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 Chairperson of Bersih.Image Credit: FacebookSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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!Understanding inequality is incredibly important, not just to make sense of the economy as a whole but to make sense of political trends, as well. Robert Reich is the former US Secretary of Labour, and has spent many, many years studying inequality. He is a Chancellor's Professor of Public Policy at the University of California at Berkeley. He co-founded inequality media and is the author of books such as ‘The System: Who Rigged It, How We Fix It’ and ‘The Common Good’. We speak to Robert Reich on why inequality matters. Robert Reich will be a speaker at the International Social Wellbeing Conference 2024 organised by KWSP happening on the 4-5 of June. Image Credit: ShutterstockSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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, Israeli forces bombed a camp housing displaced Palestinians, killing 45 people.Our guest in this episode is Eman Abdelhadi who’s of Palestinian heritage. She’s a Professor at the University of Chicago, an activist and the co-author of the book ‘Everything For Everyone.’We speak to her about the Nakba, what’s happening in Rafah and Joe Biden’s chances of getting reelected at the end of this year.Image Credit: ShutterstockSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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 among many other factors has challenged the global dominance of American imperialism and neoliberalism. However, some experts say an empire in decline is at its most dangerous. So, how do we make sense of this changing global political economy?Our guest in this episode is Vijay Prashad. Vijay is an Indian historian, journalist, commentator, and prominent intellectual. He’s written numerous books, including Red Star Over the Third World, On Cuba and The Withdrawal, the latter two he wrote with Noam Chomsky. And he’s the director of the Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research, which recently published a paper titled Hyper-Imperialism: A Dangerous Decadent New Stage.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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 an activist himself, he’s also someone who has done and continues to do a lot of research and writing on the activism scene in Malaysia.This episode is done in conjunction with the upcoming Bersih Congress 2024. The congress is taking place on Saturday, 25th of May 2024 @KLSCAH. It will bring together civil society leaders, youth activists, and student groups to deliberate on joint reform demands and strategies to agitate for real change. Click this link if you'd like to sign up for the congress: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScRlH7iETfEbqTA4KLRG-HvN3or8qpH9VHu5Y4wIz_QVbDe6g/viewformImage Credit: ShutterstockSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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 be a fundamental human right – adequate housing? What can we learn from it?We speak to S. Arutchelvan, Deputy Chairperson of Parti Sosialis Malaysia.Image Credit: ShutterstockSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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 is also a representative of the APPGM-IGAR. Image Credit: ShutterstockSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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% of the popular vote, while PN’s Khairul Azhari Saut garnered 41% of the vote.So, what does the KKB by-election result tell us?Image Credit: DAP WebsiteSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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 police officers in riot gear. So, where does that leave us today?Image Credit: ShutterstockSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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 something called the Care Economy. But what exactly is the Care Economy? And what can Malaysia learn from other countries with more mature and robust care economies, such as Australia?Image Credit: Shutterstock (Ai generated image)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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: ShutterstockSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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 black population. To tackle this, South Africa implemented an affirmative action policy which bears some resemblance to Malaysia’s New Economic Policy. So, decades on, what has been the result of the affirmative action policy in Malaysia and South Africa?Dr Lee Hwok-Aun, who’s a Senior Fellow of the Malaysian Studies Programme at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, has spent many years studying the ethnic majority-favouring affirmative action policy in South Africa and Malaysia. He joins us on the show today to share his insights.Image Credit: ShutterstockSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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 closely contested will this election be? What can the voting trends of the past decade tell us? We speak to Danesh Prakash Chako of Tindak Malaysia.Image Credit: ShutterstockSee 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 (AIU). See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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 ‘Operation True Promise’. But what lies at the heart of this conflict and how will it impact the Middle East?We speak to Dr. Assal Rad, a scholar of Middle Eastern history. She works on research related to US foreign policy issues, the Middle East, and contemporary Iran. She’s also the author of ‘The State of Resistance: Politics, Culture, and Identity in Modern Iran’. Image Credit: Shutterstock (Ai-Generated Image)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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 once more. But are the Malays a monolith? Have they ever been?Producer's note: A couple of factual errors were made in the conversation -Concerning May 13, MCA was cited when it should've been Gerakan.The Memali incident took place in the 80s, not 50s.Image Credit: ShutterstockSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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 Malaysian civil court to quash the ruling. The US Embassy claims that it has absolute immunity. So, what does this mean for Malaysians working in foreign embassies?Image Credit: Parti Sosialis MalaysiaSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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 cleansing the Palestinians have faced at the hands of the State of Israel for the past 70 years. We’re watching massacres happen live. Yet, the most influential media companies in the world, from the West, still take the Pro-Israel stance. There are millions of people protesting all over the world, including in the US and the UK. Hundreds of thousands of people march against their governments in DC and London, yet the political class of the Western Empire do not budge from their Pro-Israel stance. Many people around the world are feeling hopeless. There’s a sense of doomerism, understandably so. It feels like no matter what we do, we can’t defeat the bad guys. So, how do we make sense of all of this?Image credit: ShutterstockSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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 voted on in Parliament due to “lack of time.” So, what is the content of the Bill that eventually hit parliament floors? What does it mean that the bill wasn’t voted on? What changes do we need to see before Parliament sits again in June?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.