The Arab Spring: Malaysian Responses

The Malaysian public generally, and political observers and academics in particular, have been following the unfolding of events in the Arab world - the so-called Arab Spring - since the beginning with great interest and also deep concern. There was great interest among Malaysians, because the phenomenon was unexpected and extraordinary. They do feel that the Arabs deserve a real change for the better, especially in the political sphere. However, like many Arabs themselves, they are used to being pessimistic about genuine change in the Arab world. With this kind of pessimism, many Malaysians see the eruption of the people’s protests as something unexpected.