Beyond the Ballot Box

Over the past 10 years or so, social media has taken over our lives. Most of us have social media accounts, if not live in these spaces altogether. But more than that, it has also become a powerful advocacy tool for marginalised groups, including indigenous communities, sexual minorities, racial minorities and more. It has transformed the lives of these communities by providing a platform for expr...

In a 4-1 decision, the Federal Court bench rejected former premier Najib Abdul Razak's review application in the RM42 million SRC International corruption case last week. Legally, this means Najib will remain behind bars. However, the days that followed have been a fracas, to say the least. For one, it seems like Najib and his allies are unsurprisingly continuing to push for the release of the dis...

Public housing has been an important aspect of Malaysian development for decades, as it is viewed as a means to improve the quality of life of the low-income population. While public housing in Malaysia has undergone several transformations over the years, it still faces numerous challenges, including poor living conditions, inadequate maintenance, and ironically, issues with affordability too.&nb...

Malaysia is highly polarised. The results of GE15 told us that much. But just how polarised are we, especially across racial and religious lines? Dr Bridget Welsh who’s a political scientist and an Honorary Research Associate with the University of Nottingham Asia Research Institute Malaysia (UoNARI-M), recently wrote a 7-part series for Malaysiakini breaking down ethnic voting patterns of GE15.&n...

It’s no secret that Malaysia has been plagued with issues of racism, religious extremism and xenophobia, for many years. And things have been intensifying since GE15 which painted a highly polarised Malaysia. But just how bad are things looking? And what can we do about it?  Pusat KOMAS recently released their 2022 Malaysia Racism Report, which aims to document and record incidents of racism,...

The world is becoming increasingly polarised. Whether it’s in the US, Europe or even Southeast Asia, which includes Malaysia, the increasing polarisation has often led to a focus on hot-button cultural issues at the expense of substantive policy discussions centred around political economy and class struggle. This phenomenon is known as the ‘culture wars.’  The culture wars can take many form...

The results of the 2023 UMNO leadership elections are out. President Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Deputy Chief Mohammad Hasan won their positions uncontested, while Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail, Mohamed Khaled Nordin and Johari Abdul Ghani were elected as vice presidents, while law minister Azalina Othman Said did not make the cut.  So, what does this mean for UMNO’s present and future, as well as the stab...

On Monday, Michelle Yeoh won the Best Actress Oscar for her role in Everything Everywhere All At Once. She became the first Asian and better yet, first Malaysian woman to win an Oscar. It was a proud moment for many Malaysians. Even politicians jumped on the bandwagon to congratulate and celebrate her victory. However, many local artists, activists and social media users in general called out the...

There is a common misconception that young people are inherently more progressive. But that may not necessarily be the case, be it in Malaysia and Southeast Asia as a whole.  Extremism in any form, be it religious, political, or cultural, can lead to violence, hatred, and division within society. Therefore, understanding the factors that drive young people towards extremist ideologies is crit...

Recently, Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin recently said that The government has no plans to repeal the Universities and University Colleges Act 1971 (Auku). But he also said that they’re open to suggestions on how the Act can be improved. But what exactly is AUKU and what is its impact on university students in Malaysia? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informatio...

The 4th of March marked 100 days since Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim became the 10th Prime Minister of Malaysia. Since taking office, the Prime Minister has promised to fight corruption, carry out democratic reforms and improve the lives of the poorest people in the nation. So, how have the Prime Minister and his cabinet performed so far? We speak to Dr Bridget Welsh, Honorary Research Associate, Unive...

Local government elections – specifically the need to re-introduce it – has been a hotly debated topic for many years. Decades, even. The lack of local government elections, while seemingly benign, has far-reaching implications for democratic accountability, transparency and clarity in the political system. And if those words don’t mean anything to you, let me put it this way – local government el...

Last Friday at Parliament, Prime Minister & Finance Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim unveiled the new Budget 2023. The Budget billed ‘Developing Malaysia Madani’ involves an allocation of RM388.1 billion.  But is this budget inspiring? And does it do enough to address the needs of the working class masses, especially the B40 community? Sivarajan Arumugam, Secretary General of Parti...

On the 21st of February, Bersatu information chief Wan Saiful Wan Jan and Segambut Bersatu deputy chief Adam Radlan Adam Muhammad were charged in court for alleged corruption. The charges brought to the spotlight a government programme called Jana Wibawa. But what exactly is Jana Wibawa and how much money was allegedly swindled? We speak to Raymon Ram, a certified fraud examiner. See omnystudio.co...

In February 1963, the Singapore government, under the leadership of Lee Kuan Yew, launched a covert operation, which led to the arrest of 113 left-wing political players and activists, all of whom were detained without trial. This operation was called Operation Coldstore.  One of the victims of the operation was Dr Poh Soo Kai, one of the founding members of PAP and later, Barisan Sosialis. U...

 Recently, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced that the government will be slashing constituency development funds from RM 3.8 million per constituency to RM 1.3 million. Anwar said the move is meant to better control the country’s finances and would be implemented in stages. But is this a good move? We speak to political scientist, Dr Bridget Welsh. Image Credit: Shutterstock See omnystud...

Recently, there have been some rumblings that healthcare workers in Malaysia are going to go on strike to demand better wages and fairer working conditions. We hear about strikes from across the globe, as well. For example, rail workers in the US were about to go on strike recently until President Joe Biden signed a bill to block it. In 2020-2021, farmers in India went on strike for weeks against...

On the 7th of February, the Malaysia Madani administration held its first Secretariat meeting. What’s interesting is that the meeting was held at the UMNO HQ and marked the first time Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim stepped into Menara Dato Onn in 25 years. So, what is the significance of this moment and what are the key takeaways from the meeting?  Image Credit: Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/liste...

Forced labour is a massive problem in Malaysia. We’re talking about horrible wages, deplorable working and living conditions – in essence, modern day slavery. But what can we do about it? Recently, Lee Hwok-Aun of ISEAS and Adrian Pereira of the North-South Initiative, wrote a paper for ISEAS Yusof Ishak Institute titled Can Malaysia Eliminate Forced Labour by 2030? We unpack this paper with the a...

Last Friday, the UMNO Supreme Council, under the leadership of President Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, sacked prominent figures, Khairy Jamaluddin and Selangor Umno liaison committee chairman Tan Sri Noh Omar. It also suspended several other prominent members such as Hishamuddien Hussien and Shahril Hamdan.  But what does this mean for UMNO and our political landscape moving forward? Image Credit: Shut...

Historically speaking, a political party / movement that is considered progressive, is one that manages to unite the masses against the ruling class who owns the means of production, for the purpose of reducing the wealth gap and to build an equitable, egalitarian society. So, why then do we see the working class masses, especially the poorest people in society, in many parts of the world, vote fo...

Why is Najib still so popular? This is a question that has fascinated many Malaysians since UMNO-BN’s defeat in 2018. I mean, how did former Prime Minister Najib Razak rehabilitate his image and preserve his relevance within the political sphere, despite being plagued by numerous corruption scandals and charges?  Recently, Dr Benjamin Loh, Vilashini Somiah & Sarah Ali wrote a paper titled...

First-time MP, YB Syerleena Abdul Rashid recently won the Bukit Bendera Parliamentary seat in Penang with a comfortable 42 000 majority, at GE15. She is also the ADUN of Seri Delima, a seat that she won in 2018. What’s interesting is Syerleena is also a musician – a guitarist and a songwriter with multiple bands, to be specific. On today’s episode, she joins us to have a conversation about why she...

Recently, Dr Lee Hwok-Aun, Senior Fellow, Malaysian Studies Programme, ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, wrote: “Pakatan Harapan routinely disavows race-based policies, offering instead the notion of need-based policies. This commitment to need-based assistance has constructively focused attention on low-income households, but its prescription for ‘replacing’ race-based programs is fundamentally flawed...

The 10th Prime Minister of Malaysia, Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim has formed his cabinet and things seem to be chugging along relatively smoothly for the mixed coalition government. But at the same time, the survival of this government relies not just on competency but also our fluid and highly volatile political landscape.  Question is, will Anwar survive the vote of confidence on the 19th of Dec...