 ‘The only thing is you have to know them first’: protest policing and Malaysia’s BERSIH protests (2011–2016)Kia Meng Boon Small Wars and Insurgencies, 2022, vol. 33, issue 4-5, 868-901 Abstract: This article critically examines the models of protest policing deployed by the Malaysian police during the BERSIH 2.0 wave of protests (2011–2016). Based on participant observation and critical ethnography of these protest events, it explains how the state and police adapted to the surge of street protests in Kuala Lumpur by bringing together various elements of policing practices in its attempt to contain dissent on the streets. I argue that the new ‘Peaceful Assembly assemblage’ of policing practices, though distinct and significantly different in its overall governing logic compared to its predecessor, it remains heavily connected to late colonial forms of public order and counterinsurgent policing, especially the Special Branch and the Federal Reserve Unit (riot police). In this sense, the article shows that colonial policing’s afterlife is a major factor for understanding how Malaysia’s protest policing experience complicates and departs from patterns of protest policing development observed in the Global North. Date: 2022 Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:taf:fswixx:v:33:y:2022:i:4-5:p:868-901 Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from DOI: 10.1080/09592318.2021.2025287 Access Statistics for this article Small Wars and Insurgencies is currently edited by Paul Rich More articles in Small Wars and Insurgencies from Taylor & Francis Journals |
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