What Next for Malaysia’s Troubled Politics

After 17 tumultuous months in office, Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin this week resigned, paving the way for a new government and, possibly, an early election.

Malaysia has undergone dramatic political upheaval since elections in 2018 ousted the corruption riddled government of Najib Razak and broke the dominance of the United Malays National Organisation.

The country is now facing its third prime minister in just over three years as the country battles the rapid spread of COVID-19 and a deep economic downturn.

In this webinar, facilitated by Asialink, two leading Malaysia political experts, Professor James Chin and journalist Hadi Azmi explain the current political crisis and analyse what next for Malaysia’s troubled politics.

This discussion will be moderated by Asialink Senior Adviser Dr Donald Greenlees.

Speakers

James Chin is Professor of Asian Studies at the University of Tasmania. He is also a Senior Fellow, Jeffrey Cheah Institute, Malaysia; and a Council Member, Australian Institute of International Affairs (Tasmania). He was previously Senior Visiting Research Fellow, Institute of South East Asian Studies (ISEAS), Singapore; Salzburg Global Freeman Fellow (US & Austria). Prior to an academic career, he worked as a journalist in Malaysia and Singapore. Prof Chin is the leading scholar on contemporary Malaysian politics, especially the politics of Sabah and Sarawak. Prof Chin’s comments are often reported in leading publications such as The Economist, The New York Times, Financial Times, South China Morning Post and Wall Street Journal.

Hadi Azmi is an independent reporter in Kuala Lumpur. He frequently contributes to Bloomberg and the Southeast Asian arm of Radio Free Asia, BenarNews on the topic of Malaysian current events and politics. He also writes about regional security and counterterrorism, particularly with regards to South China Sea, the Southern Thai separatist movement as well as the migration of Rohingya refugees.