Written by YAM Tunku Panglima Besar, Tunku Zain Al-‘Abidin ibni Tuanku Muhriz, Founding President of the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS).
As the geopolitical mosaic of the planet becomes increasingly impactful on war and peace, trade and treaties, and environmental pacts and cultural norms, so too has the importance of elections all over the world.
Living in the United Kingdom and United States throughout the early 2000s, I observed how established democracies were prone to provocateurs inciting and dividing people over race, religion and culture.
The meaning of “left” and “right” evolved, with the additional prefixes of “extreme” and “radical” being deployed in an attempt to demonise the other as communists or fascists.
It is disheartening when elections seem to be an exercise in who more effectively expresses hate, rather than who better delivers good governance and public services.
Conversely, it’s encouraging when election results suggest that people do still care about good governance and public service delivery, and ultimately still view the progress of humankind as a shared project rather than something that is only for their group.
Making this assessment is itself inevitably coloured by personal biases and the need to sift through what is true versus what is AI-assisted, maliciously-funded misinformation.
And it takes great self-awareness to remember adjusting for the echo chambers that emerge around you.
Still, it’s important to situate election results amid global trends. They will affect us.
In South America, presidential elections have become associated with the “Donroe Doctrine”, in which governments are expected to align with the economic and political priorities of the United States.
Sanctions and trade leverage can be deployed to achieve this, or in the case of Venezuela, special forces were sent to capture President Nicolas Maduro, and since the acting presidency of Delcy Rodriguez, the “biggest oil deal in world history” has granted US entities access to vast oil reserves.
Brazil was supposed to join the list of countries with US-sympathetic leaders after the results of the first round of its presidential election showed a lead for Flavio Bolsonaro.
But in an unprecedented reversal, 81-year old President Lula won with 51.8% of the vote.
President Lula was popular in Malaysia for his jovial style when he visited Kuala Lumpur during the Asean Summit, but his victory also has geopolitical implications as China breathes a sigh of relief that their biggest trading partner in Latin America will not radically shift direction.
In recent years, European voters have shown the world mixed results, with populist authoritarians doing well at times, particularly when combined with the themes of immigration and refugees and the perceived loss of European civilisation.
Of course, local differences matter – culture, political legacies, electoral systems and the qualities of individual candidates all make it difficult to extrapolate one European electorate from another.
Still, it’s significant that this week in Serbia, a leaderless anti-corruption coalition, the Student List, defeated the party of the populist right-wing President Aleksandar Vucic by a comfortable margin.
And throughout this month across Europe, student – or Gen-Z – protests have spread centring around a lack of funding for education and the cost of housing.
Videos of the destruction of historic buildings and the looting of shops might look bewildering to those who associate such venues with tourism and luxury, but it’s certainly forced governments to take them seriously.
Student protests have also been a thorn in the government’s side in India this year, with the Cockroach Janta Party (whose name embraces an intended insult from the nation’s Chief Justice and parodies the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party) leading nationwide protests over medical entrance examination irregularities, resulting in the resignation of the Education Minister, with a manifesto addressing parliamentary conduct, voter disenfranchisement, women’s political representation and media centralisation.
Indeed, the mobilisation of young citizens is something that governments all over the world should take note of.
Student protests were a notable feature of Malaysian politics throughout the 1960s and 1970s and again during the Reformasi movement, but since then, legislation has effectively curbed widespread activism.
The students I speak to at public universities seem happy with the balance between academia and opportunities to express themselves.
Sadly, there can be unnecessary turbulence: it should be completely uncontroversial to criticise a former prime minister during student dialogues, and yet Ummi Umairah Bakhit has faced cyberbullying and harassment.
Malaysian politics is far from South America or Europe (and Israel’s election is another special case that is unfolding as I write).
The issues that voters will prioritise in Melaka, Sarawak, and eventually the national election, will be different.
But there is one fundamental similarity that is worryingly present, and that is the fomenting of hate and division, not hope and unity, to win votes.
With the help of civil society and allies of all generations, I pray our political leaders rise beyond this.
This article was featured in The Star, 30 October 2026
The views expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views or positions of IDEAS Malaysia. All opinions are the author’s own
National elections, global impact
National elections, global impact
Written by YAM Tunku Panglima Besar, Tunku Zain Al-‘Abidin ibni Tuanku Muhriz, Founding President of the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS).
As the geopolitical mosaic of the planet becomes increasingly impactful on war and peace, trade and treaties, and environmental pacts and cultural norms, so too has the importance of elections all over the world.
Living in the United Kingdom and United States throughout the early 2000s, I observed how established democracies were prone to provocateurs inciting and dividing people over race, religion and culture.
The meaning of “left” and “right” evolved, with the additional prefixes of “extreme” and “radical” being deployed in an attempt to demonise the other as communists or fascists.
It is disheartening when elections seem to be an exercise in who more effectively expresses hate, rather than who better delivers good governance and public services.
Conversely, it’s encouraging when election results suggest that people do still care about good governance and public service delivery, and ultimately still view the progress of humankind as a shared project rather than something that is only for their group.
Making this assessment is itself inevitably coloured by personal biases and the need to sift through what is true versus what is AI-assisted, maliciously-funded misinformation.
And it takes great self-awareness to remember adjusting for the echo chambers that emerge around you.
Still, it’s important to situate election results amid global trends. They will affect us.
In South America, presidential elections have become associated with the “Donroe Doctrine”, in which governments are expected to align with the economic and political priorities of the United States.
Sanctions and trade leverage can be deployed to achieve this, or in the case of Venezuela, special forces were sent to capture President Nicolas Maduro, and since the acting presidency of Delcy Rodriguez, the “biggest oil deal in world history” has granted US entities access to vast oil reserves.
Brazil was supposed to join the list of countries with US-sympathetic leaders after the results of the first round of its presidential election showed a lead for Flavio Bolsonaro.
But in an unprecedented reversal, 81-year old President Lula won with 51.8% of the vote.
President Lula was popular in Malaysia for his jovial style when he visited Kuala Lumpur during the Asean Summit, but his victory also has geopolitical implications as China breathes a sigh of relief that their biggest trading partner in Latin America will not radically shift direction.
In recent years, European voters have shown the world mixed results, with populist authoritarians doing well at times, particularly when combined with the themes of immigration and refugees and the perceived loss of European civilisation.
Of course, local differences matter – culture, political legacies, electoral systems and the qualities of individual candidates all make it difficult to extrapolate one European electorate from another.
Still, it’s significant that this week in Serbia, a leaderless anti-corruption coalition, the Student List, defeated the party of the populist right-wing President Aleksandar Vucic by a comfortable margin.
And throughout this month across Europe, student – or Gen-Z – protests have spread centring around a lack of funding for education and the cost of housing.
Videos of the destruction of historic buildings and the looting of shops might look bewildering to those who associate such venues with tourism and luxury, but it’s certainly forced governments to take them seriously.
Student protests have also been a thorn in the government’s side in India this year, with the Cockroach Janta Party (whose name embraces an intended insult from the nation’s Chief Justice and parodies the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party) leading nationwide protests over medical entrance examination irregularities, resulting in the resignation of the Education Minister, with a manifesto addressing parliamentary conduct, voter disenfranchisement, women’s political representation and media centralisation.
Indeed, the mobilisation of young citizens is something that governments all over the world should take note of.
Student protests were a notable feature of Malaysian politics throughout the 1960s and 1970s and again during the Reformasi movement, but since then, legislation has effectively curbed widespread activism.
The students I speak to at public universities seem happy with the balance between academia and opportunities to express themselves.
Sadly, there can be unnecessary turbulence: it should be completely uncontroversial to criticise a former prime minister during student dialogues, and yet Ummi Umairah Bakhit has faced cyberbullying and harassment.
Malaysian politics is far from South America or Europe (and Israel’s election is another special case that is unfolding as I write).
The issues that voters will prioritise in Melaka, Sarawak, and eventually the national election, will be different.
But there is one fundamental similarity that is worryingly present, and that is the fomenting of hate and division, not hope and unity, to win votes.
With the help of civil society and allies of all generations, I pray our political leaders rise beyond this.
This article was featured in The Star, 30 October 2026
The views expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views or positions of IDEAS Malaysia. All opinions are the author’s own
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