Murray Hunter
Asia Sentinel
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Past articles by Murray:
Rasputin in Malaysia
Has Zahid hijacked Anwar’s administration? → Read More
Growing Persecution of LGBTQs in Malaysia
A once-tolerant society turns on those who are different → Read More
Anwar’s Dilemma
Surrounded by enemies? → Read More
Could Malaysia Field Multiracial Political Parties?
By: Murray Hunter The train of events that put Malaysia’s most influential political figure behind bars for 12 years – although the disgraced former Prime Minister Najib Razak has been wriggling mightily at finding ways to get out – has raised profound questions about race-based politics, the political equation that has governed the country since its ind… → Read More
Malaysia: Justice Undone
By: Murray Hunter At a time when an unnamed 43-year-old single mother of four was recently jailed in Malaysia for 14 months for the theft of two packets of Milo, former Prime Minister Razak, held responsible in the trial and appellate courts for the theft of millions of US dollars and still facing far more serious charges, remains free. Najib, known to millions as “Bossku,” was convicted in the… → Read More
Johor Election Takes Malaysia Back to the Future
By: Murray Hunter State election results over the weekend in the southern Malaysian state of Johor came in as the majority of political analysts predicted, with disaster for the opposition reform coalition Pakatan Harapan and a different kind of disaster for the Barisan Nasional, whose de facto leaders have been indicted or convicted of multiple charges of corruption. Now the reality of what… → Read More
Inflation in Malaysia Stirring Concern
By: Murray Hunter Over the past six months, the prices of everyday staples in Malaysia have risen sharply. The Bank Negara Malaysia (the central bank) reported that the consumer price index is rising at the fastest pace in 47 months, with the food component rising at a 3.2 percent annual clip. It feels higher to consumers, with some markets beginning to s… → Read More
Southern Thai Insurgency Negotiations Likely to be Fruitless
Lucrative drug trade likely to impede parley beginning today in Kuala Lumpur → Read More
Australian ASEAN Farm Worker Visa Runs Into Flak
Australia, facing a potential food crisis, faces diplomatic and political resistance to program → Read More
The Challenge to Malaysia's Malay Supremacy Narrative
Has the Establishment created its own nemesis? → Read More
The Malayization of Malaysia
The deep polarization of Malaysia, which is increasingly sunk in racial tension, is shown by aggregate election figures of votes cast on the peninsula from the last general election. It is not about a Barisan Nasional/Perikatan Nasional versus a Pakatan Harapan. It’s much deeper than that, a struggle between a Malay-Malaysia versus a di… → Read More
Famed Tourist Town a Test for Malaysia’s Next Polls
By: Murray Hunter The fall of the Melaka state government in Malaysia earlier this month is an indication that political infighting among ethnic Malay-based parties is continuing in earnest after having become uneasy bedfellows in the 18-month scramble for power that ended when the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, or king appointed Ismail Sabri Yaakob of the United Malays National Organization as the… → Read More
East Malaysia Strays from the Capital
Oil revenues, exploitation, other problems alienate Sabah and Sarawak → Read More
A Malaysia Splinter Party Fights for Survival
By: Murray Hunter Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia, or Bersatu, a party cobbled together from defecting politicians and held together with little more than political ambition, has risen dramatically in power and influence since it was formed in 2016 as a vehicle for a vengeful former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad to bring down Najib Razak, the architect … → Read More
Malaysia's Political Crisis Deepens
With Muhyiddin gone, number counting begins in earnest, king calls for an era of “new politics” → Read More
Anwar Ibrahim Maneuvers for Power
Chameleon, Opportunist, Pragmatist, or Realist? → Read More
The Coming Battle for Malaysia’s Heartland
If and when the emergency lapses called in January with the Covid-19 pandemic as a pretext to protect Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s shaky Perikatan Nasional (PN) government, five major political forces will be competing to win the hearts and minds of ethnic Malay voters, who make up 63 percent of the population of Peninsular Malaysi… → Read More
Depressing Déjà vu for Malaysia’s Narcotics Nightmare
40-plus years of tough drug programs have had almost no effect other than filling prisons → Read More
Sorry Tale of Malaysian PM’s Survival in Power
Continuing political instability is a product of the politicians seeking power and perks → Read More
Malaysian Regimes Change, Public Policy No
By: Murray Hunter The jostling for political primacy that is going on in Malaysia today, with Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin fighting off challenges from competing factions including that of long-time opposition figure Anwar Ibrahim, who recently said – convincing very few – that he has the votes to overthrow the government, masks an unfortunate truth. Changing Malaysia’s policymaking malaise… → Read More