Malaysia tolerant reputation troubled reality

The recent vandalisation of a string of Christian churches in Malaysia has, again, focussed attention on the challenges of communal politics in modern Malaysia. At the Wednesday Lowy Lunch on 10 February, Barry Wain discussed how these attacks reflect a deep crisis at the heart of Malaysian politics today and how this crisis developed during the 22-year rule of Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and since his retirement in 2003.

Barry Wain, author of the recently released 'Malaysian Maverick: Mahathir Mohamad in Turbulent Times', is Writer-in-Residence at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore.

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