Beyond the Ballot Box

If you’re someone who lives in the Klang Valley or in other major cities in the country, chances are you’re at least somewhat aware that there is racial discrimination in the rental market. You may have your own lived experience, heard a story from a friend, or perhaps seen a sign online or walked past one in real life that reads “No x race" or "no y race” or maybe… “Chinese only.” But just how se...

Dr Ilango Karuppanan is a former Malaysian diplomat who has witnessed firsthand how war and conflict can shape conditions on the ground, including how businesses adapt.  In this episode, we speak to Dr Ilango about some of the lessons he has learned over the years about diplomacy and how the US & Israel’s illegal war of aggression in Iran is impacting international relations and perceptio...

The Security Offences (Special Measures) Act (SOSMA) has once again come under fire following reports that several minors were detained under its provisions in a recent security operation. The case has sparked concern among human rights groups, including SUARAM, over potential violations of child protection laws and allegations of abuse while in custody. The incident has also reignited calls for u...

The world is changing at a pace few expected. From the ongoing Russia–Ukraine War to the devastation in Gaza Strip and Israel’s broader regional expansion, the foundations of the post-Cold War order appear increasingly unstable. At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Mark Carney warned that there is a "rupture" in the global order. Meanwhile, European leaders such as Emmanuel Macron have called for...

In late February 2026, the United States and Israel carried out coordinated illegal military strikes on Iran, which is a sovereign country. Within the first few days, they bombed a school full of young Iranian girls and assassinated Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Iranian head of state. This set off a rapidly escalating regional conflict, with Iran attacking US military bases in neighbouring Gulf coun...

Today, we’re living through what often feels like a constant stream of disruptions, from wars, economic instability, the climate change, and even loneliness and a loss of meaning and purpose in life.  In an article for For Pol India , political analyst Manishankar Prasad argues that these crises are not isolated but intertwined and due to late-stage capitalism. So, in this episode, we speak t...

Timor-Leste is a relatively young nation with an incredibly rich history and culture that many, even within the region, may not be very familiar with. It is also the newest member of ASEAN. In this episode, we’re joined by Dr Rui Maria de Araújo. Dr Rui, who's a member of the revolutionary centre-left political party Fretilin, is a physician, public health specialist, and statesman, and also serve...

Petaling Jaya was originally developed in the 1950s as one of Malaysia’s first planned suburbs, built to house residents moving out of the crowded city centre of Kuala Lumpur. Decades later, many of its neighbourhoods are ageing even as demand to live in PJ remains strong because of its central location and economic activity. Now, a new local plan aims to transform the city from a low-rise suburb...

Malaysia’s fight against corruption remains one of the country’s most persistent political and institutional challenges. While the latest results from the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index show Malaysia improving slightly to 52 points and ranking 54th globally, the broader picture remains complicated. Progress in rankings does not necessarily mean corruption has been meaningf...

MANDIRI is a youth-driven civil society organisation founded in 2024 that aims to strengthen democratic participation, social justice, and civic engagement among young people. It is established by a group of activists, namely Amir Hadi, Mohamad Alshatry and Dobby Chew – names you probably recognise if you’ve been listening to the show for some time.  In this episode, we speak to Dobby Chew ab...

Malaysia today finds itself at an important juncture. For starters, the MADANI government is currently led by a reformist coalition and a Prime Minister who has championed good governance and institutional reform for decades.  The past few weeks have been especially pivotal, though. On the one hand, you’ve got a recent Bloomberg investigation into alleged “corporate mafia” behaviour within th...

Two days ago, the U.S. and Israel launched massive joint air operations against Iran, saying they were targeting military infrastructure and seeking regime change. Hundreds of civilians have been killed, including more than a hundred young Iranian girls, whose school was bombed. Several senior Iranian military figures and politicians have also been killed, including the Iranian Supreme Leader, Aya...

For the longest time, particularly since the late 90s, then-opposition parties from PKR to DAP to PAS campaigned on a platform of anti-corruption and anti-cronyism, against the Barisan Nasional. This only intensified during former, disgraced Prime Minister Najib Razak’s time in power and the 1MDB scandal. This ultimately led to the downfall of the Barisan Nasional government in 2018. The question...

We often hear about neighbourhoods being evicted, houses being torn down, and communities organising against the state or private developers, demanding fair compensation, proper consultation, and the right to remain on their land. Development, Displacement and Democracy: The Place of Eviction Protests in Malaysia is a paper that examines how these eviction protests function as an important but oft...

Take One Action is an initiative based in Scotland that uses film as a tool to help people make sense of the world. The organisation curates documentaries and features that explore themes like inequality, climate justice, human rights, and collective action, often pairing them with discussions, workshops, and conversations with activists, academics, and filmmakers.  In this episode, we speak...

For many of us born in the 90s, we’ve only known one world: A world where the US has been the singular hegemon, leading what we call a unipolar world. This has been the case since the tail end of the Cold War and especially so after the fall of the Berlin Wall.  But things are changing. There’s plenty of talk about a shift towards a multipolar world. This isn’t just what’s been said by leftis...

For many of us born in the 90s, we’ve only known one world: A world where the US has been the singular hegemon, leading what we call a unipolar world. This has been the case since the tail end of the Cold War and especially so after the fall of the Berlin Wall.  But things are changing. There’s plenty of talk about a shift towards a multipolar world. This isn’t just what’s been said by leftis...

Jeffrey Epstein was a financier and convicted sex offender whose network spanned the worlds of finance, politics, academia, and celebrity.  Recently, the U.S. Department of Justice released what is now known as the Epstein Files. There are over 3 million pages, 2,000+ videos, and 180,000+ images, so far, including flight logs, emails, court filings, and internal notes detailing his activities...

We often discuss the exploitation of labour, especially at the very bottom of the chain, namely the migrant workers who are frequently trapped in conditions that resemble modern-day slavery.  But one thing we haven’t really interrogated is the role of business schools: what they teach, what they leave out, and whether the lessons and curriculum deal primarily with managing a boardroom and ens...

Recently, Bloomberg published an in-depth investigation into the recruitment of Bangladeshi migrant workers into Malaysia , exposing how inflated fees, cartel-like recruitment structures and political protection have trapped thousands of workers in debt, exploitation and, in some cases, human trafficking. The article explicitly names individuals linked to these cartels.  We speak to Charles S...

Most of us know that elections are important. After all, they shape who governs us and how decisions get made. But we rarely stop to think about what actually happens behind the scenes: the hundreds, sometimes thousands of workers and volunteers who make sure polling day runs smoothly, especially polling staff on the ground.  In this episode, we speak to Danesh Prakash Chacko, Chairperson of...

Malaysia is incredibly polarised right now, especially across racial and religious lines. Perhaps that has always been the case to some degree, given the ethnocentric political parties and culture that have dominated a bulk of our history since independence and especially so post 1969. Things seem to be getting worse. You often get the sense that every community feels that they’re marginalised or...

Three things we often hear about Kuala Lumpur and the Klang Valley at large is that it’s incredibly congested, not walkable and that it is becoming increasingly unaffordable. But why do these problems persist? We speak to Aziff Azuddin, associate researcher at IMAN Research, about the greater Klang Valley’s urban design philosophy and key principles on building an equitable and inclusive city.&nbs...

It’s been a turbulent start to 2026. To kick off the year, the United States kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Just days later, some of the biggest protests in Iran in decades erupted and continue to unfold. Some leaders, particularly in the West, have framed the unrest from the perspective of human rights and are calling for intervention, while others advise caution and...

You are probably already familiar with Teach For Malaysia, the education nonprofit that does incredible work by placing committed young leaders in under-resourced schools and developing them into long-term advocates for educational equity. It is one of, if not the most important, education nonprofits in the country. What many may not realise is that Teach For Malaysia is part of a global network c...