BERSIH and Civil Society's Battle for Malaysia’s Future

Beyond the Ballot Box · Sep 23, 2025 · 41m

There was a point where progressive forces in the country could organise and mobilise hundreds of thousands of people on a multicultural platform. We are of course talking about movements like BERSIH. But after the historic 2018 general election, when the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition was toppled for the first time in the nation’s history, everything changed. Progressive civil society organisations that had spent years as outsiders suddenly found themselves inside the halls of power, with unprecedented access to parliamentarians, ministers, and policymaking processes.

So, what does that…