“Freedom and Order in “Democracies”: Reconsidering Malaysia’s Political Regime” (Kyoto University Press. 2010)

Ayame Suzuki (Lecturer, Fukuoka Women’s University)

It is such a great honor to be conferred the Masayoshi Ohira Memorial Award. Allow me to express my sincerest gratitude to the Foundation for this recognition. I also extend my deepest appreciation to those who gave me guidance and unwavering support for the publication of my book. As I am privileged by this recognition, I am keenly aware that it comes at a time when my country confronts great challenges following the tragic events from March 11, 2011. Thus, the honor bestowed pushes me to strive even more to produce knowledge that will contribute to the betterment of society. The primary concern of the recognized book was to examine how people of varied ethnicity, beliefs, culture, and interests come to terms with each other in constituting a polity through peaceful means. After the Cold War, the dominant answer to the question has been the liberal democratic option. However, the internal strife in newly democratized countries revealed that this liberal democratic route is difficult to sustain when values such as tolerance and self-control are not prevailing. Moreover, the post-Cold War period also saw the articulation of Asian values that gave emphasis to collective needs over individual rights. These developments led me to inquire into the seeming tensions between individual liberties and collective rights, and between freedom and order. The book then focuses on the political regime of Malaysia which has succeeded in avoiding violence and continues to develop as a nation-state while having a multi-ethnic, multi-religious society which has undergone rapid change. Previous studies explain the country’s political regime from the viewpoint of arbitrariness and oppression by government and the dominant ethnic group. However, a careful study of the legislation and implementation of laws that restrict political freedoms revealed that the government; governing and opposition party; civil society; and, ethnic majorities and minorities competed and deliberated in the process of legislation to the extent that the laws were products of compromise or “consensus.” In effect, these groups restrained each other’s power and rights but nonetheless recognized each other as legitimate players in the game. Will Malaysians proceed to a freer polity given the changes in contemporary society? This book does not provide an answer to this question which is relevant not only to Malaysia but also to all developing and pluralistic countries. Encouraged by the honor of being an awardee for this year’s Masayoshi Ohira Award, I commit to search for and subsequently provide an answer to this question.

Profile
Ayame SUZUKI was born in Yokohama in 1977. She earned her L.L.B (Political Science) from Keio University in 2000, and Ph.D. (International Relations) from the University of Tokyo in 2008. She was a postdoctoral research fellow of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, and has taught at various universities including University of Malaya. Currently, she is a lecturer at Fukuoka Women’s University. Her research covers the theory of political regimes, Malaysian politics, Japan-Malaysia bilateral relations; and, the political economy of East Asia, in particular, fiscal management in democracies. Her substantive research on politics and law in Malaysia was published as Freedom and Order in “Democracies”: Reconsidering Malaysian Political Regime (Japanese), Kyoto University Press, 2010.