Neuropolitics and political non-apology: A proposed variable framework

摘要

Malaysia's constitution requires a general election to be held at least once every five years, the next one being the 13^th General Election (PRU13) scheduled for 2013. However, the prime minister can also request for Parliament to be dissolved at any time within that five years. Politicians, especially from the ruling coalition, are scrambling to ensure another victory in PRU13. Similarly, the opposition will try their best to win through the democratic process of voting. Hence, the current political scenarios have continued to see remarks, insinuations and even outright accusations on certain issues among the politicians so as to gain public attention. Some will even go to the extent of digging dubious pasts of the individuals and engaging in character smearing resulting in court cases to prove their innocence while others will demand for public apology. However, not all politicians will apologize and non-apology will drag the case for an indefinite time. The unwillingness to apologize requires much thought and deliberation in the amygdala. Consequently, through purposive sampling and the analyses of preliminary interviews with politicians and political analysts, this paper will propose and provide insights into the construct of a variable framework that will form the foundation of neuropolitically-based non-apologetic behavior among politicians in Malaysia. Understanding the politician's unwillingness to publicly apologize will demystify the situation and the rakyat will be well-informed of the behavioral and psychological reasons behind the non-apology.