Beyond the Ballot Box

In Malaysia, for every RM 100 in wages received by men, women only receive RM 66. This is according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia’s (DOSM) Gender Gap Index for 2022, which is their latest report. But what exactly does this mean? What are its consequences?

In light of International Women’s Day 2024, we speak to Marina Abdullah, Head of Campaigns, Women’s Aid Organisation (WAO). 

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24-year-old Kusaaliny Mahendran from the DAP, is one of the youngest councillors of Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ). Kusha who comes from incredibly humble beginnings is a social democrat who’s passionate about expanding the common good – be it public healthcare, public transportation or public schools and redistributing wealth to the common good. 

In this episode, we’re joined by Kusaalini to discuss her journey in politics, what she plans to do as a local councillor and her vision for a better Malaysia.

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The Home Minister, Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution has said that the proposed amendments to the Federal Constitution on citizenship matters will be presented to the cabinet on the 8th of March which is this Friday. The cabinet will then decide if the bill is ready to be tabled in Parliament. 

So, what are stateless people and NGOs working with the stateless concerned about? Well, the proposal by the Home Ministry is a mixed bag – one step forward, several steps back – with severe consequences. But it’s not too late to stop it. 

In this episode, we’re joined by an expert in statelessness at an International level. She’s Associate Professor Radha Govil from the Peter McMullin Centre on Statelessness, University of Melbourne. She also wrote a chapter on women in the book ‘Nationality and Statelessness under International Law’ which is what this episode is centred around.

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Last week, in light of the passing of Taib Mahmud, we discussed the legacy of the Sarawakian strongman and how his policies shaped Sarawak over the years, for better or worse. 

This week, we look to the future and explore how will Sarawak emerge from under the shadow of Taib Mahmud. 

We once again speak to Dr James Chin, Professor of Asian Studies, University of Tasmania.

Image credits: (Left: Shutterstock), (Right: Flickr, Ben Sutherland)

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The inequality between the haves and have-nots, has reached unprecedented levels. According to OxFam, a global organization that fights inequality to end poverty, since 2020 the five richest men in the world have seen their fortunes more than double, while almost five billion people have seen their wealth fall. Globally, men own US$105 trillion more wealth than women. The world’s richest 1% own 43% of all global financial assets. In other words, the wealthy got wealthier, everybody else got a lot poorer. 

We speak to Peter Beattie, who’s a political economist from the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK)

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In December we did a show called Public Transport in the Klang Valley: Are We on the Right Track? In that episode, we took a look at our transit network in Greater Kuala Lumpur and the philosophy and policies that guide our public transport infrastructure development. 

In this episode, we take a look at public transport beyond the Klang Valley.

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72-Year-Old Prabowo Subianto of the Gerinda party will be the new President of Indonesia, after defeating Ganjar Pranowo of PDI-P, and Anies Baswedan, independent candidate. 

A few interesting things to note: Prabowo won emphatically in one round, receiving around 58%-60% of the votes – making him an incredibly popular president; Prabowo’s running mate, who will now be vice president, is Jokowi’s son, Gibran; While PDI-P’s candidate did not win the Presidential election, the party won the most seats in the House of Representatives. 

So, what does all of this mean for the future of the Indonesian political economy?

Made Supriatma from ISEAS is back to share his insights. 

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Former Sarawak governor Tun Pehin Sri Haji Abdul Taib bin Mahmud has passed away. He was 87 years old when he died in a private hospital in Kuala Lumpur. Taib Mahmud served as the Chief Minister of Sarawak from March 1981 to February 2014 – that’s 33 years, making him the longest-serving CM in Malaysian history. 

He also served as the 7th Yang di-Pertua Negeri of Sarawak from March 2014 to January 2024. Taib Mahmud was an incredibly important figure in Sarawak and Malaysian politics. But how will history remember him? And how will Sarawak emerge from his shadow? 

In this episode, we discuss the legacy of Sarawak’s strongman, and next week, we take a look at the future of the East Malaysian state. We’re joined by Dr James Chin, Professor of Asian Studies at the University of Tasmania.

Image Credit: Wikimedia / Creative Commons

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Over the past few months, the Zionist regime of Israel has been carrying out a cruel campaign of bombardment and genocide against Palestinians in the city of Gaza. Close to 30 000 people have been killed, half of whom are children. More than 2 million Palestinians have been displaced from their homes.

Israel claims that this is merely a response to the attacks by Hamas on October 7th 2023. However, we have to keep in mind that Israel has been engaged in settler colonialism and ethnic cleansing relentlessly for decades. 

What’s interesting is, that some experts claim that despite killing thousands upon thousands of Palestinians, Israel is not exactly winning this battle. So, who’s winning? We speak to Muslim Imran, Asia Middle East Center for Research & Dialogue (AMEC).

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The Bumiputera Economic Congress 2024, themed “Positive, Progressive, Innovative” will be taking place from the 29th of February to the 2nd of March. It is organised by the Ministry of Economy, in collaboration with the Ministry of Rural and Regional Development. 

But what exactly are Bumiputera Economic Congresses about? Why should Bumiputeras and non-Bumiputeras alike keep a close eye on this upcoming one?

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