Beyond the Ballot Box

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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/viewform

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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.

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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.

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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?

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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?

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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?

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