Dr Hussin Mutalib was a stalwart at FASS. A former faculty member at the Department of Political Science, he had written extensively on Singapore, Malaysia, ethnic minorities, the Middle East, and contemporary Islam. This week, we feature one of his journal articles, ‘Illiberal Democracy and the Future of Opposition in Singapore’, published in 2000 in Third World Quarterly.

In his article, Dr Mutalib lays out the debates surrounding Singapore’s political system. He justifies in detail why Singapore is an illiberal democracy and highlights the ways Singapore is different from typical liberal democracies. For instance, Singapore does not have a vibrant multiparty system and the ruling government exerts dominance over key institutions in the country.

Dr Mutalib concludes by listing out three scenarios that can threaten the PAP’s one-party dominance: the departure of the old guard leading to factionalism; prolonged economic downturn resulting in discontentment; and a younger educated IT savvy generation willing to challenge existing political paradigms. Although written many years ago, the scenarios that Dr Mutalib discussed remain relevant today. We wish Dr Mutalib all the best in his future endeavours.

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