伊斯蘭教對馬來西亞民主化之困境

Islam and the Struggle for Democratic Transition in Malaysia

2007年爲馬來西亞獨立50週年。獨立紀念日對馬來西亞而言，象徵著兩種不同方向的發展。縱然馬來西亞的經濟蓬勃成長；反觀政治發展的進程，卻始終緩慢。部分學家，如Huntington（1996）和Kepel（2002），都曾對馬來西亞該如何成功地將民主價值實踐在回教社會，表示質疑。對此，本文的重點，將試圖理解伊斯蘭教對馬來西亞民主化之影響。以現有伊斯蘭教與民主之間的共存模式作爲基礎。以司法獨立、媒體自由和人權等議題爲例，探討伊斯蘭教對馬來西亞欲實踐民主價值所扮演的角色和困境。其中，又以馬來西亞前副首相Anwar（2006）所提供的重要見解，洞悉馬來西亞社會。本文主要以建構主義爲途徑，選取伊斯蘭教爲自變數；伊斯蘭教對民主化之影響爲因變數，爲研究設計。根據廣泛的學術文獻對政治績效提出的批判性地分析，以及伊斯蘭教與民主之相互關係，爲本文之研究基礎。最後，研究成果將顯示保守立場與宗教價值之間強烈的關聯性。對於將伊斯蘭教視爲民主化過程的障礙，結果爲無法斷定的。

The 50th anniversary of Malaysia's independence in 2007 stands for a twofold development. Whereas the economy grew strongly, the political development remained weak. Some scholars, such as Huntington (1996) and Kepel (2002), have questioned how democratic values could be successfully implemented in a Muslim society. This paper aims to clarify the impact of Islam for the democratic transition process in Malaysia. Based on a brief discourse about the co-existence of Islam and democracy, the paper will discuss the role of Islam for the weak implementation of democratic values in several selected examples, such as the independency of the judiciary, press freedom and human rights. Particularly the case of Anwar (2006) provides important insights into the underlying value system of Malaysia's society.This paper is qualitative study based on a constructivist perspective in which Islam is selected as the independent variable and its impact on the democratic transition as the dependent variable. The research is based on a broad range of academic literature that critically analyses the political performance as well as research made on the relationship between Islam and democracy. The research findings indicate a strong correlation between conservative forces and religious values, but the argument that Islam stands as a barrier for democratic transition process can not be concluded.