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Sep 28, 2024 | 
channelnewsasia.com | Francis E Hutchinson
SINGAPORE: The Democratic Action Party (DAP), a key component of Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition, has just concluded its election in Penang. The polls, which are held every three years for leadership positions in the state’s party machinery are significant as Penang is a bastion of support for PH, which has helmed the state since 2008.
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Sep 27, 2024 | 
fulcrum.sg | Francis E Hutchinson
The Democratic Action Party (DAP), a key component of Anwar Ibrahim’s Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition, has just concluded its election in Penang. The polls, which are held every three years for leadership positions in the state’s party machinery are significant as Penang is a bastion of support for PH, which has helmed the state since 2008.
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Sep 6, 2024 | 
fulcrum.sg | Francis E Hutchinson
Johor’s economy is rocketing ahead, with the state raking in RM31 billion (US$7 billion) in foreign direct investment last year. A good proportion of this was invested in its latest economic frontier: data centres. Even as this new venture takes off, it is underwritten by an asset that other ventures have been built upon: land. The state must decide if it wants to risk using this all up for a sector that may not deliver much beyond the initial rush of investment.
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Jul 15, 2024 | 
onlinelibrary.wiley.com | Francis E Hutchinson
BOOK REVIEW Electoral Reform and Democracy in Malaysia. M.H. Helen Tingand Donald L. Horowitz(eds). NIAS Press, Copenhagen, Denmark, 2023, pp. xiii + 292. ISBN 978-8-776-94321-9 (pbk). First published: 15 July 2024 No abstract is available for this article.
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May 15, 2024 | 
iseas.edu.sg | Francis E Hutchinson
Elections in Malaysia are held at the national and state levels, and in holding these concurrently, disruptions and costs have been reduced. As with the federal government, state governments can decide when to hold their elections. In the past, when Barisan Nasional (BN) was in power at the centre and in most states at the same time, this discretion was largely discounted.
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Feb 5, 2024 | 
channelnewsasia.com | Francis E Hutchinson
SINGAPORE: While Malaysia ushers in a new monarch under its unique rotating system, attention is divided between the pageantry of the coronation and the fate of an inmate in the infamous Kajang prison. Last week, tongues and TikTok accounts were atwitter with the news that former prime minister Najib Razak may get out of prison sooner than anticipated.
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Feb 4, 2024 | 
fulcrum.sg | Francis E Hutchinson
While Malaysia ushers in a new monarch under its unique rotating system, attention is divided between the pageantry of the coronation and the fate of an inmate in the infamous Kajang prison. Last week, tongues and TikTok accounts were atwitter with the news that former prime minister Najib Razak may get out of prison sooner than anticipated.
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Jan 30, 2024 | 
eastasiaforum.org | Enze Han |Sajjad Ashraf |Dan Slater |Francis E Hutchinson
One of the key questions about China’s relations with Myanmar is whether Beijing is supporting the State Administration Council (SAC) military junta. To the naive eye, it seems natural that the Chinese Communist Party would support the SAC because of their shared authoritarian nature.
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Jan 29, 2024 | 
eastasiaforum.org | Sajjad Ashraf |Dan Slater |Francis E Hutchinson |Sovinda Po
Pakistan remains on edge since Imran Khan was ousted as prime minister in 2022, following defections within his coalition and a vote of no-confidence in the parliament. The successor Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) government — a motley group of 13 parties — flouted every Supreme Court order to which it was subject, leaving the Court crippled and helpless. The rump parliament swiftly passed laws favouring their agenda at the expense of the constitution.
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Jan 25, 2024 | 
fulcrum.sg | Francis E Hutchinson
The Unity Government closed out 2023 on a high note. Albeit a bit battered, the administration — comprised of a colourful cabal of coalitions and cliques — survived the August 2023 state elections. Following these polls, Prime Minister M Anwar Ibrahim’s position was solidified when five Perikatan Nasional MPs pledged their support to him, bringing the total of pro-administration MPs to 152 – above a two-thirds majority in parliament.
