Philippine E-Journals

Leadership Contestations, Succession, and Stability in Malaysia and Indonesia

Yang Razali Kassim

 

Abstract:

While Southeast Asia is generally stable, political leadership in two regional states is going through a period of uncertainty. The leaderships in Malaysia and Indonesia are undergoing some stress as they face the challenges of transition. Najib Razak, who was appointed Prime Minister of Malaysia in 2009, is due to call a general election to win his first mandate from the people. Najib’s return to office is likely, though this is not a certainty, as Malaysian politics have become more unpredictable. Indonesia’s President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is to step down in 2014 at the end of his second and mandatory final term in office. As the longest-serving post-Suharto president, his legacy as a leader will be under scrutiny. Leadership and political succession in Malaysia and Indonesia are critical for Southeast Asia as both countries occupy strategic positions to the region—Malaysia and Indonesia straddle the world’s busiest waterway in the Straits of Malacca, while Indonesia is also the world’s largest Muslim democracy and ASEAN’s biggest member. The political stability of both has a bearing on the rest of Southeast Asia, which lies at the crossroads of major economic regions, such as Northeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and Australia. This article looks at the dynamics of leadership contestations and succession in Malaysia and Indonesia with a view to assessing their impact on domestic political stability.