Visiting Fellow, Malaysia Studies Programme

[What the role is] The Malaysia Studies Programme (MSP) at the ISEAS

• Yusof Ishak Institute invites applications for the following Visiting Fellowships for the Financial Year 2027-2028. [What you will be working on] A) Visiting Fellow – Future of Malay-based Political Parties (2-12 months) Once dominated by the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), Peninsular Malaysia’s constituency-rich Malay heartland is now contested by several Malay-based parties. Competition among UMNO, PAS and Bersatu has intensified as parties seek to consolidate existing strongholds while making inroads into new constituencies and demographic groups. This project will examine how Malay-based parties compete for support, with particular attention to their issue positions, geographic and demographic targeting, candidate selection, political narratives, organisational strategies, and use of traditional and digital media. Particular attention may be given to economic narratives: how parties frame questions of cost of living, jobs and wages, subsidies, social protection, development, investment and economic opportunity, and how these messages are adapted to different constituencies and social groups. It may also consider how these approaches vary across elections and between national and state-level contests. B) Visiting Fellow – Social Cohesion (2-12 months) Malaysia is a diverse and relatively young society whose social cohesion continues to be shaped by ethnicity, religion, language, region, class and generation. At the same time, patterns of urbanisation, migration, educational experience and digital media consumption are changing how Malaysians understand community and belonging. This project will examine contemporary narratives and conceptualisations of citizenship, national identity and social cohesion, and how these vary across social groups and generations. It may also explore the institutions, policies and everyday practices that strengthen social trust and shared belonging, as well as the sources of social division and contestation. Research need not be confined to electoral politics: studies of inter- and intra-community relations, changing class structures, migration, social mobility, or differences within Malaysia’s major ethnic communities would also be welcome. C) Visiting Fellow – Malaysia’s Demographic Trajectory (2-12 months) Malaysia is undergoing significant demographic change, with implications for the economy, politics, public services and patterns of settlement. This project will examine how the country’s population is likely to evolve towards 2050, including changes in overall population size and age structure, ethnic composition, household formation, migration and urbanisation. Particular attention may be given to the geographic distribution of different age and ethnic groups across states and between urban and rural areas. The project should consider the wider implications of these trends for labour markets, social policy, electoral politics and Malaysia’s longer-term development trajectory. D) Visiting Fellow – Institutions and Governance (2-12 months) Malaysia’s institutions of state — including the civil service, judiciary and monarchy — provide continuity across changes of government and play important roles in the formulation, implementation and oversight of public policy. Their significance has become more visible amid greater electoral competition, coalition governments and narrower parliamentary majorities. This project will examine changes within one or more of these institutions, including questions of institutional capacity, autonomy, accountability and adaptation. It may also analyse their evolving relationships with elected political leaders and assess how these relationships shape policy implementation, administrative reform and governance outcomes. E) Visiting Fellow – Political Islam (2-12 months) Political Islam remains an important dimension of Malaysia’s political competition. Debate over the recent electoral momentum of Perikatan Nasional (PN) has centred on the relative importance of party organisation and programmatic appeal, on the one hand, and broader social and generational changes, including patterns of religiosity, on the other. This project will analyse the role of Islam in Malaysian politics, including how political parties and other actors employ religious institutions, narratives, symbols and concepts. It may examine internal dynamics within parties such as UMNO, PAS and Bersatu, and compare the strategies through which they seek to appeal to Malay-Muslim voters across different constituencies and age groups. Of particular interest is the relationship between religious and economic ideas: how parties reconcile Islamic principles with positions on economic management, investment, labour markets, redistribution, development and the role of the state. Research could also examine the governing record and policy evolution of Islamist-led state administrations, including comparisons across states with different economic structures and levels of industrialisation. A further avenue concerns the wider intellectual and organisational networks shaping political Islam in Malaysia, including links with Muslim movements and institutions elsewhere, and how changing currents in the wider Muslim world influence religious discourse and political strategy at home. F) Visiting Fellow – Minority Politics (2-12 months) Malaysia’s minority politics is entering a period of adjustment as patterns of party competition and coalition-building continue to evolve. The Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) and Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC), after a prolonged period of electoral decline, have sought to rebuild their political relevance, while other parties continue to compete for Chinese, Indian and other minority support. This project will examine the changing political strategies, organisational positions and electoral prospects of minority-based parties and leaders. More broadly, it will explore how different minority communities understand the current political landscape, which issues and narratives resonate with them, and how factors such as generation, class, locality and language shape political preferences and participation. G) Visiting Fellow – Economic Policy (2-12 months) Malaysia’s economy continues to generate steady growth, maintain solid fundamentals, and broadly move in the direction of the country’s aspired high-income status. The progress record on various policy fronts, though, is uneven, as demonstrated by the persistent difficulties transitioning to a high-skill, high-value-added, high-wage economy, and sustaining various reforms, including subsidy rationalisation, fiscal consolidation, the education system, and governance of government-linked institutions. Research under this overarching theme will critically examine economic policy designs and outcomes, with special attention to the Madani administration, and future prospects. Responsibilities: Depending on the expertise of the candidate, he or she will conduct one or two projects related to the themes listed above. Visiting Fellows are expected not only to undertake their own research, but also to contribute to the Programme’s ongoing efforts to understand longer-term political, economic and social change in Malaysia. In so doing, Visiting Fellows are expected to contribute to ISEAS in the following ways:
• Write for a range of research products for the Institute such as Fulcrum commentaries, ISEAS Perspectives, and ISEAS Trends.
• Monitor economic, political and/or social trends in Malaysia/Southeast Asia.
• Where relevant, contribute to ISEAS's collective research efforts and also participate in seminars and events. [What we are looking for] Requirements:
• Applicants should have a PhD degree in an area of the humanities or social sciences (especially political science/government, economics, sociology, anthropology, demography, or business studies)