Suchergebnisse

AbstractPolitics in Malaysia revolves around the tensions between the three major ethnic groups: Malays, Chinese and Indians. After the 1969 ethnic riots, the country adopted an affirmative action programme widely regarded as racist towards the non‐Malays. The rise of political Islam in recent times has added a religious layer to institutional racism. This article looks at contemporary racism towards the Malaysian Chinese community and argues that things will get worse in the future owing to the omnipresence of the Malay Islamic supremacy ideology.

Ultimately, 2020 turned out to be an ordinary year for Papua New Guinea. Other than the COVID-19 crisis, much remained the same in the country. Any expectations that the new prime minister, James Marape, would change its direction fell apart quickly when it was clear that "business as usual" would continue. Despite their best efforts, Australia and its allies failed to stop the rising Chinese influence in the country.

Many would argue that the main factors in Pakatan Harapan's victory were the 1MDB scandal, anti-Najib and anti-UMNO sentiments, and Mahathir's ability to penetrate the rural Malay constituencies so as to split the UMNO/PAS vote. In the East Malaysia states of Sabah and Sarawak, however, it was local factors and state nationalism that largely decided the outcome of GE14. In this article, I will argue that the rise of state nationalism means that the most potent political issue in contemporary East Malaysia is MA63 - or the 1963 Malaysia Agreement. MA63 gives Sabah and Sarawak autonomy in a wide range of areas. For the past half-century, the East Malaysia polity has felt that it has lost its autonomy in many areas stipulated in the MA63 agreement, due to the centralisation of bureaucratic powers by the federal government. This has created a strong sense of historical grievance among Sabahans and Sarawakians, especially the non-Muslim native communities. The MA63 issue combined with local factors such as the selection of candidates and internal party disputes as well as sabotage together better reflect the on-the-ground experience of GE14 in Sabah and Sarawak. (JCSA/GIGA)