Category: Malaysia

Consolidating democracy after Malaysia’s election tsunami

     

Following his stunning electoral upset over Prime Minister Najib Razak, Malaysia’s 92-year-old prime minister, Mahathir Mohamad is steadfast on the need for reform and said his earlier tenure in no… Read more »

How Britain lets Russian kleptocrats hide dirty money

     

British financial complicity with Russian kleptocrats is undermining the country’s national security and democratic institutions, says analyst Oliver Bullough. Over the past decade, £68bn has flowed from Russia into Britain’s… Read more »

To ‘mature as a democracy’, Malaysia’s ‘sick-minded’ corruption must end

     

Malaysia’s new government on Monday established a special task force to probe possible criminal offences relating to country’s 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) sovereign wealth fund, the FT reports: The task… Read more »

Malaysia poll confirms ‘no reason to give up on democracy’

     

  As Malaysia’s most powerful man, Najib Razak worked hard to keep the public from accessing information about a multi-billion dollar scandal at state fund 1MDB. Now they just might find… Read more »

Potemkin elections an ill omen for global democracy

     

This week’s tsumani-sized election shock in Malaysia does not necessarily augur well for forthcoming electoral contests elsewhere, observers suggest. In less than two weeks, Venezuela will conduct the latest in… Read more »

Malaysia’s tsunami unseats ‘kleptocracy at its worst’

     

Breaking six decades of rule by the Barisan Nasional coalition, Malaysia’s opposition Pakatan Harapan coalition, headed by former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, won 113 of 222 parliamentary seats in yesterday’s poll…. Read more »

Generative adversarial networks: how fake news fuels authoritarians

     

The erosion of democratic norms in the advanced liberal democracies has given autocratic leaders the green light to do the same, reports suggest. “Fake news is being used as a… Read more »

‘Londongrad’: spy attack shines spotlight on kleptocratic haven

     

“Kleptocracy at its worst” is how US Attorney General Jeff Sessions recently characterized dealings at 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), a heavily indebted state development fund currently under investigation for fraud… Read more »

Rise of Islamism in Malaysia and Indonesia jeopardizing democratic gains?

     

The rise of Islamism in Malaysia and Indonesia could have severe consequences for the two states’ societies, political systems, and overall stability, says a leading analyst. Malaysia’s prime minister, Najib… Read more »