Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs ANU College of Asia & the Pacific 130 Garran Road ACTON ACT 2601 Australia

T +61 (0)2 6125 2167 E bellschool@anu.edu.au W bellschool.anu.edu.au

Twitter: @ANUBellSchool#MASupdate

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CRICOS #00120C

Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs

ANU College of Asia & the Pacific

M A L A Y S I A U P D A T E C O N F E R E N C E 2 0 1 6

N A J I B ’ S M A L A Y S I A — A C R I S I S O F C O N F I D E N C E ?

2 6 A U G U S T 2 0 1 6The oganising committee for the Malaysia Update wishes to thank the following people and organisations for their support:

High Commission of Malaysia Canberra

Dr Greg Lopez

The Department of Political & Social Change, ANU

Asia Institute, University of Tasmania

Australian National University and the University of Tasmania 1

C O N T E N T S

Hedley Bull Building Ground Floor Plan....................... 1

Malaysia Update Conference abstract........................ 2

Book Launch............................................................. 3

Conference Program................................................. 4

Inside cover imageLenny K Photography Kuching East Malaysia Flickr - https://goo.gl/kIUKNA

Hedley Bull Building Ground Floor Plan

Garran Road

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Building entrance

Building entrance

CafeToilets

Atrium

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2 Malaysia Update Conference 2016: Najib’s Malaysia – A Crisis of Confidence?

M A L A Y S I A U P D A T E C O N F E R E N C E 2 0 1 6

The past year in Malaysia has been as tumultuous as any in sixty years of independence. At its epicentre has been the sovereign wealth fund 1 Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), with debts of around RM50 billion (more than US $12 billion) and the reported diversion of more than $4.5 billion into unauthorised accounts. Time and Foreign Policy magazines both ranked 1MDB in their top five financial scandals for 2015, and the US Department of Justice has launched a civil case for recovery of more than US$1 billion in assets associated with money laundering from 1MDB.

Prime Minister Najib has been accused of diverting up to $1 billion of these funds into his personal bank account, but although surveys have shown his popularity has declined he has retained a tight hold over political affairs. Recent elections in Sarawak, and by–elections in Perak and Selangor, have even shown an increase in support for the ruling coalition. How has this been possible, and where will it lead?

Najib has used all the discretionary powers available to him as prime minister and head of UMNO. He has sacked UMNO critics and senior officials, tightened laws to control the media, and increased use of the Sedition Act and other draconian laws. But will these measures suffice to maintain Najib’s position in the long term, and how seriously do they threaten democratic rule in Malaysia? Will opposition parties be able to unite against the ruling National Front and resolve their own internal conflicts?

Najib has also strengthened his government by enticing opposition Islamic Party (PAS) to cooperate in the cause of Muslim unity. He has allowed PAS to present a parliamentary bill to increase the powers of Islamic courts — widely seen as a step towards allowing harsh criminal punishments (hudud). That has driven a wedge between PAS and other opposition political parties, but at the same time raised questions over the implications for 40 percent of Malaysia’s population who are non-Muslims, and Malaysia’s international image as a champion of moderate Islam.

Leading politicians, academics and others will examine these and related issues in the 2016 Malaysia Update, sponsored by the the College of Asia and the Pacific at ANU as well as the Asia Institute at the University of Tasmania. In addition a special panel consisting of outstanding young female politicians will discuss the role of women and gender in public life — an area often overlooked, but increasingly important in today’s Malaysia.

Organising committee for the Malaysia Update Conference 2016

> Associate Professor Greg Fealy (ANU)

> Professor James Chin (University of Tasmania)

> Dr John Funston (ANU)

> Mr Miles Kupa (former Australian High Commissioner to Malaysia)

> Dr Ross Tapsell (ANU)

> Dr Greg Lopez (Murdoch)

> Dr Amrita Malhi (ANU)

> James Giggacher (ANU)

> Mr Dek Joe Sum (ANU)

Najib’s Malaysia — A Crisis of Confidence?

Australian National University and the University of Tasmania 3

T H U R S D A Y 2 5 A U G U S T B O O K L A U N C H

The End of UMNO? Essays on Malaysia’s Dominant Party

Thursday 25 August, 5.30 - 6.30pm, Coombs Extension 1.13, Fellows Road, ANU

Saifuddin Abdullah, John Funston, Clive Kessler, James Chin, and Bridget Welsh, contributors to a new book edited by Bridget Welsh, The End of UMNO? Essays on Malaysia’s Dominant Party (Petaling Jaya: SIRD Publications, 2016) will discuss the future of Malaysia’s ruling party and contemporary Malay politics in the launch of the e-version of the collection.

E-copies will be available to order.

Please join us for the launch of the e-book and light food and drink.

4 Malaysia Update Conference 2016: Najib’s Malaysia – A Crisis of Confidence?

08:15 — 08:30 Registration and coffee

08:30 — 08:45 Welcome Professor Veronica L. Taylor

Dean, ANU College of Asia and the Pacific

08:45 — 09:30 Keynote Address Chair: Associate Professor Greg Fealy

YB Dato’ Seri Haji Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah

Malaysia — A Political Journey

UMNO MP Tambun, Perak and Former Second Finance Minister

09:30 — 11:00 Session 1 Politics — Future Directions in a Fractured Polity

Chair: Dr John Funston

HB 2 Professor James Chin Malaysian Politics Since the 13th General Election

Director of the Asia Institute, University of Tasmania

YB Zairil Khir Johari Rethinking Malaysian Politics

Democratic Action Party (DAP) MP for Bukit Bendera

Dato’ Ibrahim Ali Contemporary Malaysian Politics — Pribumi at the Crossroad

Founder President of Perkasa, and Former MP for Pasir Mas, Kelantan

11:00 — 11:30 Morning tea

11:30 — 12:30 Session 2 State, Society and Religion

Chair: Dr Ross Tapsell

HB 2 Professor Bridget Welsh

Contours, Connections and Constraints: Malaysia’s Pre General Election —14 Political Terrain

Senior Research Associate at National Taiwan University and University Fellow Charles Darwin University

Azrul Mohd Khalib Bigotry Wrapped in Prayer: Reflections on Ethno Religious Tensions in Malaysia

Social Policy Strategist, Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS)

12:30 — 14:30 Lunch and prayers

14:30 — 15:15 Economics Keynote Chair: Mr Miles Kupa

Professor Terence Gomez

Who Owns Corporate Malaysia Now?

Faculty of Economics and Administration, University of Malaya

15:15 — 16:15 Session 3 Women, Gender and Politics

Chair: Dr Amrita Malhi

YB Alice Lau Kiong Yieng

Women, Gender and Politics — The Challenges for Sarawak Women in an Opposition Party

DAP MP for Lanang, Sarawak

YB Hajjah Fuziah Salleh

Women Leadership and Agenda for Change

MP and Former PKR Vice–President. Has led the “Stop Lynas Rare Earth Refinery” campaign since elected as member for Kuantan, Pahang in 2008

16:15 — 16:45 Closing Remarks

Professor Shamsul AB

Founding Director, Institute of Ethnic Studies (KITA-UKM)

16:45 Please join us for tea and coffee in the Atrium

F R I D A Y 2 6 A U G U S T

Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs ANU College of Asia & the Pacific 130 Garran Road ACTON ACT 2601 Australia

T +61 (0)2 6125 2167 E bellschool@anu.edu.au W bellschool.anu.edu.au

Twitter: @ANUBellSchool#MASupdate

LoginUsername: HedleyBullPassword: H3d7ey2014

CRICOS #00120C

Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs

ANU College of Asia & the Pacific

M A L A Y S I A U P D A T E C O N F E R E N C E 2 0 1 6

N A J I B ’ S M A L A Y S I A — A C R I S I S O F C O N F I D E N C E ?

2 6 A U G U S T 2 0 1 6The oganising committee for the Malaysia Update wishes to thank the following people and organisations for their support:

High Commission of Malaysia Canberra

Dr Greg Lopez

The Department of Political & Social Change, ANU

Asia Institute, University of Tasmania