COMMENT What if the liberalisation of the public sphere since the era of Dr Mahathir Mohamad paved the way for the emergence of civil surrogates of political parties? What if the so-called “civil society” was used as a veil to hide and promote the rise of militants who are in fact sub-contractors of political parties discourse and actions?

This four-part article challenges the general conception of Malaysian politics through the exploration of the relationship between opportunist militant groups or gangs, and political parties.

Built on five years of extensive field research (from 2008 to 2013) that consisted of ethnographic type interviews and observations in Peninsular Malaysia, this analysis is premised on the narrative of individuals who claim their membership in gangs affiliated or satellites of the non-governmental organisation Pekida...