Category Archives: General Politics

State Governments and the 2021 Emergency: Unfettered Powers at the Centre

This commentary was first published on Fulcrum, ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute’s commentary website, here on 22 January 2021. On 12 January, the Agong and the Prime Minister separately announced that the former had approved an Emergency Declaration for Malaysia that took … Continue reading

Posted in Federalism, General Politics | Leave a comment

Federal-state friction amid Malaysia’s dual political and pandemic plight

This was first published on New Mandala on 12 August 2020 here. This is a short version that summarises the key thrusts of the larger report that can be found here. This article (and the corresponding report) is part of … Continue reading

Posted in Federalism, General Politics | Leave a comment

The Political Economy of Federal-State Relations: How the centre influences resource distribution to the periphery

IDEAS has just released my policy paper, which can be downloaded here. The media statement released together with the paper is pasted below. IDEAS: The federal government must distribute resources fairly, regardless of political affiliation KUALA LUMPUR, 14 MAY 2020: … Continue reading

Posted in Economics, Federalism, General Politics, Liberalism, Public Administration | Leave a comment

Reporting on the Reporters (in August Man Magazine)

Thank you August Man Magazine for including me in its feature in conjunction with World Press Freedom Day on 3 May. The full piece can be found on its website here. They also kindly sent me a PDF version of … Continue reading

Posted in Civil Society, Corruption, General Politics, Human Rights, Media, Transparency and Good Governance | Leave a comment

Infusing federalism into public health decision-making

First published on Malaysiakini here on 5 May 2020. The federal government’s decision to ease the movement control order (MCO) from May 4 to 12 was abruptly announced just three days earlier, on Labour Day.  Almost immediately, the Sarawak and … Continue reading

Posted in Federalism, General Politics, Health, Public Administration, Transparency and Good Governance | Leave a comment

Malaysia’s Federalism Reverts to a Vanishing Past

By Tricia Yeoh, Fellow, the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS) First published on Asialink, The University of Melbourne, on 6 April 2020, here. The Malaysian government’s National Action Council, set up to address the Covid-19 emergency, held a … Continue reading

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The political economy that Perikatan Nasional inherits – and will have to tackle

This article was first published on New Mandala on 6 March 2020 here. As the dust settles on the political machinations from the top that threw Malaysia into unchartered territory – this was the first time since 1969 that the … Continue reading

Posted in Economics, Elections, Ethno-Religious Politics, Public Administration, Transparency and Good Governance | Leave a comment

Malaysia’s New Perikatan Nasional Government: A Return of Barisan Nasional Policies?

This article was first published on FORSEA on 2 March 2020 here and republished on Malaysiakini on 3 March 2020 here. Malaysia’s Pakatan Harapan coalition will go down in history as the shortest-lived government in the country. Since its ‘stunning’ … Continue reading

Posted in Corruption, Economics, Elections, Ethno-Religious Politics, General Politics | Leave a comment

The rise of Perikatan Nasional and Muhyiddin Yassin as 8th PM?: Events in the political turmoil of Malaysia from Wednesday 26 February 4pm to Saturday 29 February midnight

The last four days have seen political parties change sides faster than seaside weather. In what seems like the end of the almost week-long poker game, the Agong announced at 4.40pm on Saturday 29 February that Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin … Continue reading

Posted in Elections, General Politics, Public Administration | 1 Comment

Malaysia Post-PH Government, a documentation of political events from 21 to 24 Feb 2020

The movements of the political elite over the last few days have left Malaysians in confusion, not to mention the very real impact on economic and policy matters, and any semblance of reform initiatives. As of Monday 24 February 2020, … Continue reading

Posted in General Politics, Public Administration, Uncategorized | Leave a comment