other events
      • RSIS Alumni
  • Alumni & Networks
      • Alumni
      • Asia-Pacific Programme for Senior Military Officers (APPSMO)
      • Asia-Pacific Programme for Senior National Security Officers (APPSNO)
      • SRP Executive Programme
      • Terrorism Analyst Training Course (TATC)
  • Publications
      • RSIS Publications
        • Annual Reviews
        • Books
        • Bulletins and Newsletters
        • Commentaries
        • Counter Terrorist Trends and Analyses
        • Commemorative / Event Reports
        • IDSS Paper
        • Interreligious Relations
        • Monographs
        • NTS Insight
        • Policy Reports
        • Working Papers
        • RSIS Publications for the Year
      • Glossary of Abbreviations
      • External Publications
        • Authored Books
        • Journal Articles
        • Edited Books
        • Chapters in Edited Books
        • Policy Reports
        • Working Papers
        • Op-Eds
        • External Publications for the Year
      • Policy-relevant Articles Given RSIS Award
  • Media
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    S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies Think Tank and Graduate School Ponder The Improbable Since 1966
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    • RSIS
    • RSIS Seminar by Professor Meredith Weiss, Visiting Senior Fellow, Malaysia Programme, IDSS, RSIS; and Professor of Political Science, State University of New York at Albany

    RSIS Seminar by Professor Meredith Weiss, Visiting Senior Fellow, Malaysia Programme, IDSS, RSIS; and Professor of Political Science, State University of New York at Albany

    The Trajectory of Malaysia’s Changing Dominant-party System

    16 Jan 2023 16:30 - 17:45
    RSIS Seminar Room 1
    Office Attire
    Type: Lectures / Seminars
    Public
    For Enquiries: [email protected]
    Google Calendar

    Abstract

    Malaysia’s system of parties and coalitions has entered an unpredictable new phase. The 15th General Election (GE15) resulted in a hung parliament which required coalitions to consider different combinations of partners to make up a simple majority. The formation of a ‘unity government’ with several coalitions forging marriages-of-convenience highlight that no single coalition can now prevail independently.

    The dominant-party regime established by Barisan Nasional (BN) is unequivocally eroding. Coalitions and parties have fractured and political alignments have become more fluid since Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) path-breaking victory in 2018, producing a substantially different array of competitors than previously.

    Yet despite this less stable regime backdrop, this situation also presents opportunities for meaningful policy and institutional reform than had previously been plausible. A dominant coalition or party no longer has a vested interest in maintaining the institutional and electoral advantages for coalitions in power. All may see potential for advantage in shifting the rules.

    This seminar will address the following questions, and more:

    • What are the intra- and inter-coalition dynamics that could challenge the stability of the current ‘unity government’?
    • In a partisan landscape where inter-coalition alliances are becoming necessary, what does it mean for parties who appeal to their bases on communal, ideological, or regional grounds?
    • What are the implications for BN’s lead party United Malays National Organisation (UMNO)?

     

    About the Speaker

    Meredith WeissMeredith Weiss is a Visiting Senior Fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) and Professor of Political Science at the State University of New York at Albany. She has published widely on social mobilisation and civil society, electoral politics and parties, and subnational governance in Southeast Asia, with a particular focus on Malaysia and Singapore. Her current projects include research on local government and public-goods delivery, democratic representation and political elites, and youth politics in Southeast Asia.

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    RSIS Seminar by Professor Meredith Weiss, Visiting Senior Fellow, Malaysia Programme, IDSS, RSIS; and Professor of Political Science, State University of New York at Albany

    Abstract

    Malaysia’s system of parties and coalitions has entered an unpredictable ne ...

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