Beyond the Ballot Box

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.

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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.

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Kampung Jalan Papan in Klang is a decades-old settlement where families have lived since before independence.

Over the years, the land was transferred, developed and contested, eventually leading a private developer to obtain court orders enabling eviction and demolition. Despite repeated promises of resettlement and affordable housing from both state authorities and the developer, residents say the offers were inconsistent and promises were never delivered.

In November 2025, eviction enforcement escalated into on-site demolitions, tense confrontations, and arrests of residents and activists, prompting human rights groups to condemn the operation as heavy-handed and a violation of due process.

In today's episode, we speak to S. Arutchelvan, Deputy Chairperson of Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM). Arutchelvan was one of the activists who were arrested last week while organising and fighting alongside the residents of Kampung Papan.

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Markela Panegyres is an Australian performance artist, academic, activist and a member of the Socialist Alliance Australia. Known for her raw, provocative performances and video installations, she explores themes of trauma, memory, power, and resistance. Beyond the arts, she is a vocal left-wing organiser deeply involved in Palestine solidarity work, actively campaigns for the academic boycott of Israel, and has helped lead student and staff actions pushing universities to cut ties with Israeli institutions.

In this episode, we speak to her about her journey as an activist and discuss how the Palestine solidarity movement can evolve from winning the discourse to winning tangible changes.

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Neil Woods was once a dedicated narcotics officer. In fact, he spent 14 years working undercover, infiltrating drug gangs in Britain’s underworld. But something changed throughout that journey. Now, Woods is one of the leading advocates for drug policy reform, calling for the end of the war on drugs. He wrote a book titled Good Cop, Bad War, chronicling how his attempts to infiltrate and dismantle drug gangs gradually led him to question the entire system.

In this episode, we speak to Neil Woods about his journey, what he witnessed during his time as a narcotics officer and the drug policy reforms he’s championing.

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Zohran Mamdani has won the New York City mayoral election, defeating Andrew Cuomo and Curtis Sliwa.
Not only that, he also received more than 50% of the popular vote. He’s a proud Democratic Socialist, and notably, the first Muslim and South Asian to become mayor of New York City.

Billionaires reportedly spent over 22 million dollars trying to stop him, yet he won. Donald Trump and Elon Musk publicly attacked him and endorsed Andrew Cuomo. Yet, Mamdani won.

Not only did he win, he won on an unabashedly, proudly, multicultural, people-centered platform focused on affordability, including pledges to freeze rents, provide fast and free public buses, and ensure universal childcare.

He plans to fund these initiatives by taxing New York’s wealthiest residents: multimillionaires and billionaires.

So, how did a Democratic Socialist become mayor in the heart of global capitalism? And what does it signal?

We speak to Professor Peter Beattie, who's a political economist at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

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In the 2024 Oxfam report, it was revealed that the richest 1% in the Global North extracted US$263 billion from the Global South in 2023 — a stark reminder that inequality and neocolonial exploitation remain hardwired into the global economy. Meanwhile, far-right movements are gaining ground across continents, progressive spaces are grappling with internal contradictions, and even causes like Palestine are being twisted to justify bigotry.

In this episode, we speak to Jacob Andrewartha, a member of the Socialist Alliance, Australia. He’s also a childcare worker with history of involvement in the Pro-Palestine movement and Climate Justice. Also part of the discussion is Arveent Kathirchelvan, Coordinator of Policy Research Bureau, Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM).

On a related note, an international socialism conference will be happening on 15–16 November, 9am-6pm, at the Kuala Lumpur Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall (KLSCAH). The conference will feature socialist activists, academics, and thinkers from Malaysia and across the world.

Check out the lineup of speakers and get your tickets here: https://shorturl.at/ISOy1

Image Credit: Shutterstock

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Around the world, money is increasingly a gatekeeper to political power. Malaysia is no different. If someone wants to step into politics from outside the elite circle, it’s a tremendous challenge. In two new reports by the Westminster Foundation for Democracy, the numbers speak for themselves. For example, candidates face mandatory deposits of about RM15,000 for parliamentary seats. Internal party contests and party-level advancement can also be expensive, costing tens of thousands. Then there’s the legal fees, sustaining an elected office, and on and on and on.

The two WFD studies argue these cost structures act as a “screening mechanism” that disproportionately excludes women, young people, independent candidates and persons with disabilities, which distorts representation and governance.

In this episode we speak to Dr Graeme Ramshaw, Director of Quality and Innovation, Westminster Foundation for Democracy, as well as Ooi Kok Hin, Country Director for WFD in Malaysia.

Links to read their full reports:

COP national study: https://www.wfd.org/what-we-do/resources/cost-politics-malaysia

COP and Women Candidates: https://www.wfd.org/what-we-do/resources/women-and-cost-politics-malaysia

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Recently, in Melaka, a group of 17-year-olds was accused of allegedly raping their schoolmate at a secondary school in Alor Gajah. In Kedah, there was a statutory rape case involving underage students. And very close to home, in Bandar Utama, Selangor, a 14-year-old boy has been charged with murdering his 16-year-old female schoolmate at SMK Bandar Utama (4).

These are only incidents that have been reported in October 2025. Not to mention, recently there was a case in Sarawak where a group of boys allegedly threatened to stab and sexually assault their classmate — an incident now under police investigation. So, why is this happening? What can we do about it?

In recent weeks, we’ve been hearing a lot from adult experts and stakeholders, be it teachers, parents, psychologists, academics, and activists. In this episode, we speak to Jessie Lee, who’s currently a form four student in a public school in the Klang Valley. She’s a Child Rights Advocate, a member of the UNICEF Young Persons’ Advisory Group. She’s also a part of SUHAKAM Consultative Child Council. 

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The world is undergoing profound changes. China has become a global powerhouse. The US, while still the most powerful country in the world, is experiencing a relative decline in influence. There are constant conversations about moving toward a multipolar world. But what does this all mean for a middle power like Malaysia? 

In this episode, we speak to political analyst James Chai. James has written a novel called Sang Kancil: A Tale about how Ordinary Malaysians Defied the Odds, has worked in Think Tanks and even in the Ministry of Economy, under former minister, Rafizi Ramli. He’s currently also a columnist for CNA, where he has written a number of articles on how to make sense of the changing world, as a Malaysian. 

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