Will Malaysia Follow the Path of Taiwan and Mexico?
This essay focuses on the subset of semiauthoritarian systems that Beatriz Magaloni calls hegemonic-party autocracies. In such autocracies, a single party or coalition holds power without interruption for several decades under semiauthoritarian conditions while conducting regular multiparty elections. Within this category, the experiences of Mexico and the Republic of China (ROC or Taiwan) from the l980s to 2000 are particularly helpful in illuminating the current political dynamics in Malaysia and its prospects (or lack thereof) for democratization.
Awakening: The Abdullah Badawi Years in Malaysia
Tun Abdullah bin Haji Ahmad Badawi served as Prime Minister of Malaysia from 2003 to 2009. Better known as Pak Lah, he came in office with a huge mandate. In the 2004 General Elections, the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) won its best performance since 1969. Five years later in the 2008 GE, the BN won only 140 of 222 seats, a net loss of 58 seats. More importantly it meant the BN lost its customary two-thirds majority in parliament. More than thirty authors, Malaysians and non-Malaysians, give an assessment of the one-term Abdullah administration. The central theme of the book is the question: how did Tun Abdullah change the Malaysian political landscape? This volume offers a comprehensive glimpse of the Abdullah administration from both inside and outside the administration. "He assumed office as PM on a vast sea of optimism and he could have accomplished more. Indeed his motto when assuming office was "work with him, not for him". He should have taken the opportunities of making sweeping changes in the cabinet, the civil service, judiciary and other organs of power and governance." -Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah- Contributors: Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi; Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah; Dato’ Seri Abdul Azim Zabidi; Datuk Zaid Ibrahim; Dato’ Seri Mohamed Khir Bin Toyo; Datuk Denison Jayasooria; Datuk Ramesh Chander; YB Liew Chin Tong; Edmund T. S. Bon; William Case; Chua Sue-Ann; Mohd. Faisal Syam Bin Abdol Hazis; Farish A. Noor; Edmund Terence Gomez; Wan Hamidi Hamid; Gerhard Hoffstaedter; K. Kabilan; Clive Kessler; Khadijah Khalid; Khaw Veon Szu; Kuik Cheng-Chwee; Lee Kam Hing; Joseph Chin Yong Liow; Lim Teck Ghee; Maria Chin Abdullah; Anil Netto; Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad; Ooi Kee Beng; Oon Yeoh; Arnold Puyok; Rita Sim; Jason Tan; Andrew Willford and Zulkifli Bin Sulong
Cultural constraints on the delivery of HIV/AIDS prevention in Ireland.
HIV appeared in Ireland following an opiate epidemic in the early 1980s. Initially, however, the gay community mounted the only response to the spread of the virus while the implementation of early actions by the government was hampered by the constructions of the disease within Irish society. This paper considers the influence of the religious hierarchy in both the development of AIDS policy and in the shaping of public perceptions of the disease and those affected. A qualitative methodology is used to examine the role of such cultural constraints in an evaluation of the social context within which the prevention of HIV infection occurs. Three key issues pertinent to the policy context in Ireland are explored in depth. These are the role of the Catholic Church, the influences on health education programmes, particularly information giving, and the development of services and other interventions. These findings are discussed within the social and political contexts in which health policy is formulated.