Death and Democracy: Covid-19 and Malaysian Politics

Photo: Faris Mohammed on Unsplash

With Emergency Rule, limited parliament sessions and weak legitimacy, Covid-19 is seen as undermining democracy in Malaysia. In this seminar Dr Welsh argues that there are also opposite trends. While acknowledging the contraction of democratic space and adoption of more authoritarian practices, Welsh argues that Covid-19 is leaving a profound impact on political norms and behaviour. Not only are more people politically engaged, new forms of mobilisation and generational shifts are taking place. Covid-19 may in fact leave Malaysia stronger to address the serious inequalities and policy and governance challenges exposed by Covid-19. 

Prof Khoo Boo Teik responds and offers his own insights as the discussant. 

Details
Date: 24 July 2021, Saturday
Time: 15:00 to 16:30
Location: Online via Microsoft Teams 

Featuring Dr Bridget Welsh (Honorary Research Associate, University of Nottingham Asia Research Institute Malaysia and discussant Professor Khoo Boo Teik (Professor Emeritus, National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies, Japan).  

Bridget Welsh is an independent scholar and political analyst currently based in Kuala Lumpur. She is currently an Honorary Research Associate with the University of Nottingham Asia Research Institute Malaysia (UoNARI-M). She is also a Senior Research Associate of the Hu Feng Center for East Asia Democratic Studies of National Taiwan University and a Senior Associate Fellow of The Habibie Center. She specialises in Southeast Asian politics, with a focus on Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore and Indonesia. An author and editor of numerous books, reports and articles. Her latest book is Sabah from the Ground: 2020 Elections and Politics of Survival was published in May. She taught at John Cabot University, Ipek University, Singapore Management University, SAIS (JHU) and Hofstra University. She received her PhD in political science from Columbia University, language training at Cornell University (FALCON) and B.A. from Colgate University. She is a Senior Advisor for Freedom House, a member of the International Research Council of the National Endowment for Democracy, a core member of the Asian Barometer Survey covering fifteen countries in East Asia. She is also a columnist in Malaysiakini, commentator on regional politics and a consultant assessing political risk in the region.  

Khoo Boo Teik is Professor Emeritus, National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies, and Research Fellow Emeritus, Institute of Developing Economies, Japan. From April to September 2021 he is Visiting Senior Fellow at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, Singapore, which published his Malay Politics: Parlous Condition, Persistent Problems, and The Making of Anwar Ibrahim's 'Humane Economy' in December 2020.