Democracy, Elections

Flashlight on the Upcoming German Federal Election, What’s in it for Malaysia?

On January 21, 2025, Friedrich Naumann Foundation (FNF) Malaysia hosted a dinner event attended by our partners and IAF alumni in Malaysia. On this occasion, Dr. Stefan Diederich, FNF Project Director Malaysia, delivered an update regarding the current political situation in Germany, beginning with a brief probe into German government coalition history and continuing with an analysis on more recent coalition dynamics. He noted that, for a long time, three streams dominated German party politics after the Second World War: the social democrats (SPD), the liberals (FDP), and the conservatives (CDU and CSU). It was not until the 1980s and onwards that new social movements emerged which ultimately found their way into the party system. For example, the formation of the Green party, but also parties on the left political spectrum that gained strength after Germany’s reunification.

The talk, moderated by Wong Chin Huat, Professor of Institutional Design at Sunway University, tried to compare the differences and similarities between Malaysia and Germany’s political situations. According to him, both countries are nominally similar in that both have parliamentary democracy and federalism as their system of government. However, he also observed a strong contrast in the way coalition governments work in each country. In Germany, coalitions are often formed and defined after elections, which, according to Professor Wong, is how multi-party politics should work. Meanwhile, in Malaysia, up until the “Sheraton Move” in 2020, coalitions were basically permanent, with parties with similar ideologies rarely breaking away from their allegiance to each other.

Subsequently, the talk also provided opportunities for all of the participants to engage in discussions via a Q&A session. One topic of note that emerged from the questions was about the rise of right-wing populism which has become a global phenomenon as of late. Similar to the increasing popularity of Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) in Germany, Malaysia also has its fair share of struggles when it comes to containing the ever-growing presence of right-wing opinions in social media, especially in TikTok. The governing coalition, Pakatan Harapan (PH), which includes the Prime Minister’s Parti Keadilan Rakyat/People’s Justice Party (PKR) has so far been experiencing difficulties in combating, among other things, false propaganda that loses them votes in the Muslim-Malay community.

As reflected in the Malaysia General Election in 2022, Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS)-led Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition followed PH closely in term of votes, winning more than half of the 74 PN parliamentary seats behind PH, who was then forced to form a grand coalition with its opposition: the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition led by the conservative United Malays National Organisation (UMNO). Even before 2022, PH (and any of its former versions) has always found themselves becoming second to UMNO-led BN, whose votes mainly come from pandering to the sentiments of the Malay majority.

The talk then concluded with two other questions, touching on the subjects of Germany’s future within the European Union and youth participation in politics. Dr. Diederich highlighted the importance of constantly coming up with new ways of political participation to counter the expanding apathy towards professional politics. In the case of the youth, familiarisation of politics may start through social movements that utilises a wide range of creative activities to speak out about political issues. Political education does not need to always be synonymous with a boring congregation. It can even reap the benefits of the decentralised and borderless nature of social media.

Ultimately, the rising popularity of right-wing rhetoric among voters remains a persistent challenge for democracy across the globe. It is not a problem that is specific to Germany and Malaysia, as we observe the trend from recent elections in many countries, including the United States. It is high time for democracy actors to start pivoting towards a more strategic and inclusive strategies to broaden our platforms’ reach; to make sure that the public understands their grievances are heard and will be best addressed and resolved through democratic and progressive means, in contrast to the right-wings’ plans of action.