Beyond the Ballot Box

We have often heard about the role the elite mainstream political actors played in Malaysia’s independence struggle. But the reality is much more nuanced. Our independence is also a story about grassroots organising and resistance among workers, students, feminist groups and more. Which is exactly what the exhibition called Seeds of Resistance: Journey Towards Independence is all about. The exhibition, organised by Raja Ahmad Aminullah, a prominent Malaysian poet, writer and activist, is currently ongoing until the 29th of September at GMBB Kuala Lumpur. In this episode, we do a brief reflection of our journey to independence and discuss the ongoing exhibition with Raja Ahmad. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If one wishes to understand how gender, power, and economic development intersect in shaping women’s lives and choices, and how women — particularly women in the Global South — renegotiate patriarchal structures in households, communities, and labor markets, look no further than Naila Kabeer. Professor Dr Naila Kabeer is a British-Bangladeshi feminist economist and an Emeritus Professor of Gender and Development at the London School of Economics (LSE). She has written a number of important books, including her latest, Renegotiating Patriarchy: Gender, Agency and the Bangladesh Paradox. In this episode, we speak with Dr. Naila Kabeer about feminist economics, what we can learn about women’s rights from the garment industry in Bangladesh, and some big-picture challenges faced by Malaysian women, including bridging the gap between education levels and labour force participation.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As we approach the three-year mark since the formation of the MADANI government under Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, questions arise about what has been accomplished economically, the country’s trajectory and what the PM’s legacy will ultimately be. Dr Geoffrey Williams has been exploring these very issues in his series of articles on Free Malaysia Today titled Creating Anwar’s Legacy, where he highlights several transformative ideas that the government can realistically pursue and achieve. We speak with Dr Geoffrey Williams about his series of articles and also do an economic check in of sorts to see if we’re on the right track.Image Credit: ShutterstockSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you’ve been to a youth-led progressive protest or rally recently, chances are you may have seen student activist Alyaah Hani on the frontlines. As the coordinator of Liga Mahasiswa, she has been a vocal critic of student debt, academic restrictions, and state repression. Recently summoned under Section 509 of the Penal Code for her role in an anti-corruption rally, Alyaah speaks about the risks of dissent, the future of student movements, and what young people want from Malaysia.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Malaysia is one of the few countries in the world that has attained parity across genders at the tertiary education level. In Malaysia, women make up about 52% of tertiary education enrolment, compared to 48% men, meaning women slightly outnumber men at this level.So, why, despite this, does women’s participation in politics remain incredibly low? According to the folks behind KRYSS Network, one of the key reasons is due to gendered disinformation. They are running a Campaign is called Countering Gendered Disinformation with the support of EMPOWER. In this episode, we discuss what exactly gendered disinformation is, its impact and how we can deal with it and encourage more women to participate in politics. We speak to Ayesha Sofia Faiz from EMPOWER and Abdullah Nishad from the KRYSS Network.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

According to estimates, there are around 4-6 million migrant workers in Malaysia, both documented and undocumented combined. There are also approximately 300 000 - 400 000 refugees in the country. They have limited labour rights and protections and hence are regular targets of exploitation, often receiving poor wages and forced to live in horrible conditions.What’s also interesting is that despite this, migrants and refugees have been quietly building grassroots networks of solidarity and care. This is what some of the folks from the North South Initiative recently wrote about, for the Asian Labour Review, in an article titled, Rewriting the Politics of Care, Dignity, and Labour Justice.So, what does that look like? And what is the impact of this grassroots solidarity?We speak to Dr ​Asha Rathina Pandi, Head of Research and Lead Analyst, North South Initiative.Image Credit: ShutterstockSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Education of Ethnic Minorities: The Case of Indians in Malaysia by Dr Santhiram Raman examines how the Malaysian education system shapes the experiences and outcomes of the Indian minority, with a focus on students from Tamil-language primary schools. The book dives into some of the benefits of this school system, but also the historical marginalization, structural inequalities, and school environments that can perpetuate disadvantage. In this episode, we unpack the book and the key challenges faced by Indian students in Malaysia, with Dr Santhiram.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you’ve walked around your city, chances are you may have seen people skateboarding off the rails outside a shopping mall or doing parkour on a dingy rooftop of an abandoned building, or perhaps even kicking around a ball in an alleyway turned into a makeshift futsal court.But what do these activities tell us about urban culture? Do they reveal anything about politics? And is there anything urban planners can learn from them?In this episode, we’re joined by Duncan McDuie-Ra, whose latest book, Insurgent Play: Social Worlds of Urban Disruption, explores exactly those questions and more. Prof Duncan is also the Head of Monash University Malaysia’s School of Arts & Social Sciences.To purchase his book, visit: anthempress.com/books/insurgent-play-pbImage Credit: Anthem Press / Monash UniversitySee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We have often talked about the rise of right-wing populism with fascist tendencies across the world. From US President Donald Trump to Nigel Farage and the Reform Party UK, Marine Le Pen in France to the AFD in Germany, political parties and leaders that are proudly anti-democratic, espousing hatred for ethnic, religious or sexual minorities, and scapegoating migrants and refugees have gone from the fringes to the mainstream. It’s not just the West. We can also think of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in India and Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil.Make no mistake — the right-wing is winning, and winning big, both on the ground and at the ballot box.At the same time, the popularity of the technocratic, neoliberal, so-called “centre” — represented by the likes of Emmanuel Macron, Joe Biden, Barack Obama and Keir Starmer — appears to be on a rapid decline, after four decades of rising inequality.In response, something else seems to be emerging — or reemerging: left-wing economic populism. In other words, socialism. The likes of Zohran Mamdani are making waves in the US. Jeremy Corbyn is launching a new party in the UK explicitly on the platform of left-wing economic values and internationalism. Jean-Luc Mélenchon has seen a surge in popularity in France.So, how are the likes of Zohran Mamdani cutting through in this political moment? And what does it mean that they are? What can progressives around the world learn?We speak to Professor Peter Beattie, who’s a political economist and political psychologist at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.Image Credit: Wikimedia / Creative CommonsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Khalsa Aid International is a humanitarian relief organisation based in the UK. It was founded in 1999 by Ravi Singh based on the Sikh principle of Sarbat da Bhala – the wellbeing of all. Today, this cross-border humanitarian agency operates across six continents and have done work in many conflict zones such as Iraq and Ukraine to natural disasters including the Türkiye earthquakes and Pakistan floods. In this episode, we speak to Gurpreet Singh, Head of Operations for Khalsa Aid, Asia Pacific about the work he has done during the Covid-19 pandemic and coordinating refugee evacuation efforts.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The 27th National Congress of Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) was held in Kuala Kangsar, Perak, from July 25th to 27th. The congress, themed "Kuasa Ketiga, Kuasa Kita" was attended by around 150 delegates.In this episode, we speak with Arveent Kathirchelvan, who’s a Central Committee Member and Coordinator of the Policy Research Bureau of PSM. We discuss some of the key motions they passed at their congress surrounding healthcare, pension and housing. We also unpack the various challenges faced by the left in the country, electoral politics, how they plan to elevate class consciousness and break through the wall of racial & religious politics that's holding the country back.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Katrina Leclerc is an award‑winning peacebuilder, researcher, and advocate who specializes in the intersection of Women, Peace & Security (WPS). She serves as a respected expert advisor to governments, UN agencies, and civil society, supporting inclusive peace policy development and implementation across multiple regions and countries, including in Congo, Kenya, Lebanon, Rwanda and more. She was also here in Malaysia recently to meet up with the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development, as well as civil society. In this epsiode, we speak to Katrina about the work that she does as a peacebuilder, what a feminist foreign policy would look like, and power asymetries between the global north and global south. Image Credit: www.leclerck.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s been 16 years since Teoh Beng Hock’s passing. Beng Hock was the political aide to an elected representative from the DAP, who was found dead after overnight questioning by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) in 2009, sparking public outrage and ongoing allegations of foul play.Today, justice is yet to be served.Last week, the MACC issued a public apology to Teoh’s family. This was followed by a public apology by the DAP. But rather than healing old wounds, it reignited long-standing questions — about accountability, institutional reform, the state of our democracy and the ability of political parties who promised change to actually make change when in power.In this episode, we speak to Dr Khoo Ying Hooi, an Associate Professor of International Relations and Human Rights at Universiti Malaya (UM). She recently wrote an article titled ‘A Week Where Apologies Fell Flat and Lawyers Walked.’ We reflect on where we are today as a country, in terms of fighting for justice and protecting democracy.Image Credit: Dr Khoo Ying Hooi's X Account / ShutterstockSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Malaysian ethnic Indians make up less than 7% of the country’s population — but this small community is disproportionately represented in some of the country’s most troubling statistics. Indians form a shockingly high percentage of the prison population, face persistent income and wealth gaps—both between ethnic groups and within their own community—and continue to grapple with access to quality education. These are not isolated issues; they reflect deep-rooted structural inequalities, legacies of colonial exploitation, and decades of policy neglect.The question is, what can we do about it?YB Charles Santiago is the former MP for Klang and has been passionate about this issue for years. Recently, he’s worked together with Yayasan Iltizam Malaysia and the Sustainable Initiative for Community Change to come up with some proposals which address this issue as well as how we can make Malaysia more inclusive and equitable for all. In this episode, we speak to Charles Santiago. Click here if you’d like to find out more about the specifics of their proposal.Image Credit: ShutterstockSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s been 70 years since the first General Elections in Malaya in 1955, and 61 years since we voted for the first time as a new nation called Malaysia in 1964. From the era of one-party dominance under the Alliance and then Barisan Nasional, to the historic change of government in 2018, our electoral journey has been an incredible one.In that time, we’ve gone from a nation that didn’t think it was possible to change a government to a nation that believes we can change our government at anytime.In many ways, we’re still going through a maturing process—figuring out what kind of democracy we want to be. On today’s show, we’re taking a step back to reflect on 70 years of elections in Malaysia: how far we've come, what’s worked, what hasn’t, and the critical reforms we still need to build a fairer, more democratic future.In this episode, we speak to Danesh Prakash Chacko, Director of Tindak Malaysia.Tindak Malaysia has an event coming up called 70 Years of General Elections: Shaping Malaysian Democracy, happening on the 26th & 27th of July at the Trident Events (MCNCC) Event Hall.Click here if you’d like to register for the event.Image Credit: ShutterstockSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.