The 12th Broadyard Workshop (博雅工作坊), titled “Great Changes in Malaysia over the Past 61 Years: Dynamics and Prospects,” was held at PKU on September 25, 2018. More than 10 experts and scholars from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, Beijing Foreign Studies University, Minzu University of China, and other universities and research institutions conducted an interdisciplinary discussion from the perspective of economic development, politics and political parties, and foreign affairs.
In May 2018, the opposition coalition led by former Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamad won the Malaysian general election and ended the 60-year history of the ruling coalition National Front (Barisan Nasional). The result was described outside Malaysia as “the most historic political earthquake since Malaysia’s independence.”
Attendees opined that the changes were caused by multiple reasons. The fundamental reason was that Malaysia’s civil society had achieved rapid development in recent years, and the multiple and various demands of ordinary people had accordingly increased. However, the National Front did not effectively handle these demands, thus losing support from voters. Meanwhile, the anti-Umno movement led by Anwar Ibrahim, which won the embrace of the people, as well as the influence of Mahathir, also contributed to political change in Malaysia.
How Malaysia’s political situation after the election would develop was the focus of discussion at the workshop. Some opined that Malaysia is currently showing a trend toward political multi-polarization, with competing domestic interest groups including bureaucratic capital interest groups, urban Chinese interest groups, Islamic conservative power groups, and Malay middle class and lower middle class interest groups. In the future, the domination of politics by elites in Malaysia would not change, some said. To win elections, alliances and divisions among different factions or political parties would become the norm. Meanwhile, Malaysia’s democratic politics would continue to develop in a more liberal direction. The diversity of domestic multi-ethnic societies would be thus further revealed.
Regarding the development of Sino-Malaysian relations and future cooperation on the Belt and Road initiative (BRI), the scholars opined that, based on the high degree of mutual trust, joint economic interests and civil friendship ties, the fundamentals of the relations between China and Malaysia would not change, but differences could increase. Changes in the internal power structure of Malaysia in the future would have an important impact on the relations between the two countries. In regard to the relevant cooperation projects involved in the BRI, the two sides would need further communication and coordination to achieve win-win results, they said.
