Joseph Chinyong Liow

Exigency or expediency? Contextualising political Islam and the pas challenge in Malaysian politics

Few would disagree that Islam has become a major force in Malaysian politics. Be that as it may, scholarship on political Islam in Malaysia has mostly centred on detailing the umno–pas confrontation. While it is important to understand the depths of this phenomenon of politicised Islam, it is equally vital that attempts be made to relate it to broader socio-political tectonics in the complex Malaysian landscape in order to better appreciate the nature and trajectory of the politicisation of Islam in Malaysia. Focusing on pas as the institutional manifestation of politicised Islam in Malaysia, this paper advances two arguments. First, pas has been successful insofar as it has managed to relate Islam to the pressing issues of the day. Second, the best electoral performances turned in by pas have all coincided with problems with umno and the broader coalition. Islam then, appears to be less vital to the politics of pas than is widely perceived.Few would disagree that Islam has become a major force in Malaysian politics. Be that as it may, scholarship on political Islam in Malaysia has mostly centred on detailing the umno–pas confrontation. While it is important to understand the depths of this phenomenon of politicised Islam, it is equally vital that attempts be made to relate it to broader socio-political tectonics in the complex Malaysian landscape in order to better appreciate the nature and trajectory of the politicisation of Islam in Malaysia. Focusing on pas as the institutional manifestation of politicised Islam in Malaysia, this paper advances two arguments. First, pas has been successful insofar as it has managed to relate Islam to the pressing issues of the day. Second, the best electoral performances turned in by pas have all coincided with problems with umno and the broader coalition. Islam then, appears to be less vital to the politics of pas than is widely perceived.

International Jihad and Muslim Radicalism in Thailand?: Toward an Alternative Interpretation

Note • The author would like to thank M. Ladd Thomas, Sheldon Simon, and the anonymous reviewers for their feedback and comments on an earlier draft of this paper. This project received valuable assistance from Saroja Dorairajoo, Chaiwat Satha-Anand, Anthony Davis, Don Pathan, Ahmad Somboon Bualuang, Panitan Wattanayagorn, Surat Horachaikul, Kavi Chongkittavorn, as well as others from the Thai intelligence establishment and the Malay-Muslim community who have requested to remain anonymous. Parts of this article were based on research conducted under the auspices of a project generously supported by the East-West Center, Washington, D.C. International Jihad and Muslim Radicalism in Thailand? Toward an Alternative Interpretation

The Security Situation in Southern Thailand: Toward an Understanding of Domestic and International Dimensions

The spat of recent violence in Southern Thailand has drawn international attention once again to the political and security situation in the Malay-Muslim provinces of Thailands restive Southern region. In this regard, this article suggests that in the search for solutions, the Thai government cannot afford to be pre-occupied with Muslim militancy while ignoring the role of other forces and interest groups, or the sensitivities of the Muslim population at large. Doing so, this article contends, will foster the very environment it should aim to eliminate--one that continues to alienate its Malay-Muslim community, strains relations with important neighbors, and encourages exploitation from foreign terrorist networks seeking a foothold in Southeast Asia.

The Mahathir administration's war against Islamic militancy: operational and ideological challenges

Fundamentalism is a behavioural question, a psychology which cannot be fought with armadas, but only with other ideas.   King Hassan II When the only tool you have is a hammer, you treat everything like a nail   Abraham Maslow This article assesses the Malaysian governments confrontation with Islamic militancy in its domestic political sphere. It suggests that while the operational capacity of the Malaysian state and security forces has successfully and effectively crippled militant Islamic organisations on the home front, the long‐term success in the battle against Islamic militancy lies not in operational capacity but in the realm of the ideological contest, and it is here that the current focus on the intensification of state control and surveillance as the best means to counter militant Islam may well prove to be a misplaced strategy that will undermine the key objective of undercutting sympathy and support for those militant groups purporting to engage in an Islamic struggle. It further suggests that while many of the hard‐line counter‐terrorism strategies were formulated during the Mahathir administration, there is little indication that the government of Abdullah Badawi will moderate Malaysias policies on Islamic militancy.

Malaysia's March 2008 general election: understanding the new media factor

Abstract The Malaysian general elections held on 8 March 2008 proved to be a historic event. For the first time, the political opposition managed to deny the incumbent National Front coalition a two-thirds parliamentary majority. Attempts to explain the opposition coalitions 2008 success have identified new media as a critical factor that turned the tide in the oppositions favour. The purpose of this paper is to better understand the new media factor at the 2008 elections and its immediate aftermath by analysing its role, advantages proffered, and limitations in terms of advancing democratization and greater political openness in Malaysia.

Muslim Identity, Local Networks, and Transnational Islam in Thailand's Southern Border Provinces

This paper discusses the nature of local permutations of transnational Muslim networks in Thailands southern Muslim-majority provinces and assesses their impact on creed, custom, and conflict in the region. More specifically, the paper interrogates the agenda and methods of idea and norm-propagation on the part of these agents and networks, and their evolving role, as well as the structures and conduits through which they operate and mobilize. In so doing, it finds a tremendously fluid and dynamic terrain in southern Thailand, where narratives, representations, and expressions of Islamic doctrine, legitimacy, and authority, are increasingly heavily contested within the Muslim community as a whole. In addition, the paper investigates the transnational dimensions of on-going violence in the southern provinces. Here, it argues that there is little by way of substantive evidence of any sustained penetration of the conflict in southern Thailand by external actors. No doubt, many have attempted to draw conclusions to the contrary, but their evidence and arguments, not to mention analytical methodology, are tenuous at best.

Tunku Abdul Rahman and Malaya's Relations with Indonesia, 1957-1960

Despite popular representations of Tunku Abdul Rahman as an avuncular political personality, he was also an astute policy practitioner. This was evident in how he, in pursuit of Malayan interests, calibrated Malayas foreign policy posture towards Jakarta in a manner that not only displayed little appreciation of Indonesian sensitivities, but also undermined its political interest and status as the major power in Southeast Asia, thus contributing to bilateral tension.

Asia’s Southern Tier

This introduction has two parts: (1) an overview with some comparisons to Asia’s Northern Tier; and (2) an introduction to analysis of the Southern Tier centered on ASEAN, Australia, India. In a rapidly changing Asian landscape, concentration on East Asia has the effect of leaving on the margins developments to the south and to the north. The centerpiece of the former is ASEAN. The latter is driven by Sino-Russian relations, but a second factor is North Korea’s independent strategy and the efforts by South Korea to play a central role in this tier by virtue of its stewardship on the peninsula. The comparative section explores aspects of ASEAN centrality and jockeying over the Korean Peninsula, including South Korea’s attempts to establish its centrality. A second book on the Northern Tier is being published along with this volume.

Can Indonesia Fulfill Its Aspirations to Regional Leadership

Indonesia’s rise has led to talk of regional leadership as a middle power. This article unpacks the notion of Indonesian leadership by assessing key initiatives associated with Indonesia based on their intent and objectives, their overall effect (and effectiveness), how they were received regionally, and whether such initiatives are the best means through which Indonesia can play a leadership role furthering regional stability. It considers three recent high-profile initiatives, in particular, that are associated with Indonesia: (1) the ASEAN Security Community concept; (2) the Bali Democracy Forum; and (3) the proposal for an Indo-Pacific Treaty.

The South China Sea Disputes: Some Blindspots and Misperceptions

Fueled by heated rhetoric, mutual distrust, perceptions and misperceptions, and nationalism, the SCS disputes have become the most extensively discussed subject on security challenges in Southeast Asia. Yet there are blindspots in the broader discussion, where closer scrutiny is wanting, and misplaced assumptions hold. Four stand out: (1) the identity of the disputants; (2) the possibility of open armed hostilities; (3) the US role; and (4) the place of international law in the search for a resolution. While these distortions by no means constitute the dominant view of the disputes, they are prevalent enough to warrant closer scrutiny.