Beyond the Ballot Box

Most youth who run for elections will lose their first try. Why do some candidates keep trying, while some others exit politics? We speak to Rashifa Aljunied, who placed third as MUDA's candidate in Puteri Wangsa in the recent Johor state elections on her journey and why she's continuing her political ambitions. Image Credit: Rashifa Aljunied Facebook See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy inform...

Following a series of electoral defeats in Sabah, Johor and most recently Negeri Sembilan, questions are being asked about the future and direction of Pakatan Harapan, including what they’ve been doing wrong and what needs to be done moving forward. In a recent post, Rajiv Rishyakaran, DAP member and ADUN for Bukit Gasing, argued that PH needs to define its core purpose and develop a stronger poli...

Our student movements have fed our parties for generations, from Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim of UM and ABIM to Adam Adli, who now sits in Cabinet. But every activist who makes that crossing faces the same question. Do you change politics, or does politics change you? We speak to Zaim Zulkifli, member and campaigner for Parti Bersama who currently sits right at that crossing. Listen to the rest of...

One of the big stories coming out of Pakatan Harapan’s defeat in the recent Negeri Sembilan state elections is the loss of DAP’s secretary general, Anthony Loke, in the Chennah seat. He first won the seat in 2013 from Barisan Nasional’s MCA and, after 13 years, lost the seat to MCA again. In light of this defeat, yesterday, in a press conference, Loke announced that he will be stepping down as the...

How does a youth member rise to leadership within a political party? What is the ladder? Who holds it? And how long is the climb? We speak to Azman Azeez, Exco of Pemuda UMNO Malaysia in charge of leadership and membership development, to learn how our oldest party recruits its young talent. Image Credit: UMNO Online See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Selangor state government has announced a free breakfast programme for schoolchildren, which is scheduled to begin in August. It is aimed at ensuring students have access to nutritious meals before they begin their school day with a target of reaching 120,000 pupils in 965 schools.  Former Klang MP Charles Santiago has argued that the initiative should not be limited to Selangor, but expa...

City councillors are the unsung champions of local politics, covering a wide range of jurisdictions such as infrastructure and development. Is serving the community a good first step into national politics for youth? We speak to Nalina Nair, Petaling Jaya City Councillor and Publicity Secretary for DAP Women Selangor on the viability of councillors as a pathway into politics. Image Credit: Nalina...

Gandipan Nantha Gopalan, Central Committee Member, Parti Sosialis Malaysia Description: Socialism has been gaining renewed attention around the world. In the English-speaking world, figures like Zohran Mamdani in the US and Zack Polanski in the UK have brought socialist ideas back into mainstream political conversations. At the same time, there are growing calls for higher taxes on the wealthy and...

A social media arena can make or break a political party’s success in modern elections. However, is going viral enough to make a breakthrough in Malaysian politics? Na’Im Brundage, Exco of ARMADA, which is Bersatu’s youth wing and TikTok influencer, shares his journey from content creator to political maverick.  Image Credit: Na'Im Brundage Facebook See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy inf...

Reluctant Capital: Essays on Kuala Lumpur is a new book which explores how KL and the Klang Valley has grown into a modern capital while grappling with deep social, political, and economic tensions. Through a series of essays combining urban theory with on-the-ground research, author Badrul Hisham Ismail examines how neoliberalism, government-controlled development and Malaysia's ethnic politics h...

The average age of members of Parliament in Malaysia is a staggering 52.4 years old. So, why would young people want to join politics? What motivates them?  In the second episode of Ones to Watch, we speak to Cassel Krishnan, Melaka DAPSY chief and a violin teacher on his journey into politics, and the challenges youth face in rising in party leadership.  Listen to the first episode here...

We're just a few days away from the Johor state election on the 11th of July. As Johor positions itself to become one of Malaysia's most important economic engines, with the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone aiming to attract major investments and high-value industries, questions are also being asked about who stands to benefit from that growth.  Will these investments translate into bett...

1.2 million youth became eligible voters when Malaysia lowered the voting age to 18 in 2019. As Malaysia enters another season of elections, are youth ready to step up to participate in national politics? Nurul Rifayah, a youth activist and Ahmed Faris, CEO of Impact Integrated, walk us through reflections on the past four years of youth in politics. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informa...

The big perennial problem in Malaysia is wages. A lot of Malaysians today feel they're working harder but not getting ahead—they're either experiencing stagnant incomes or finding themselves worse off than the generation before—because wages remain stubbornly low. Despite years of economic growth, many households continue to struggle with the rising cost of living, raising fundamental questions ab...

According to UNHCR, there are about 117 million asylum seekers worldwide as of 2025. In Malaysia, approximately 200,000 refugees and asylum seekers are registered with UNHCR, with estimates suggesting the actual number may be significantly higher. In past interviews, we’ve talked extensively about some of the challenges faced by refugees.  The truth is, whether we “like” them or not, so long...

Since the end of World War II, the world has been underpinned by a particular global economic system: Liberalism. This has solidified further since the end of the Cold War and has remained largely unchanged for decades. However, for various reasons that we will unpack throughout this conversation, that world is fading. So, amidst the increasingly fluid geopolitical landscape, will a different orde...

Many Malaysians are familiar with the story of how colonial powers used divide-and-rule policies to reshape Malayan society, creating ethnic and class structures whose effects continue to reverberate today.  But how should we understand our political and economic development post-independence?  How did neoliberalism reshape society? Why, despite decades of economic growth, do so many Mal...

An extensive new report by the criminal justice system reform NGO Hayat contends that Malaysia’s anti-drug framework has evolved into a system that often punishes low-level couriers who are deceived and manipulated rather than kingpins that run the show. It traces this problem to two key legal mechanisms: statutory presumptions in the Dangerous Drugs Act and the doctrine of wilful blindness. Toget...

The Strait of Hormuz has been blocked for a few months now, which has resulted in a global energy crisis. While some hope things will return to the way they were, many geopolitical experts think this is the new normal. So it's all the more reason for us to understand the conflict between Iran and the West at a deeper level. In his paper titled The Intimate Enmity: Iran and the West, Yin Shao Loong...

Dr Chee Soon Juan is one of Singapore’s most prominent opposition politicians and has served as secretary-general of the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) since 1993. Despite not having a seat in Parliament, Chee has spent decades advocating greater political pluralism, civil liberties, democratic reform, and stronger social welfare policies in Singapore. Like most in Singapore who choose to active...

Saul Takahashi is a Japanese human rights lawyer and academic known for his work on Palestine, international human rights law, and Islamophobia research. He served as Deputy Head of Office of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Occupied Palestine from March 2009 to May 2014. He’s currently a Non-resident Fellow at the Hashim Sani Centre for Palestine Studies, University Mala...

Kami Orang Sini Juga is a mini-series in collaboration with IMAN Research. This series explores how young Malaysian Indians and Chinese understand identity, belonging, and their place in Malaysia today. It builds on IMAN’s earlier project, Orang Kita, which focused on Malay Muslim youth. In the 8th and final episode, we explore the rise of China as a global powerhouse and whether its soft power is...

Kami Orang Sini Juga is a mini-series in collaboration with IMAN Research.  This series explores how young Malaysian Indians and Chinese understand identity, belonging, and their place in Malaysia today. It builds on IMAN’s earlier project, Orang Kita, which focused on Malay Muslim youth. In the seventh episode, we unpack a bit of the history of one of the most well-organised far-right organi...

Kami Orang Sini Juga is a mini-series in collaboration with IMAN Research.  This series explores how young Malaysian Indians and Chinese understand identity, belonging, and their place in Malaysia today. It builds on IMAN’s earlier project, Orang Kita, which focused on Malay Muslim youth. In the sixth episode, we explore the key priorities of Malaysian-Chinese youth, including infrastructure...

Kami Orang Sini Juga is a mini-series in collaboration with IMAN Research.  This series explores how young Malaysian Indians and Chinese understand identity, belonging, and their place in Malaysia today. It builds on IMAN’s earlier project, Orang Kita, which focused on Malay Muslim youth. In the fifth episode, we unpack why young Malaysian Indians feel disconnected from politics in the countr...