Search results

In this book, the author draws on over a decade of first-hand experience as an academic-activist and on interviews with women in Malaysia's women's rights movement. Despite a considerable array of challenges to their participation in the public and political spheres, the movement is especially vibrant. Presenting insights from feminist activists in Malaysia, the book explores the Women's Candidacy Initiative's efforts to promote independent women in Parliament; the work of women's coalition the Joint Action Group for Gender Equality; how activists understand and experience the concept of feminism; and finally the place of men in feminism. Women's Activism in Malaysia will be of interest to students and scholars across a range of disciplines including gender studies, politics and sociology.

This paper examines how the Barisan Nasional (National Front, BN) coalition has held power in Malaysia since that country's independence in 1957. The first of two perspectives taken in this examination looks at the practical impediments to opposition party participation during general elections. This is refracted through the prism of the campaign during the 2004 general elections of a Parti KeADILan Rakyat candidate. The second perspective looks at the broader cultural environment in which elections occur in Malaysia. In particular, the BN plays upon popular fears of a recurrence of ethnic violence that occurred in 1969 when opposition parties polled strongly to portray itself as the keeper of the country's peace. The examination of both practical mechanisms & the cultural environment allow a more complete understanding of how the BN maintains its political dominance in Malaysia. Tables, Figures, References. Adapted from the source document.

Abstract