Beyond the Ballot Box

Defamation laws are incredibly important to protect individuals and organisations from false and harmful baseless statements. They help to curb falsehoods that could influence public opinion or even business markets. However, what happens when these defamation laws are abused by big corporations to prevent the public from holding them accountable? What if they hide behind defamation laws while exploiting workers? What if they use it to prevent people from speaking out? 

Recently, Mohanarani Rasaiah (Rani) from Parti Sosialis Malaysia penned an article highlighting the troubling rise of defamation suits being used to silence activists and marginalized communities. She detailed how four ongoing lawsuits target their work advocating for farmers, cattle herders, migrant workers, and security guards—all of whom were merely seeking justice for labor rights violations and land evictions.

In this episode, Rani joins us to discuss all of this and more.

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EPF contributions will now be mandatory for migrant workers. This comes after the Dewan Rakyat passed amendments to the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) Act 1991 recently. The proposal was first announced in Budget 2025 and under this scheme, both the employer and employee contribution rate is set at 2%. 

So, is this a step in the right direction for labour rights in Malaysia? Or does it just side step the core problem in Malaysia which is wage suppression? 

We unpack this with Alex Ong from Migrant Care.

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Malaysia is politically fragmented and polarized. To make matters worse, this division is drawn along racial and religious lines, fueling deep and growing distrust between ethnic and religious communities. At the same time, discussions about race and religion remain lacklustre often framed as a highly sensitive issue that shouldn’t be talked about altogether OR oversimplified narratives. 

So, how do we move forward?

Recently, The All-Party Parliamentary Group Malaysia (APPGM) on Racial and Religious Harmony was officially established as a bipartisan initiative aimed at addressing racial and religious tensions in the country.

But what do they hope to achieve? And how will they be any different from the many “unity” initiatives we’ve seen over the years?

In this episode, we speak to two guests. Firstly, Datuk Seri Dr Mujahid Yusof Rawa who’s a senator in the Dewan Negara. He is Deputy President of Parti Amanah Negara and is the deputy chairperson of the APPGM-RRH. We’re also joined by Jason Wee, Founder of Architects of Diversity (AOD). AOD is the secretariat of the APPGM-RRH.

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The Urban Renewal Act is set to be tabled in Parliament in the first quarter of 2025. This is arguably one of the most prominent pieces of legislation that is set to be tabled by the MADANI government in their first term in power. It has certainly been one of the most hotly debated ones. The act ultimately sets out to facilitate the redevelopment of aging and abandoned urban properties, enable better planning and modernize city spaces. However, the core of the act, which will lower the consent threshold for en-bloc sales, has invited passionate responses. Some worry about the potential displacement of lower-income groups while others are concerned that their rights as landlords will be diminished, among others. 

We unpack some of the key arguments for and against the act and discern if it’s something Malaysia needs. We speak to Nischal Muniandy, Senior Executive of Research, Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS), and a member of Transit Malaysia.

In this episode, we discuss:

• The benefits of the Urban Renewal Act and how it can revitalise the city and enable better town planning.

• How the current legal framework encourages NIMBYism (Not in My Backyard).

• How the proposed URA and land and development policies in Malaysia compare to other parts of the world known for progressive housing and development rights, such as Australia, China, Singapore and Vienna, which is the capital of Austria.

• Concerns that the URA could lead to gentrification or worse, the displacement of lower-income groups altogether.

• If "tyranny of the majority" is a valid argument.
  
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The recent German elections saw a big shift toward right-wing parties. The CDU, which is a Christian democratic and conservative party won, while the far-right Neo-Nazi party AFD came in second after making massive gains. This isn’t necessarily surprising. After all, for a while now, we’ve been talking about how far-right parties/movements are on the rise in many parts of the world, certainly in Europe and the US. 

But what does this mean? What does it tell us about the direction of German politics? 

We unpack everything with Frederik Holst who’s an Associate Professor of Politics and International Relations at Albukhary University. 

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The Parliamentary Services Act (PSA) 2025 was tabled in the Dewan Rakyat this week, by the Minister of Law and Institutional Reform, Dato Seri Azalina Othman Said. 

The PSA was enacted in 1963 but was later repealed in 1992 during Tun Dr Mahathir’s first tenure as Prime Minister. This move reduced the autonomy of Parliament and concentrated more power in the office of the Prime Minister. 

So, will the new PSA 2025 restore the independence of Parliament?

In this episode, we're once again joined by Ngeow Chow Ying, Convenor, Project Stability and Accountability for Malaysia - also known as Projek SAMA.

We discuss if the bill that has been tabled actually addresses issues of parliamentary autonomy and independence, how the structures of parliament will change and if it will bring about an improvement in accountability and transparency.

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We often hear that human beings are inherently selfish; That we’re naturally driven by profit and personal wealth accumulation; That success is solely determined by one’s superior intelligence or work ethic, and that we love to compete. We say this is human nature. 

But is this literally human nature from a scientific point of view or is it merely a perspective derived from a particular political-economic ideology, namely capitalism or perhaps even more specifically neoliberalism that rapidly permeated across the world since the 1980s?

In this episode, we unpack this topic with Karim Bettache, who’s a political/social psychologist at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK). He’s been researching and writing about this topic for many years now, including in a paper he wrote in 2024 titled Where Is Capitalism? Unmasking Its Hidden Role in Psychology. 

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We often hear that the ultra-wealthy are as rich as they are because of their superior capabilities as entrepreneurs. 

But is this actually true?

Not quite, according to Oxfam, a global organization that fights inequality to end poverty. In their latest report aptly titled Takers, Not Makers, they highlight that 60% of billionaire wealth is derived from inheritance, cronyism, or monopoly power.

We unpack the latest Oxfam report with Peter Beattie, who's a political economist & political psychologist at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK).

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Pannir Selvam Pranthaman is a 38-year-old Malaysian on death row in Singapore for trafficking 51.8g of diamorphine. Pannir was not a kingpin nor a drug lord but a man caught in the web of poverty, desperation, and manipulation. 

Back in 2020, I interviewed the sister of Pannir Selvam and human rights lawyer Latheefa Koya, about Pannir’s journey and the need to abolish the death penalty. Now, nearly four years later, the fight to save him has reached its most critical moment. 

According to his former lawyer, M Ravi, Pannir will be executed this Thursday, the 20th of February.  In a recent Facebook post, Ravi shared that Pannir’s sister had received a letter from the prison confirming his execution.

HAYAT, which is an NGO working on rehabilitative and restorative justice, released a statement that reads, "His status as a courier was acknowledged by Singapore courts, and he provided extensive information to authorities during the investigation. The information was also given to Singaporean authorities by the Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) through his family via a police report."

Despite the years-long efforts of his family and activists, his fate remains unchanged. 

In this episode, we're joined by Dobby Chew, who's the CEO of HAYAT. We discuss if there’s still room left to save Pannir and also if the war on drugs and the death penalty solves the problem of drug trafficking.

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It’s been 33 years since the Malaysia repealed the Parliamentary Services Act (PSA) during Tun Dr Mahathir’s first administration in 1992. As a result, our once robust Parliament became a lot more muted – well not literally (screaming contests are still part of the regularly scheduled programming at the august house), but in terms of how it functions. It also lost its autonomy to the Prime Minister's Office.

Recently PKR MP Lee Chean Chung said that the government will be tabling a new Parliamentary Services Act (PSA) in the current session of the Dewan Rakyat. This is something civil society organisations and the Pakatan Harapan coalition have been pushing for, for a long time, as it would restore or at least increase parliamentary autonomy and independence. 

But why is it important for us to have a stronger Parliament? What should a proper Parliamentary Services Act entail?
We speak to Ngeow Chow Ying who’s a legal expert and also the convenor at Projek SAMA.

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