KUALA LUMPUR: While mature democracies worldwide are witnessing progressive deterioration in the practice of democracy, Malaysia improved its ranking in The Democracy Index to 43rd in 2019, up from 52nd in 2018 out of 167 countries surveyed. According to The Democracy Index 2019 report released by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), Malaysia scored 7.16 points out of a maximum of 10 – its best score ever. “Since its inception in 2006, the Democracy Index has highlighted the progressive deterioration in the practice of democracy in the West,” the report said, adding that the US was demoted from a “full democracy” to a “flawed democracy” in 2016. Thailand registered the biggest improvement as it jumped 38 places to 68th spot and moved out of the “hybrid regime” category into the “flawed democracy” category. Out of the 167 countries covered by the index, 22 are considered full democracies, flawed democracies 54, hybrid regimes 37 and authoritarian regimes 54.

Source: New Strait Times February 04, 2020 00:33 UTC