Saleena Saleem | Boston University (original) (raw)

Commentaries by Saleena Saleem

King Mohammed VI’s speed in addressing the demands of the youth-led protests in 2011, with consti... more King Mohammed VI’s speed in addressing the demands of the youth-led protests in 2011, with constitutional reforms that transferred some of his powers to an elected parliament, was hailed as the Moroccan “third way” process of change; a partnership between the king and politicians towards gradual democratisation. The other two ways played out in the MENA region were bloody revolution and autocratic repression. Five years after the Arab Spring, Morocco’s elections in October show that the country’s “third way” process of change has led to a win-win situation for the main political actors, where non-violent and free electoral politics is normalised and monarchical power structures remain intact.

Synopsis The uneasy coexistence of civil and Shariah law in Malaysia and the polarising ethnic an... more Synopsis The uneasy coexistence of civil and Shariah law in Malaysia and the polarising ethnic and religious divides within its population could be ameliorated by establishing an independent mediation committee. Commentary IN LATE August this year Prime Minister Najib Razak announced a proposed amendment to Malaysia's Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act 1976. The proposal is an attempt to resolve the recurring problem of highly-publicised custody battles over unilateral conversions of children by spouses who converted to Islam. Several of such court disputes, framed around religious freedom, have been pursued in Malaysia's dual track legal system of civil and Shariah (Islamic law) courts in the past decade. Amid the growing religiosity of the majority ethnic group, the Malays, who increasingly choose to identify themselves by religion and call for wider implementation of Islamic codes, laws that negatively and disproportionately affect non-Muslims serve as ominous harbingers of how secularity is being eroded within the Malaysian polity, especially for non-Muslims. Growing Secular-Religious Divide This dynamic not only leads to increased inter-ethnic tension between the Malay Muslim-majority and the non-Muslim minorities, it also creates tension between the religious and the areligious within the ethnic Malay majority. Increasingly, we see

Synopsis The Islamisation agenda pushed by right wing politicians and Islamic non-governmental or... more Synopsis The Islamisation agenda pushed by right wing politicians and Islamic non-governmental organisations (NGOs), at a time when the opposition coalition is fractured, can motivate non-Muslim swing voters to make pragmatic choices, which can play to BN's advantage. Commentary THE BY-ELECTIONS in Sungai Besar, Selangor and Kuala Kangsar, Perak in peninsular Malaysia indicate that Chinese swing voters could have played a deciding role to tilt the balance in favour of the ruling coalition, Barisan Nasional (BN), as in the recent Sarawak state elections.

Barisan Nasional's strong showing at the 11th Sarawak state elections is not reflective of the el... more Barisan Nasional's strong showing at the 11th Sarawak state elections is not reflective of the electoral challenges that lie ahead of GE14; in fact, the Sarawak experience magnifies the weaknesses of the ruling coalition in Peninsula Malaysia. Commentary THE SWEEPING victory of Malaysia's ruling coalition, Barisan Nasional (BN), at the recent state elections in Sarawak gives scandal-ridden Prime Minister Najib Razak a much-needed political boost. Although Najib strengthened his political position last year by removing dissenters in the cabinet and in statutory boards over the 1MDB scandal, public confidence in his government remains low and he still faces internal party dissent.

Synopsis: Anti-Muslim rhetoric and discrimination can heighten religious identities, drive social... more Synopsis: Anti-Muslim rhetoric and discrimination can heighten religious identities, drive social seclusion and increase attitudes of intolerance amongst segments of Muslims who are vulnerable in society. This in turn legitimises the prejudicial beliefs underlying discriminatory practices. This polarising dynamic, in part, contributes to a cycle of violence in certain Western societies. Commentary: YET ANOTHER horrific attack (this time in Brussels) grabs the news headlines. Since 9/11, such shocking instances of deadly attacks by Muslim minority citizens in Western countries, and growing religious intolerance expressed in parts of Muslim societies, feed into worldwide fears of terrorism and creeping religious fundamentalism. Fear drives the public sphere to effectively typecast Muslims based on globalised images of the " Islamic terrorist " or the " religious fundamentalist " , which results in discriminatory practices that target and affect Muslims disproportionately.

Synopsis The perception of the Muslim world's association with violence and extremism has become ... more Synopsis The perception of the Muslim world's association with violence and extremism has become progressively entrenched in mainstream consciousness during the post-9/11 years. This is partly due to power shifts in the Middle East and the consequent response of a struggle for a new political order. Commentary THOSE WHO claim Muslims are unusually inclined to violence often cite the late Samuel Huntington's assertion that Muslim societies are more " bloody " than others because they experience more intra-state violence. But American political scientist M. Steven Fish dispels Huntington's unsupported claim through rigorous quantitative analysis of data between 1946 and 2007. In his book Are Muslims Distinctive? Dr. Fish finds no evidence that countries with a larger share of Muslims experience disproportionate acts of mass political violence. In fact, Dr. Fish notes that when it comes to violent crime such as murder, Muslim-majority countries have consistently low rates compared with Christian-majority countries. Such facts get lost when the focus is on the Muslim extremists who commit the majority of violent political and terrorist acts on a global scale today. The notion that Islam is a religion that somehow leads its followers into violence is reinforced by the various confrontations playing out in the Middle East, and closer to home, deadly acts such as the Jakarta bombing in January. However, the tendency to attribute causality to extremists' religious identities obscures the underlying pressures which they purportedly respond to.

Saudi Arabia’s latest moves that precipitated the recent escalation in Sunni-Shiite sectar... more Saudi Arabia’s latest moves that precipitated the recent escalation in Sunni-Shiite sectarian tension in the Middle East are indicative of its sense of vulnerability about its mounting challenges as Iran normalises relations with the international community.

2016 will prove to be an important year for Malaysia’s Prime Minister Najib Razak both in the eco... more 2016 will prove to be an important year for Malaysia’s Prime Minister Najib Razak both in the economic and political realms. While his critics had dismissed the PM’s chance for surviving the challenges that he faced in 2015, Najib has shown his resilience through the adept employment of a carrot and stick approach. It will not be surprising if he emerges at the end of the year with a more consolidated position

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak’s recent moves at managing criticism over the “1MDB scandal”... more Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak’s recent moves at managing criticism over the “1MDB scandal” run the risk of appearing motivated solely by political self-preservation; this could negatively impact public confidence in his government.

The political crisis in Malaysia risks exacerbating the country’s economic challenges at a time w... more The political crisis in Malaysia risks exacerbating the country’s economic challenges at a time when strong and credible leadership is needed to boost investor and consumer confidence.

The PAP’s nearly 10 percent point increase in popular vote from the 2011 general election is as m... more The PAP’s nearly 10 percent point increase in popular vote from the 2011 general election is as much a reflection of the electorate’s rousing endorsement of the existing government as it is of the
opposition’s continued failure to speak to the majority of the people.

Conference Presentations by Saleena Saleem

Papers by Saleena Saleem

Asia Maior, 2022

None of the three main political coalitions in the 15th Malaysian General Elections in 2022 was a... more None of the three main political coalitions in the 15th Malaysian General Elections in 2022 was able to win a simple majority to form the next government. The hung parliament situation ended after the Malaysian King appointed Anwar Ibrahim as prime minister to lead a unity government including Pakatan Harapan (PH), the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), and several smaller parties. The election results indicated several key developments in Malaysian politics: (1) deepen- ing political polarisation along racial lines – most non-Malays voted for PH and a significant number of Malays voted for Perikatan Nasional (PN); (2) PN’s compo- nent parties, Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) and Parti Islam Se-Malay- sia (PAS) won a majority of the Malay vote share, overtaking UMNO as the parties to champion for Malay and Muslim rights and (3); the Islamist party PAS won the largest number of seats, indicating that the strategy of emphasising its religious cre- dentials promoted trust among Malay voters seeking clean governance. Meanwhile, the Russia-Ukraine war resulted in inflationary pressures, food shortages and price hikes that the Malaysian government struggled to manage. On the foreign relations front, the Malaysian Foreign Minister adopted a critical stance towards the Myanmar military regime, even as the government deported thousands of Myanmar refugees despite mounting international criticism.

The pernicious effects of political polarisation and unresolved intra-coalition differences resul... more The pernicious effects of political polarisation and unresolved intra-coalition differences resulted in political party defections that contributed to the fall of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government and the tenuous position of the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government that replaced it. Domestic politics through much of 2020 was marked by the subsequent power struggles both between the PH and PN coalitions and between PN coalition partners, Bersatu and UMNO. As the socio-economic pains of the COVID-19 pandemic prolonged, the trust deficit between the people and elected politicians widened. The turn of events in 2020 signalled an abrupt halt to the tentative steps Malaysia had been making to improve its democracy.

Religion, State & Society, 2021

This contribution extends the sectarianisation thesis to analyse the construction of the ‘liberal... more This contribution extends the sectarianisation thesis to analyse the construction of the ‘liberal’ Muslim other in Malaysian politics. It argues that political competition, rather than religion, motivated elite Malay state actors to otherise their political rivals as ‘liberal’. Elite state actors leveraged key periods of sociopolitical uncertainty between 1998 and 2020 to reaffirm dominant ethno-religious narratives and construct the meaning of ‘liberal’ as anti-Islam to retain political power. They framed ‘liberal’ Malays as a threat by associating them with non-Malay ethnic minorities and, by extension, with secular values. The contribution builds its argument with an analysis of competing ideas over three time periods, each constituting cumulative stages in the sectarianisation of the ‘liberal’ Muslim other: the 1998 pro-democracy Reformasi movement; religious freedom challenges in the 2000s; and the mounting electoral challenges to the Barisan Nasional government since the 2008 ...

This collection expands the sectarianisation thesis introduced by Hashemi and Postel to analyse c... more This collection expands the sectarianisation thesis introduced by Hashemi and Postel to analyse cases of sectarianism outside of the Middle East. It shows how divisions and rivalries can occur between Muslim groups that are theologically and religiously similar, rather than being intrinsically distinct from each other like Sunni and Shia sects. The collection features case studies from Indonesia, Malaysia, and Turkey and shows how sectarianism among Sunni Muslim groups is largely driven by political considerations: to promote regime survival (in both authoritarian and democratic contexts) and patronage; to protect established national narratives on Muslim identity; and to gain civic affirmation to increase the influence and membership of a group. Collectively, the contributions provide theoretical and empirical insights into the process of sectarianisation that may lead to better understanding of the multi-dimensionality of sectarian identity across Muslim-majority societies.

Asia Maior, 2022

Religion, State & Society, 2021

Asia Maior, 2021

The pernicious effects of political polarisation and unresolved intra-coalition differences resul... more The pernicious effects of political polarisation and unresolved intra-coalition differences resulted in political party defections that contributed to the fall of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government and the tenuous position of the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government that replaced it. Domestic politics through much of 2020 was marked by the subsequent power struggles both between the PH and PN coalitions and between PN coalition partners, Bersatu and UMNO. As the socio- economic pains of the COVID-19 pandemic prolonged, the trust deficit between the people and elected politicians widened. The turn of events in 2020 signalled an abrupt halt to the tentative steps Malaysia had been making to improve its democracy.

Asia Maior, 2019

The Barisan Nasional (BN) opposition coalition led by the United Malays National Organisation (UM... more The Barisan Nasional (BN) opposition coalition led by the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) won four out of five by-election contests in 2019. The relatively short time frame between BN’s by-election wins and its historic electoral defeat in May 2018 convinced UMNO’s leadership that its party recovery strategy was fruitful. This strategy entailed the forging of a political cooperation around the theme of Malay unity with its long-time Islamist rival, the Parti Islam Se Malaysia, and the instrumentalisation of Malay fears over the loss of constitutional birth rights under the new Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition government. A number of ethno-religious controversies at the national level also contributed to a polarised social and political context that exacerbated inter-ethnic distrust and benefitted BN in the by-elections. Both Malays and ethnic minorities perceived the PH’s government’s disjointed responses to these controversies as ineffectual. Malaysians across the ethnic divide also experienced little improvement on their cost of living woes. The PH government’s attempts to boost the economy saw it re-establish large-scale projects with China. Yet the pragmatic realities of Malaysia’s economic interests constrained its new foreign policy approach of positioning itself as a leader in the Muslim world. This was evident in Malaysia’s muted response to China’s treatment of the Uyghurs at the inaugural Kuala Lumpur Summit on Muslim issues. This contrasted with the organised protests by Malay groups at the Chinese embassy in the nation’s capital as the year came to a close. These factors cumulatively contributed to an overall citizenry disillusionment with the PH government.

Journal of Religious and Political Practice, 2018

This paper posits that certain Muslim minority and Muslim reformist groups that propagate non-mai... more This paper posits that certain Muslim minority and Muslim reformist groups that propagate non-mainstream viewpoints on Islam were securitised by the Malaysian state as societal threats when the state perceived its own interests to be potentially threatened. An examination of recent religious deviancy restrictions on two examples from these groups termed broadly in this paper as non-mainstream Muslims (NMM) shows that both arms of the Malaysian state—politicians in the UMNO-led government and the religious bureaucracy—used the same public order and social cohesion concerns to characterise the NMM as threats sufficiently dangerous that restrictive means were required to quell them. With the state’s use of the public order and social cohesion concerns, the paper argues that the way in which the NMM were labelled as deviant and securitised was dependent on the local political and social contexts and not solely tied to theological reasoning. Lastly, the paper puts forth a comprehensive argument that accounts for the different interests and motivations of both the politicians and the religious bureaucracy in the securitisation of the NMM, the roots of which lie in the processes of progressive Islamisation.

Journal of Religious and Political Practice, 2018

Page 1. Preventing the Press From Engendering Ethnic Violence: Press Restraints and Ethnic Violen... more Page 1. Preventing the Press From Engendering Ethnic Violence: Press Restraints and Ethnic Violence in Singapore By Saleena Begum Saleem ... Page 2. Preventing the Press From Engendering Ethnic Violence: Press Restraints and Ethnic Violence in Singapore By ...

Environment & Policy, 2011

Page 1. Chapter 4 What About Social Science and Interdisciplinarity? A 10-Year Content Analysis o... more Page 1. Chapter 4 What About Social Science and Interdisciplinarity? A 10-Year Content Analysis of Energy Policy Benjamin K. Sovacool, Saleena Saleem, Anthony Louis D&amp;amp;#x27;Agostino, Catherine Regalado Ramos, Kirsten Trott, and Yanchun Ong ...

Global Policy, 2011

ABSTRACT The lack of global consensus on how to deal with complex energy governance challenges ha... more ABSTRACT The lack of global consensus on how to deal with complex energy governance challenges has led to the emergence of information disclosure initiatives as governance tools in and of themselves. This article assesses the effectiveness of disclosure mechanisms as tools of energy governance by looking at the motivations and desired outcomes behind a series of disclosure-based initiatives in the energy sector, namely: making energy markets work more efficiently; inducing corporations to internalize their climate change externalities; and improving democratic processes that lead to better energy governance outcomes. The disclosure initiatives assessed in this article adopt different strategies to achieve their objectives, mobilizing either users of information or holders of information, with varying effectiveness. Where pressures for secrecy exist, voluntary disclosures without formal sanctions to incentivize compliance have limited impact. Where users of information are primarily mobilized as drivers of change, the disclosures have to be easily understood to have impact; this is no easy task when it comes to the energy sector. Disclosure mechanisms that use a strategy of engagement and building of wide networks have perhaps the best potential to influence (or pressure) holders of information to change their behavior accordingly. However, disclosure mechanisms underpinned by western-influenced values of governmental transparency may not be as effective in countries that lack democratic systems.

Energy, 2011

We present the results of a content analysis conducted on 2502 papers written by 5318 authors pub... more We present the results of a content analysis conducted on 2502 papers written by 5318 authors published between 1999 and 2008 in three leading energy studies journals: Energy Policy, The Energy Journal, and The Electricity Journal. Our study finds that authors were most likely to be male, based in North America, possess a background in science or engineering, and affiliated with a university or research institute. Articles were likely to be written by authors working within disciplinary boundaries and using research methods from an economics/engineering background. The US was the most written about country among papers that adopted a country focus and electricity was the most frequently discussed energy source. Energy markets and public policy instruments were the most popular focus areas. According to these findings, we identify five thematic areas whose further investigation could enhance the energy studies field and increase the policy-relevance of contemporary research.

Academia.sg, 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic has intensified deep societal grievances over job insecurity and inequaliti... more The COVID-19 pandemic has intensified deep societal grievances over job insecurity and inequalities, which had been brewing for some years. Although the ruling People's Action Party (PAP) acted decisively with fiscal policies and cash handouts to mitigate the impact of the crisis, its call for a strong mandate in the election did not materialise. The PAP's popular vote declined 8.7 points from 69.9% in the 2015 general election to 61.2%. Against this national backdrop, the Workers' Party (WP) win in Sengkang group representation constituency (GRC) is particularly interesting. WP's 26-year-old candidate, Raeesah Khan, was being investigated by the police for allegedly promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion or race. The police investigation, which has not yet concluded, focused on past Facebook posts by her, critiquing institutional racism that disadvantaged racial minorities. Though some condemned her on social media, this was countered by an outpouring of support, with the hashtag #IStandWithRaeesah trending on Twitter over two days and a proliferation of political artwork. The eventual success of the WP team in Sengkang showed the limitations of the PAP's decades-long practice of intimidating political opposition, as well as of Singapore's silencing of more outspoken minority voices. More importantly, the contest suggests an evolving political culture. First, some younger Singaporeans appear increasingly unafraid to express assertively more radical solutions to the country's socioeconomic problems. Second, under-30s appear willing to talk publicly about institutional racism, a subject long been pushed aside by the PAP government. Third, they reject the party's longstanding distinction between, on the one hand, race issues and civil liberties and, on the other, economic insecurity or "bread and butter" issues.