Activists from the Bersih movement show a placard reading “Clean Elections” during a rally against corruption in front of the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Nov. 19, 2016 (AP photo by Vincent Thian).
Malaysia’s ‘Politics as Usual’ Is Hollowing Out Its Democracy
Michael Hart Wednesday, March 16, 2022
Although widely overlooked outside the country, Malaysia recently experienced what is arguably the biggest shake-up to its electoral politics since the country’s independence from Britain in 1957, thanks to a law passed in 2019 that took effect on Dec. 15.
The legislation, which lowers the voting age from 21 to 18, will see 5.8 million new voters added to the electorate ahead of the next general election in 2023. Perhaps even more importantly, it represents a rare and encouraging victory on the part of Malaysian progressives, who have had very few wins to celebrate in recent years. ...