Malaysia shows how local battles over race and national identity could complicate China’s Southeast Asian playbook
3-MIN READ3-MIN ListenPeter T. C. ChangPeter TC Chang is a research associate at the Malaysia-China Friendship Association and a former deputy director in the Institute of China Studies at University Malaya. Published: 5:30am, 10 Aug 2026As China seeks to reshape the global order, Malaysia’s political instability offers a cautionary tale about the challenges Beijing may face abroad.
Malaysia’s two major Malay-based parties, Umno and PAS, united around a familiar message: that Malay and Muslim interests could only be protected through greater political solidarity among Malays against non-Malay parties.
