Is Malaysia’s Parliament Dead?

New Naratif's Southeast Asia Dispatches

On the 16th of August, Malaysia’s 8th prime minister, Muhyiddin Yassin and his cabinet, who came to power via a political coup in 2020, officially resigned. At the time of this recording, the next prime minister is being selected by a secret vote by members of parliament via statutory declarations to the king. The next prime minister—the third in two years—will be just another product of a long-running political crisis. How can Malaysians enact meaningful change when politicians can so easily topple the government by jumping between coalitions?

On this week's episode, Deborah Augustin speaks to Arveent Kathirtchelvan and Chong Yee Shan from Parti Sosialis Malaysia about the limitations of electoral politics and potential alternatives to this system.