The Asia-Pacific Security Outlook 2005 is published by the East-West Center and edited by Richard W. Baker and Charles E. Morrison. Elina Noor, Research Assistant for the Brookings' Project on U.S. Relations with the Islamic World, contributed a chapter to the book on Malaysia. The chapter was based upon a background paper she prepared for the Asia-Pacific Security Outlook 2005 Workshop held in Bali, Indonesia late last year.
MALAYSIA
Malaysia enters 2005 with a buoyant internal and external outlook. The principal driving factors are: the landslide victory of Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's Barisan Nasional's (BN) coalition in the general election of March 2004; the "feel-good" factor of Badawi's persona and policies after the more contentious style of his predecessor Mahathir bin Mohammed; and, relatedly, improvement in the atmosphere of relations with neighboring countries, most notably Singapore and Indonesia.
The Security Environment
Internal
BN's resounding win at the ballot box saw not only the recapture of the state of Terengganu from the religious-conservative Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS, the Islamic Party of Malaysia) but also major gains in the traditional PAS stronghold of Kelantan. The result has been interpreted as signifying both popular endorsement of the party's policies and Abdullah's leadership and rejection of the right-leaning religious politics of PAS.
The election result also suggested the dwindling appeal of the essentially single-issue Parti Keadilan (Justice Party) associated with jailed former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim. Anwar's subsequent release was hailed by many within and outside the country and renewed hopes of unity among Malaysia's deeply divided opposition. However, Anwar's return to public life is tempered by his ineligibility to contest for public office until 2008 because of his conviction for corruption and sodomy (though the latter was overturned by Malaysia's Federal Court in September 2004). Also, Anwar's push for reform will likely have limited effects given government reforms which have already been instituted, resumed rapid economic growth, and the feel-good factor surrounding Abdullah (which was, ironically, boosted by Anwar's release and a subsequent joint appearance at a banquet in November celebrating the end of Ramadan).
PAS, while struggling to reinvent its relevance in the face of apparent disinterest in its fundamentalist approach, continues to tempt UMNO into a race for the moralization of both politics and policies. It blames the government's approval of public entertainment and lack of faith-focused initiatives as contributing to the nation's "moral crisis," and questions Abdullah's Islam Hadhari—a civilizational and progress-driven Islam meant to propel all Malaysians toward developed-nation status by 2020—for allowing practices such as gambling to run rife in society.
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