MALAYSIA’s 15th general election (GE15) has affirmed the centrality of the 3Rs – race, religion, and royalty – which are set to shape its politics moving forward.
This is the key conclusion of Asia Centre’s latest report, Internet Freedoms in Malaysia: Regulating Online Discourse on Race, Religion, and Royalty.
In the report, Asia Centre, a Bangkok-based research institute with special consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council, analyses how Malaysia’s legal ecosystem impacts online discussions of the 3Rs that question the special position of the Malays, Islam, and the monarchy.
GE15’s resulted in a hung Parliament. Pakatan Harapan (PH), which obtained 82 electoral seats and no simple majority, formed a unity government with Umno, one of the several component members of the new administration.
It resulted in Malay-majority representation in the cabinet and conservative rhetoric from Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
What this means is that the unity government, through the memorandum of understanding, not only cements the component elements of the unity government together, but also guarantees the special position of Malays, Islam, and the monarchy will not be questioned.
Post-MoU, Anwar’s statement that his government will not recognise LGBT groups or a secular state further confirmed the unity government's 3Rs stance to ensure its political survival.
Such a position was taken based on PH’s past experience, where it knows that the promotion of a progressive 3Rs narrative with multiculturalism at its core is likely to scuttle the unity government as it did its administration previously.
This is a far cry from the coalition’s previous success, then known as Pakatan Rakyat in the 2004, 2008, and 2013 elections, which gathered momentum for a progressive interpretation of the 3Rs.
In 2018, this progressive narrative reached its apex when the coalition rebranded itself as PH, advocating an equitable multicultural policy, and won the general election.
During PH’s tenure between 2018 and 2020, policies were initiated to liberalise and frame an inclusive society. However, moves to ratify the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, make concessions to non-Malay interests, and repeal restrictive laws were alleged to threaten the special position of the 3Rs.
Thus, PH’s progressive 3Rs discourse was short-lived and suspended when the government collapsed due to its loss of parliamentary majority.
Having learnt its lesson, PH in its unity government now has to incorporate Umno’s view on the 3Rs that seeks to ensure the special provisions for Malay and Muslim communities are not questioned.
This means PH is again unable to consolidate its progressive approach to race, religion, and royalty, which includes a call for a multicultural and equitable society.
We can expect that the existing legal ecosystem, inherited from the British colonial era and later amended and added to by successive Umno-led Barisan Nasional administrations during its six-decade rule, will be used to regulate both online and offline discourse of the 3Rs.
Furthermore, Umno’s continuous electoral weakening over the last four general elections – 79 seats in 2008, 88 in 2013, 54 in 2018, and 26 seats in 2022 – has created a political vacuum that is being filled by parties articulating a right-wing discourse.
PAS had 23 seats in 2008, then 21 in 2013, dropping to 18 in 2018 and rising steeply to 43 in 2022. Similarly, Bersatu has also been rising, from 13 in 2018 when it first contested to 31 in 2022.
These parties have ridden on the back of ultranationalist discourses at the expense of racial equality, secularism, and the primacy of the constitution.
Considering these developments, Malaysia finds itself at a political crossroads following the 2022 general election, with three 3Rs narratives that Asia Centre’s latest report labels as traditional, progressive, and right-wing.
These narratives are being used by political parties and coalitions to appeal to the Malay-Muslim community for political legitimacy.
Asia Centre’s report records and forecasts that restrictive measures such as blocking online sites, removing online content, and investigating and prosecuting individuals and organisations that question the 3Rs will continue.
At the same time, the report notes online harassment and hate speech by right-wing ultranationalist groups will also continue unless there is the political will to take firm legal action. Presently, such actions have been largely allowed without any legal consequences.
This places Malaysia in a situation where traditional, progressive, and right-wing narratives on the 3Rs are jostling to gain influence over Malaysian society.
Asia Centre anticipates the jostling for the 3Rs will not end, and their ebb and flow will impact and strain the construct of Malaysian society, trapping Malaysia into a 3Rs circle and thereby missing an opportunity to move towards an equal and inclusive society.
To pull Malaysia out of this loop and move towards an inclusive and prosperous society, the interests of all communities should be prioritised. The environment should be free enough to discuss issues related to the 3Rs safely and without engaging in either censorship or self-censorship. – The Vibes, January 17, 2023
James Gomez is the regional director of Asia Centre. This commentary is based on the centre’s latest report, Internet Freedoms in Malaysia: Regulating Discourse on Race, Religion, and Royalty
