Is Malaysia A Freedom For Democracy?

The word democracy elicits different perceptions from different people. Some may see democracy as only a government ruled directly by the people, in which the people write and choose laws directly. Others may include representative democracy in which representatives are chosen by the people to write, pass, and enforce laws. It is the latter view that would best describe America. In this sense, America is not a pure democracy, and few would ever say it was founded as one. However, the question remains: Is America a democracy. Though America as a whole has few direct ways for people to participate in the writing and enforcement of most laws, I would venture to say that American government should be considered a democracy. Indeed, democratic elements pervade the American political structure. The American republic would not be what it is without the necessary democratic elements that are used in the execution of governing.

Malaysia is a country of democracy, a multiparty system. The ruling party Barisan Nasional has been in power for over 25 years. That fact has provided the country with a high degree of stability, which is an important factor for companies investing in the country. Corruption exists in the country. This may be an obstacle for foreign companies, as it increases the company's costs and could cause problems. Transparency International takes 47th Malaysia out of 180 countries in its Corruption Perception

Does democracy ensure freedom? I believe democracy can ensure freedom, but not always, thus my answer is maybe. For democracy is a form of government that rely on a system of law in which individuals are treated equally while having fair access to the legislative process through electing official who will act in their constituent’s interest and voice their concern. Through proper protection with legislation, individual's freedom can be ensured. Yet the nature of democracy favour majority thus it is possible for politician to cater to the mass to secure vote and have access to the seats of power. Democracy is unable to act if the votes are tied, such flaw can leads to politician abuse their power tilting the result either way to further his

Liberia was Africa’s first country to proclaim independence, which was back in 1847. Liberia was heavily involved with the American Colonization Society (ACS) before it gained its independence, so naturally it has a governmental system modeled on the U.S . In 1980, however, Liberia underwent a coup d’état by its military and became an authoritarian government . This form of government lasted until 2003 when the United Nations stepped in and established an interim government while peace accords were being implemented. In 2005, Liberia finally was able to hold free and fair elections, electing a newly democratic government under President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf . Though Liberia is seen as a democracy according to the Polity Scale , it is

A legitimate state can be defined as “A state in which its citizens have little or no significant resistance to the public policy and leadership of the state in question due to the rightful/legitimate exercise of power.” This Legitimacy of state is often a hard term to apply to any form of government in the modern political world due to the very differing cultures between the western and eastern world. However the general consensus of many political leaders is democracy is the only truly legitimate way of ruling any state. Democracy in the words of Abraham Lincoln is a government formed “of the people, by the people, for the people” where the power of

There are numerous ways to improve the Malaysian electoral system both in fairness and efficiency. Currently, there is a lack in confidence in the validity or neutrality of the Electoral Commissions (EC). Members of the EC are elected by the Yang di- Pertuan Agong (YDPA) after discussing with the Conference of Rulers (Legal Research Board, 2013). However, according to Article 40 the YDPA can only act after receiving advice from the Cabinet or a Minister representing the Cabinet (Legal Research Board, 2013); in most cases it would mean the Prime Minister. Hence, it may seem that the politically neutral EC were to be pro-government. A solution to this problem would be to amend the Constitution so that the House of Representatives can debate on the nomination of the EC members, then their decision would be passed on to the YDPA. By doing so, the EC would comprise of members that have the approval of both the government and opposition, thus making the committee fairer. Aside from that, the EC should manage its own budget, and should be reviewed by the Auditor-General and not be dissected by the Parliament.

Malaysia is a democratic country with excellent economic system. We are one the leading country in economic terms and being an example for the economy system we are using. In Malaysia, we are into mixed economy system. This economy system is the leading type of economic system that is used in most of the countries such as United States. Mixed economy system includes a mixture of capitalism and socialism. It combines private economic freedom, centralized economic planning and government regulation. Government plays major role in economic growth as well as distribution of wealth. For example, our government collects tax and provides subsidies at the same time for the public.

Democracy varies in every country depending on the type of government or regime they have. There is the liberal democracy, which is all about giving people their rights and liberties; everything is done through fair voting and electing. The people are aware of everything that happens in their government. Illiberal democracies are basically the same as liberal, but the people in power are more secretive of their activities, and there is less civil liberty. It is essentially a partial democracy. Now Authoritarian regimes designate any political system that concentrates power in the hands of one leader or a small elite. There are no free elections and very little regard for the law. Political institutions, social structures, and the democratic rule of law all affect liberal, illiberal, and authoritarian regimes democratic quality differently.

Over half of the countries in the world are considered democracies, one of which being Turkey. Turkey believes that they are a model of a true democracy while other countries believe that Turkey is very far from being considered a democracy. This has been an ongoing argument amongst many people. If we take in to consideration what it means to be a true democracy, then Turkey would only possess a few of those qualities. If we were to look at the basic structure and elements of a dictatorship, Turkey would fit into majority of them. This is what leads me to believe that Turkey should not be considered a democracy but instead a soft dictatorship. There is a lot of evidence that would prove as to why Turkey should not be considered a democracy including, lack of freedom in many different way, lack of suffrage rights, a long process of trying to become a member of the European Union, high levels of government control, and high military power.

The country has been able to take advantage of the region’s positive prospects and should continue to do so in coming years. The country has good prospects for economic growth and foreign direct investment (FDI), import cover levels are comfortable, and political risk is relatively low.

By the end of 2005 Freedom House had recorded strong improvements in the political and civil rights of countries like Jordan, Morocco, Egypt, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia. Over a year later, the democratic prospects in the Middle East did not look as prosperous as before. Struggles between the regimes, the United States, and Europe started to diminish the democratic reform. People in the Middle East wanted a change because what they had before did not serve for their best interests. Elections began in many of these Middle Eastern nations like Palestine where Hammas won, in Lebanon where Hezbollah won, in Iraq where the Islamists got the majority, and in Egypt where many members of the Muslim Brotherhood won seats in parliament. Although the electoral process began in some of these Middle Eastern states, it was not the greatest thing in the world since people were not voting based off the political platforms on which these parties stand on but rather the personalities of the leaders. There was also a lot of corruption in these elections that swayed votes to these Islamist parties.

The ruling party of Malaysia, Barisan Nasional has been in power since the country’s independence in 1957. This fact has provided Malaysia a high degree of stability and the confidence of foreign investors / businesses.

The election was the process of electing a leader to govern the country and this system are implemented in most of the democratic country. The election processes are important in order to get the leader that can run the country in harmony and peace. According to Lim Hong Hai (N/A), the electoral system is important because it applies an essential and liberated effect on electoral outcomes, and hence on the balance of benefit among contestants in the fight for representation and power in the political system. In Malaysia, the electoral processes are done after 5 years. This election process began after Malaysia got its independence as a condition from the colonial master. Malaysia is the example one of the Muslim country that has held periodic national and state level of the election since its independence (Syed Aribi Idid, 2008). Besides that, there a many levels of the election like the parliamentary elections, elections at the state level, by-elections, and elections for the senate and election of the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong. However, the most popular election event is the by-election and there are six steps in the by-election process which are consist of the issuance of the writ, nomination, election campaign, polling, counting votes, and lastly announcement of the election results.

It is undeniable that the citizens of Malaysia have been granted the freedom of speech, assembly and association, as stated in the Act 10 of the Federal Constitution. Quoted from the Federal Constitution, every citizen has the right to free expression and speech. However, freedom of speech is an issue which has been discussed and argued for a long time, not only in Malaysia but all around the world. It is discussed that how “free” a speech can be. Does freedom of speech mean that we can simply talk something bad about the ruler without any evidence? Liberty (2014) defines that the freedom of speech includes the right of every citizen in communicating and expressing in any medium, holding opinions, receiving information & ideas and participating in demonstration and protest without the interference of the country or government.

Malaysia is a unique country. It is made up of multi-ethnic group who are living in harmony. Conflict among ethnic group is rare and even if conflict occurs, is not to the extent of destroying the country. In fact, it is the diversity that drives the development of the country and makes this country colourful. Malaysia has been recognized by the world as a model for other plural societies. The concept of ‘unity in diversity’ is always insisted by the leaders. The concept is now supported with the ‘1 Malaysia’ concept which is introduced by the current Prime Minister. The Malaysian government is always put efforts to ensure the