The resurgence of ‘old’ Mahathir against the Najib coalition has been matched with the ‘new’, the cheap smartphone.

A new book on West Sumatran 'angkot' reveals the complex tensions between tradition and modernity in contemporary Minangkabau society

As Malaysia rushes to its GE14 on 9 May, the new anti-fake news law is primed against the state's critics, emboldening speech vigilantism by outsourced censors linked to the ruling UMNO party.

With Malaysia's Parliament now dissolved in the official rush to GE14's polling day, Sabah and Sarawak are again crucial states determining the winning coalition.

Bringing New Mandala readers fresh perspectives on the causes and consequences of populist rule in the Philippines.

The New Books in Southeast Asian Studies podcast explores the idea that elections can be instrumentalised by dictators to reinforce their rule.

The threat to eliminate all ‘fake news’ isn’t merely an assault on the freedom of speech, it’s also an affront to its beauty, efficacy, recall, and its very existence.

SOEs are expected to do ever more for Jokowi's infrastructure push, but politics dictates they forgo revenue to offer subsidised goods. Who ends up with the bill?

Closer scrutiny of Malaysian elections since the era of Najib Razak's father can sharpen the contrasts over winning—and losing—legitimacy.

The fall of great premodern Southeast Asian settlements offers hints about what climate change has in store for today's megacities.

The Najib government needs to win new legitimacy at GE14 if it's to juggle Malay, Islamic, and royal claims, amid a restive East Malaysia.

Nien Yuan Cheng reflects on the film screening and lecture, "Gender, Crossdressing and Androgyny in Balinese Dance", conducted by ethnomusicologist Edward Herbst under the aegis of the Bali 1928 repatriation project.

Dina Zaman on how the religious tensions of Peninsular Malaysia are being imported to Sabah.

Geopolitics is a factor in the resilience of authoritarianism in the region. Often ignored, though, is the enduring pull of anti-democratic politics for the middle class.

What we see today in Cambodia is a direct outcome of the events of 1997, and the world’s feeble response then.

Pakatan Harapan's policy promises will sound great to many voters, but how would a PH government pay for them?

GE14 is more than just a barometer of electoral sentiment. Whoever wins, Malaysia will be a different country afterwards.

A discussion about how civil society organisations and the media are adapting to growing authoritarianism in Cambodia.

Hamzah of Barus was the foremost Malay poet of the 16th century, whose work draws deeply from Sufi imagery and philosophy.

The MD3 saga lays bare not only the DPR's attempt to shield itself from public accountability, but the dysfunctionality of governance under Jokowi.

A quick interview with a scholar of authoritarianism on what's over the horizon for Cambodia after Hun Sen's 2017 crackdown on the opposition.

Thai–Myanmar relations are on the up. But what happens to the large and still-marginalised migrant communities in Thai border towns like Mae Sot?

Welcoming the University of Sydney's Southeast Asian history bloggers to New Mandala.

A discussion on how Australia, ASEAN, and the world might support democracy and human rights in Cambodia.