Human Rights and Democracy in Indonesia and Malaysia

This book is the result of a project encompassing fifteen university and civil society researchers from Malaysia and Indonesia. The objective of the project was to study democracy and human rights in both of these countries. The goal was not to merely describe the relationship between the two concepts but instead to examine in depth how these concepts work symbiotically and how they may be enhanced or threatened. And this was to be done not merely in the more obvious areas of intersection between human rights and democracy but also in fields that are perhaps not studied enough or studied more commonly from different perspectives.

There are five parts and twelve chapters in this book which explore human rights and democracy in Indonesia and Malaysia. This examination is done within the themes of freedom of expression, the judiciary, minority rights, gender and the electoral process. The breadth of scope of the chapters reflects the central intellectual foundation of the project that human rights and democracy are not only related, but they are an integral part of society and vital in ensuring an inclusive, just and progressive future for these two nations. It is hoped that the lessons learnt here will be of use and relevance not just for Malaysia and Indonesia but also the region.  

This project would not have been possible without the research grants provided by the Strengthening Human Rights and Peace Research and Education in ASEAN/Southeast Asia (SHAPE-SEA) programme. SHAPE-SEA is a collaboration between the ASEAN Universities Network – Human Rights Education (AUN-HRE) and the Southeast Asian Human Rights Studies Network (SEAHRN) with funding from the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA).