MALAYSIA POST-MAHATHIR‪:‬

About the Book

Mahathir Mohamad stepped down as Malaysia’s longest serving prime minister in 2003. Officially he does not hold any political office, but his views and influence still prevail. He was largely responsible for deposing his handpicked successor, Abdullah Badawi, and he is in the process of trying to do the same to the current PM Najib Razak. 


But Malaysian society has moved beyond Mahathir especially in the non-political arena. Malaysian youths are now more open and largely influenced by social media, as can be seen in Barisan Nasional’s loss of the popular vote in the 2013 general. At the same time, Malaysian society has become more Islamic and conservative. The government is still pursuing Anwar Ibrahim, Mahathir’s nemesis, through the courts.


This collection of essays will look at how Malaysian society has evolved in the past decade without Mahathir as PM. While there are groups in Malaysia that would like to see the return of Mahathirism, others are questioning if Malaysia is heading in the right direction or Malaysia should return to Mahathir-type policies. 



About the Editors

Prof. Jöern Dosch is Chair of International Politics and Development Cooperation at the University of Rostock, Germany. Previous positions include Professor of International Relations and Head of the School of Arts and Social Sciences at Monash University (Malaysia Campus) and Head of the Department of East Asian Studies, University of Leeds. He has published over 100 books and academic papers on Asian politics and international relations. Dosch also regularly works as a consultant for the European Union’s development programme with Asia and has evaluated several donor-funded projects in support of ASEAN.


Prof. James Chin is Professor of Political Science and Director of Asia Institute, University of Tasmania. He was previously Head of the School of Arts and Social Sciences, Monash University (Malaysia Campus). He has published extensively on Malaysian politics and was co-editor of the bestseller Awakening: Abdullah Badawi Years in Malaysia. He holds degrees from the University of Sydney and Adelaide in Australia and Victoria University in New Zealand. In 2014, he co-edited 50 Years of Malaysia: Federalism Revisited (Marshall Cavendish 2014).