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Among Southeast Asian states, Malaysia was ranked the highest by the London-based The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) in its 2021 democracy index released on Feb. 9.
The EIU is a research and analysis division of the Economist Group.
Malaysia was ranked sixth in the Asia and Australasia category, with an overall score of 7.24.
Globally, the country was ranked 39th in the democracy index.
Singapore ranked 66th globally
Indonesia and the Philippines were ranked ninth and 10th, each with a score of 6.71 and 6.62 respectively, in the Asia and Australasia region.
Singapore was given an overall score of 6.23 and ranked 12th on the list in the region.
Globally, Indonesia, the Philippines and Singapore ranked 52nd, 54th, and 66th, respectively.
New Zealand topped the Asia and Australasia region with a score of 9.37, followed by Taiwan (8.99), Australia (8.90) and South Korea (8.16).
As for globally, Norway (9.75) was ranked first, followed by New Zealand and Finland (9.27)
The worst three performing countries listed in the democracy index in 2021 are Afghanistan (0.32), which was placed last in the list.
Myanmar (1.02) and North Korea (1.08) were also at the bottom.
Methodology
According to the report by EIU, the democracy index is on a zero to 10 scale based on ratings for 60 indicators grouped into five categories.
The categories are:
- Electoral process and pluralism;
- Civil liberties;
- The functioning of government;
- Political participation;
- and political culture.
The index is a simple average of the five categories of indexes.
Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore classified as "flawed democracy"
Most of the Asean member states countries were categorised as a "flawed democracy" in the index list.
These include Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, the Philippines, and Thailand.
The EIU defines countries with flawed democracy as countries with "free and fair elections and, even if there are problems (such as infringements on media freedom), basic civil liberties are respected".
"However, there are significant weaknesses in other aspects of democracy, including problems in governance, an underdeveloped political culture and low levels of political participation," it added.
As for Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar, the EIC classified their regime type as "authoritarian".
Countries categorised as having an authoritarian regime, according to EIU, are countries in which the "state political pluralism is absent or heavily circumscribed".
It added that many countries in this category are "outright dictatorships".
"Elections, if they do occur, are not free and fair. There is disregard for abuses and infringements of civil liberties. Media are typically state-owned or controlled by groups connected to the ruling regime," the EIU wrote.
"There is repression of criticism of the government and pervasive censorship. There is no independent judiciary."
Quality of governance undermined by restrictions due to the pandemic
The EIU added that the quality of governance in Asia was undermined by the "continued restrictions on individual freedoms as a result of the pandemic".
In some areas, it has undermined the public trust in institutions and "weakened motivation" for political participation.
The EIU cited several examples of nationwide lockdowns across Asia, including Japan's stringent restrictions ahead of the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games, and Malaysia's lockdown, which led to the suspension of parliament, and subsequently the collapse of Muhyiddin Yassin's government.
Public surveys revealed that in many Asian countries, people felt that they had fewer choices and less control over their lives due to pandemic-related restrictions.
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