Beyond the Ballot Box

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 leftists or anti-colonialists from the global south. It was also highlighted by the Canadian Prime Minister and former governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, in his speech at Davos on a new world order. He called it a “rupture.” So, how do we make sense of these changes? And what does it mean for Malaysia?In this two-part conversation, I speak to Dr Lim Teck Ghee, who’s an economic historian, author, and public intellectual. His new book “China Rising: USA and West Responses” is a compilation of over 50 column articles in Oriental Daily over the past 4 years, focused on, as the title suggests, the emergence of China as a global political and economic force. In part two of the conversation, we focus on: What are the possibilities of World War III with Taiwan as the flashpoint?Is it time for China to put the 1949 revolution behind it and accept Taiwan as a sovereign nation? The human rights violations in XinjiangShould China put its principle of non-interference aside and actively defend its allies militarilyWhat should ASEAN keep in mind as China continues to riseImage Credit: ShutterstockSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 leftists or anti-colonialists from the global south. It was also highlighted by the Canadian Prime Minister and former governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney in his speech at Davos on a new world order. He called it a “rupture.” So, how do we make sense of these changes? And what does it mean for Malaysia?In this two-part conversation, I speak to Dr Lim Teck Ghee, who’s an economic historian, author and public intellectual. His new book “China Rising: USA and West Responses” is a compilation of over 50 column articles in Oriental Daily over the past 4 years, focused on, as the title suggests, the emergence of China as a global political and economic force. In part one of the conversation, we focus on: The key features of a unipolar US-led world orderWhat shifting towards a multipolar world meansHow China went from a poor country to the second largest economyPopular misconceptions of ChinaWhat does democracy mean in China?Significance of Canadian Prime Minister, Mark Carney’s speech at DavosImage Credit: ShutterstockSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 and connections. Two rounds of document releases have so far painted an incredibly repulsive picture of sexual exploitation, trafficking, and elite complicity. Some of the highlights include: US President Donald Trump, who is mentioned in over 38,000 references, with the most serious allegation being a withdrawn 2016 federal lawsuit accusing him of raping a 13-year-old girl at Epstein’s Manhattan residence.Silicon Valley billionaires, including Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Larry Page, and others, appearing hundreds of times. There are also emails and exchanges suggesting an international political network involving countries such as Israel, India, and Russia. All of this is merely scratching the surface of the Epstein files. To try and make sense of it all, we speak to Peter Beattie, Political Economist and Political Psychologist from the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK). Image Credit: Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, 1993 via PicrylSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 ensuring profitability, or if they reflect realities on the ground, where wealth and corporate success are often also built on the backs of exploited labour. In this episode, we speak to Dr Priya Sharma about exactly that. She is the Head of the Commercial Law & Justice Centre at the Sunway Business School. She’s also the co-editor of a book called Combating Modern Slavery: A Global Perspective.Image Credit: ShutterstockSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 Santiago, co-chair of ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR), who was quoted in the article. Image Credit: ShutterstockSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 Persatuan Bertindak Pilihan Raya Bebas Dan Saksama (Tindak), about exactly that. Tindak is currently running a petugas programme that trains and mobilises citizens to serve as polling and counting agents. Click here if you’d like to sign up for Tindak’s Petugas program: https://sites.google.com/view/petugas-tindak-malaysia/homeImage Credit: ShutterstockSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 that they don’t have a place in this country, or maybe that’s just the social media comment section. Of course, there’s no silver bullet to solving this. In this episode, we speak to Jason Wee, the founder of Architects of Diversity. We talk about some of the drivers of our racialised politics, if things are indeed getting worse and even the role of social media.Image Credit: ShutterstockSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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. Image Credit: ShutterstockSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 warn against meddling in the business of sovereign nations.  All of this is unfolding on top of the ongoing genocide in Gaza and the protracted war between Russia and Ukraine, and many other unfolding crises that continue to shape global politics and public imagination. How do we make sense of this convergence of crises?What does it mean for the future of global order? My guest on today’s show is Vijay Prashad. Vijay is a historian, journalist, and public intellectual. He’s one of the most important thinkers in the world when it comes to geopolitics and understanding power. He’s written numerous books, including Washington Bullets: A History of the CIA, Coups, and Assassinations, On Cuba, and The Darker Nations: A People’s History of the Third World. And he’s the director of the Tricontinental Institute For Social Research.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 called Teach For All, which traces its roots back to the late 80s. In 1989, Wendy Kopp founded Teach For America while still a university student herself. She later co-founded Teach For All, which has grown from strength to strength, expanding its wings across the globe. In this episode, we speak to Wendy Kopp about Teach For All’s origin story, the challenges they face, understanding global education inequities, and more. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lim Yi Wei is the ADUN for Kampung Tunku and DAP Wanita national assistant publicity secretary. Yi Wei, whose parents were both teachers in public schools, is a social democrat at heart and believes in building a fairer and more equitable Malaysia for all.Recently, she penned an article titled "What Next for DAP," where she argued that the party’s social democratic roots have increasingly been overtaken by neoliberal thinking, and called for a clearer, values-driven return to politics centered on justice, equity, and the common good.In this episode, we talk to her about her personal journey in politics, the importance of social democracy, the limits of neoliberalism, and the future of the DAP.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We are all part of a system – a global capitalist neoliberal economy – that is geared towards profit maximisation over creating a fair and dignified world for everybody. Even the environment is seen as a commodity to be extracted and destroyed for profit. Technology is so advanced and we have created tremendous amounts of wealth, yet most people across the world do not earn enough to afford basic necessities. The rich are getting richer, the poor are getting poorer, and our nature is depleted further and further. Today, many young people struggle with stagnant wages, unaffordable housing, and healthcare. In his new book titled Notes on the Way Forward: A Socialist Perspective, Dr Jeyakumar Devaraj, who’s also the chairperson of Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM), takes a sharp look at the structural failures of capitalism and the alternatives before us.On today’s show, we speak with Dr. Kumar about how we can build a better, more sustainable, and dignified Malaysia for everyone.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Where is Europe heading? This is one of the big questions as we shift towards a more fractured and multipolar world order. Europe is in a moment of deep political and ideological reckoning. After all, we’re seeing the rise of right-wing movements, anti-immigration sentiments, a yearning by some quarters to “go back” to a less multicultural imagined past. In this episode, we have a conversation with Nikita Dhawan, who holds the chair in Political Theory and History of Ideas at the Technical University Dresden. Her research and teaching focus on global justice, human rights, democracy, and decolonization. She is the author of many books, including Rescuing the Enlightenment from the Europeans: Critical Theories of Decolonization. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From memes to heated exchanges in the comment section, feminism is often distorted through the lens of viral and even ragebait content on social media and reduced to caricatures and stereotypes. Today, feminism has even become a sort of ‘foul word’ in some quarters, with some women trying to distance themselves from the label, as well. But beyond the noise, lies a global grassroots movement against the patriarchy, shaped by history, economics, and everyday realities on the ground. Maria Castro Varela is a feminist thinker and professor of Pedagogy and Social Work at the Alice Salomon University in Berlin. In this episode, we speak to her about some myths surrounding feminism, what the movement truly stands for, what some feminists get wrong, and why men should be part of the movement too.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ethnic affirmative action has shaped Malaysian policymaking and political discourse for more than five decades. The transformational New Economic Policy (NEP) and subsequent similar frameworks have anchored national debates on inequality, opportunity, and the country’s broader social contract. Yet despite how central these policies are to our politics, our understanding of where interethnic inequality actually stands today is surprisingly patchy: we know the broad narrative, but not the details. We talk about progress or regress, quotas and meritocracy, but rarely examine who has moved up, who has stalled, and why. In this episode, we speak to Lee Hwok-Aun, a Senior Fellow and Co-coordinator of the Malaysia Studies Programme at ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute. He recently published an article titled Interethnic income inequality in Malaysia: Revisiting Old Records, Exploring New Narratives, which takes a hard look at these questions and challenges some of our long-held assumptions. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

9% of Malaysian women who have ever been in a relationship experience domestic violence. 9% may not seem like much, but that essentially amounts to about 800,000 Malaysian women. These are the very realities that Eswari Varanarasamma from WAO confronts in her daily work.Eswari Varanarasamma is a social worker at the Women’s Aid Organisation, where she works closely with women and children affected by domestic violence. In light of WAO’s 16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence campaign, in this episode, we speak to Eswari about her journey as a social worker, some of the challenges she faces, and more.If you’re experiencing domestic violence, here are some numbers you can contact. You are not alone. WAO Hotline: +603 3000 8858 (9 am – 5 pm)SMS/WhatsApp TINA: +6018 988 8058 (24 hours)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

United Nations experts have warned that there is “widespread and systematic” exploitation and deception affecting Bangladeshi workers in Malaysia. In their statement, they highlight excessive and fraudulent recruitment fees, false job offers, passport confiscation, forced labour and forced return. Simply put, this is debt bondage, or to put it even more plainly, modern-day slavery. But what is driving this? How much do poverty, desperation, the lack of opportunity in home countries, and the reliance on cheap labour in the Malaysian economy contribute to and maintain this system? In this episode, we speak to Adrian Pereira, who’s the Director of the North South Initiative (NSI), about corruption, the imbalance of power, inequality and the international division of labour. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Al Awda is a documentary by Singaporean Jason Soo that follows 22 activists from 15 countries as they sail on the Al Awda Flotilla in an attempt to break the Israeli blockade of Gaza in 2018. Originally meant to leave the journey early, Jason ended up remaining on board, capturing the activists’ fears, strategies and decision-making as they approached an inevitable confrontation with the Israeli Occupying Force. Among the activists onboard were Malaysian academic Afandi Salleh and Singaporean exile Dr Ang Swee Chai.In this episode, we speak to Jason about his personal journey in activism, his documentary and more. If you'd like to watch Al Awda, do catch the screening happening on Friday, the 5th of December at 8.30pm at the Damansara Performing Arts Centre (DPAC).Entrance is by a minimum donation of RM30, with proceeds split between crowdfunding for Al Awda and Viva Palestina Malaysia’s winter campaign. Registration for the event is available at bit.ly/AlAwdaKL.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Malaysia’s latest labour force figures paint a mixed and intriguing picture of the economy in 2025. Unemployment has fallen to a decade-low of 3%, signalling a labour market that appears resilient on the surface. Growth is also being supported by strong investment flows and steady expansion across key industries, or at least that’s the impression we get from the headlines every time the government announces billions of dollars of investments coming from one country or another.Yet, beneath that headline lie deeper problems. Large numbers of Malaysians are still working jobs that don’t match their qualifications, wages are still stagnating and there are serious concerns about the inadequacy of retirement savings among a vast majority of people.So, what does this all tell us? And how do we ensure economic dignity and upward mobility for all Malaysians? As we slowly wind down towards the end of the year, in this episode, we unpack these questions with Dr Geoffrey Williams, Economist & Founder of Williams Business Consultancy.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The 2025 Sabah state election is taking place this weekend on the 29th of November. There are close to 600 candidates representing various parties or running independently, contesting for 73 seats. There are multi-cornered fights everywhere. Indeed Sabah is highly democratised and fluid politically. Its electoral history has been shaped by shifting demographics, the struggle over state rights, and cycles of political instability marked by strong personalities and frequent party defections. Recently, Tindak Malaysia published a historical atlas of Sabah elections through the years, exploring the various forces that have shaped Sabah elections. In this episode, we unpack key lessons from Sabah election history with Danesh Prakash Chacko, who's the director of Tindak Malaysia. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.