Resistance without ideals : explaining the Pakatan Harapan vote in the 2018 Malaysian federal election amongst overseas Malaysian youth

Abstract

This paper seeks to analyse if the vote for the Pakatan Harapan (PH), amongst overseas Malaysian youth was an anti-Najib vote or a vote for the values of the PH. This paper asserts that the vote for the PH was merely an anti-Najib vote and will lead to democratic backsliding, using Democratic Transition Theory (DTT). Firstly, the history of Malaysian politics from independence to present and the existing literature on DTT will be surveyed. Thereafter, through qualitatively analysing interview narratives, three reasons that support the hypothesis were derived: a). Differing notions of justice, b). The limited appeal of PH ideology beyond its stronghold states and c). The underdeveloped PH overseas party machinery relative to the Barisan Nasional’s. I conclude with the inevitable backsliding of Malaysia, alluding to the 2020 constitutional crisis and deriving lessons for DTT and researching overseas Malaysian youth. Key Words: Malaysian General Elections, Democratic Transition Theory, Diaspora politics