Spoiling the Menu, Subverting Authoritarianism The Recipe from Malaysia

Muhamad M. N. Nadzri

《Taiwan Journal of Democracy》 16卷1期 (2020/07) Pp. 107-132

摘要

The Barisan Nasional (BN), the former ruling party of Malaysia, is infamously known for its cunning manipulations in closing the electoral game in its effort to sustain the status quo throughout its six-decade rule as the federal government (1957-2018). Nevertheless, in the general election held on May 9, 2018, the BN shockingly lost to a relatively new opposition coalition-the Pakatan Harapan (PH). Based on direct observation of the key events and interviews, this essay explores how the PH has countered and neutralized the BN's menu of manipulation through its skillful maneuvers in changing the game, paving the way for governmental and perhaps even regime change for the first time in the history of modern Malaysia. The first part of this essay lays the historical foundation for the shifting character of the BN regime, which was repressive in the past but has been more manipulative since the 1990s. The second part of the essay operationalizes Andreas Schedler's ＂Menu of Manipulation＂ in the context of the 2018 Malaysian general election. The third and final part of the essay examines the pragmatic counter-strategies utilized by the PH to spoil the incumbent party's manipulative tactics, thus making the electoral process extremely competitive, albeit within an authoritarian electoral system.

關鍵字

Barisan Nasional ； democratization through election ； Mahathir Mohamad ； Malaysian General Election 2018 ； Pakatan Harapan

參考文獻

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Walid Jumblatt Abdullah, “The Mahathir Effect in Malaysia’s 2018 Election: The Role of Credible Personalities in Regime Transitions,” Democratization, DOI:10.1080/13510347.2018.1552943 (accessed March 11, 2019).

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William Case, Semi-Democracy in Malaysia: Pressures and Prospects for Change (Canberra: Panther Publishing, 1992), 13.

Chin-Huat Wong, James Chin, and Norani Othman, “Malaysia: Towards a Typology of an Electoral-One Party State,” Democratization 17, no. 5 (2010): 920-949.