Beyond the Ballot Box

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Hindu Supremacist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) faced a shocking setback in the recent general elections. The BJP is still the most popular party in India, winning 240 seats in Parliament. However, they fell short of the 272-seat majority needed to form the government by themselves. This contrasts the past two elections in which BJP won comfortable majori...

On the 10th of June, the Malaysian government officially implemented the Diesel Subsidy reform, moving away from decades-old blanket subsidies. The Prime Minister has stressed that this move will save the government billions of ringgit annually and discourage smuggling and corruption. The government also said that the burden of removing these subsidies will only be felt by the T20 income earners a...

Israel has continued its destruction of Gaza and refugee camps in Rafah. Around 40 000 Palestinians have been killed, half of whom are children. Besides “weak” statements about “red lines” The United States of America, currently led by Joe Biden, has continued to give their full backing to Israel.  But a couple of things for Malaysians to ponder. One, are we doing enough to help Palestinians?...

Last week, the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections held the Bersih Congress 2024. Close to 300 highly energetic people packed the Kuala Lumpur Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall to discuss the future of the nation. On top of panel discussions, there were also motions that were debated and passed. These motions will be part of Bersih’s agenda moving forward. We discuss this with Wong Yan Ke, Deputy...

The mainstream narrative over the past several decades suggests that inequality is not a significant concern; That so long as the material conditions are going up on average, inequality doesn’t matter; That as long as you’re raising the income ceiling and the floor, the gap between the rich and the poor, the haves and the have nots does not matter. But here’s the thing: It does matter! Understandi...

About 1 million Palestinians who fled the main city of Gaza due to Israel’s bombardment and acts of genocide are currently seeking refuge in Rafah. Rafah was supposed to be a safe zone. It was declared a safe zone by Israel. But guess what? The Zionist regime, currently led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has invaded Rafah and is continuing its ethnic cleansing.  Just about a day ago, Is...

We are all part of a global capitalist system dominated by US hegemony – an imperialist force. This is especially true since the end of the cold war and the fall of the Berlin Wall. It was such a monumental moment that American political scientist Francis Fukuyama wrote a book called The End of History , in 1992.  Clearly, he was wrong. Fukuyama himself has admitted so. Today, China’s rise am...

Malaysia has a rich history of student-led movements. If we look at the period of pre-independence and after independence, student movements were radically progressive, vibrant and strong. While the 80s - 2000s saw suffocation of these movements, there was a revitalisation of student movements in the 2010s. But what about today? We speak to Ooi Kok Hin, Executive Director of Bersih. Not only is he...

Early in May, Housing and Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming announced the 26-year-old housing woes of five estates in Hulu Selangor and Kuala Selangor have been resolved. 245 workers from Ladang Mary, Ldg Sg Tinggi, Minyak, Nigel Gardner, and Ladang Bukit Tagar will receive subsidised affordable landed housing. But why did these workers have to struggle for 26 years for something that should...

The All-Party Parliamentary Group of Malaysia on Integrity, Governance, and Anti-Corruption (APPGM-IGAR) is once again calling on the government to enhance transparency and accountability in Malaysia’s democratic reforms. What are the specific reforms that we need? Joining me on the show to discuss this is Dr Tricia Yeoh, CEO of IDEAS – The Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs. Dr Tricia i...

Pakatan Harapan retained its Kuala Kubu Bharu state seat at the by-elections which took place over the weekend. Before the elections, many pundits predicted that this would likely be an incredibly tough battle in which either side would win by the slimmest of majorities. Interestingly, Pakatan Harapan’s Pang Sock Tao from the DAP increased their vote share and won relatively comfortably with 57% o...

Last Sunday, the Zionist state of Israel voted to shut down Al Jazeera in the country, immediately ordering the closure of its offices and a ban on the company's broadcasts. Over in the United States of America, peaceful university encampments and protests have been taking place all over the country. The state, the supposed land of the free, has responded to these protests by unleashing armed poli...

In 2020, Malaysia became an ageing society – in other words, people are living longer and having less babies.  On a separate but related note, women’s participation in the workforce has plateaued at 55%, with most citing “household and care responsibilities” as the primary reason.  These are big-picture problems that would require comprehensive policy intervention centred around somethin...

Malaysia dropped 34 places in the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) World Press Freedom rankings placing us at 107 out of 180 countries listed. For the first time in three years, Malaysia does not top the rankings for ASEAN countries as Thailand attained 87th place. Nalini Elumalai of Article 19 (Malaysia) joins us to discuss this sharp decline in rankings. Image Credit: Shutterstock See omnystudio....

South Africans celebrate “Freedom Day” every April 27, commemorating the country’s first democratic election in 1994. It also marked the official end of racial segregation and apartheid in South Africa. Apartheid and racial segregation meant that there was a huge inequality and inequity gap between the ethnic groups in South Africa, namely the minority white population and the poorer majority blac...

The Kuala Kubu Bharu by-elections will be held on the 11th of May. This comes at the heels of the unfortunate passing of KKB incumbent ADUN, Lee Kee Hiong from the DAP. The by-election will see a four-cornered fight between Pang Sock Tao from Pakatan Harapan, Khairul Azhari Saut from Perikatan Nasional, Hafizah Zainuddin from Parti Rakyat Malaysia and Nyau Ke Xin running as an independent. So, how...

Bersih is urging the government of Malaysia to reform aspects of the Election Commission and the Elections Offences Act 1954 to ensure that the independence and autonomy of the Election Commission are safeguarded and that elections can be free and fair. But what sort of reforms need to be done? Image Credit: Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Right-wing parties are gaining traction and strength all over Europe. Germany is no different, where a far-right party called Alternative for Germany (AfD) is becoming increasingly popular and is said to command around 20% of the popular support.  So, why is this happening? We speak to Dr Frederik Holst, an academic from Germany and an Associate Professor at Albukhary International University...

On the 1st of April, there was a deadly strike by Israel on the Iranian consulate in Damascus, Syria. Iranian military commander, Major General Mohammad Reza Zahedi, was killed in the attack, along with six other Iranian nationals, including another general, and at least six Syrian citizens. In retaliation, on April 13, Iran launched hundreds of drones and missiles at Israel in what they called ‘O...

When discussing Malaysian politics, there is a tendency by many to look at “The Malays” as a singular block. On the one hand, there is a penchant for some to blame “The Malays” for our nation’s 99 problems. On the other hand, Malay political elites tend to propagate a narrative in which “The Malays” were “united” across racial lines once upon a time and so, there is a need to reunite the Malays on...

In what appears to be a massive blow to the rights of Malaysian workers, The Kuala Lumpur High Court ruled that Malaysia's Industrial Court cannot hear the case of L. Subramaniam, a former security guard allegedly unfairly sacked by the US Embassy without reason. Previously, the Malaysian Industrial Court ordered the US Embassy to pay L. Subramaniam RM 66 000. The US Embassy then turned to the Mal...

Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM) has released its 2023 human rights report. In this episode, we take a look at the various human rights violations that have occurred throughout 2023, here in Malaysia, and discuss changes that should happen in 2024.  We speak to Jernell Tan, Documentation & Monitoring Coordinator, SUARAM. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Growing up, we read about the Holocaust and the Nazis and we think “How did people of that generation ever let this happen?” “How did the world stand and watch?”  Well, we’re living through a massive genocide right now. Since last October, Israel has killed more than 30 000 people, half of whom are children. This is on top of the illegal occupation, settler colonialism, dispossession, ethnic...

For months, the Malaysian Citizenship Rights Alliance (MCRA), constitutional experts and more have been pushing back against many of the proposed amendments by the Home Ministry due to its regressive and cruel nature that will only perpetuate statelessness. Last week, the Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2024 which concerns stateless people, was tabled in Parliament. Interestingly, the Bill wasn’t vo...

The government of Malaysia will be launching the Progressive Wage Policy voluntary pilot programme in June. The policy draws inspiration from Singapore’s Progressive Wage Model, albeit with some key differences. So, what are these key differences and what can Malaysia learn from the successes and flaws of the Singapore model? Calvin Cheng and Kevin Zhang are two public policy researchers who recen...