Beyond the Ballot Box

Real-life Abang Adiks are potentially in grave danger, as the government of Malaysia looks to make a bundle of highly regressive and immoral amendments to our citizenship laws. These amendments will perpetuate statelessness among children, condemning them to a life without identity, access to education, healthcare, job opportunities and more. 

We must stress that one out of these proposed amendments is a step in the right direction. There are aspects of Malaysia’s citizenship laws that are highly sexist and discriminatory towards women as the Federal Constitution only grants automatic Malaysian citizenship to children born overseas to Malaysian men with foreign wives, but not Malaysian women with foreign husbands. After years of advocacy by civil society groups, such as Family Frontiers, the government has been successfully pressured to make the changes. 

But instead of just making this one change, the Home Ministry under the stewardship of Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution has decided to make one positive step forward, five cruel steps backwards. 

We speak to Prof Datuk Noor Aziah Mohd Awal, Commissioner, Suhakam.

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The people of Indonesia – the world’s third largest democracy – will be heading to the polls tomorrow, the 14th of February.

The three main presidential candidates are Prabowo Subianto from Gerinda (who has current President Jokowi’s son Gibran, as his running mate), Ganjar Pranowo of PDI-P, and Anies Baswedan, independent candidate. 

So, what are the key issues of this election? And how will it shape the future of Indonesia and ASEAN?

We speak to Made Supriatma, Visiting Fellow in the Indonesia Studies Programme at the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute.

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Last week, the Pardons Board decided to halve corrupt former Prime Minister Najib Razak’s prison sentence. It was an anxiety-riddled week, filled with speculation, news reports that were subsequently retracted, silent politicians, curve balls, and a severe lack of transparency on the part of the government, as the public waited with bated breath for the decision from the Pardons Board. It’s a shame that Malaysians had to find out what was going on from the foreign press. 

The public response to the decision by the Pardons Board has been loud and angry. Former Damansara MP Tony Pua is under investigation under the Sedition Act for his remarks concerning the Pardons Board decision. The NGO Bersih has held a press conference demanding that the government deliver reforms or face the wrath of the people on the streets. 

In this episode, we discuss the political fallout of the Najib drama with Dr Francis Hutchinson, Coordinator of the Malaysian Studies Programme, ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, and Sevan Doraisamy, Executive Director, SUARAM. 

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Recently, the world watched South Africa take Israel to the International Court of Justice for the genocidal acts Israel committed in Gaza. After hearing presentations from both sides, the court sided with South Africa. While there is still a long way to go before the case fully concludes at the ICJ, the court has issued a preliminary order barring Israel from further acts of violence against Palestinians. The fact that Israel isn’t complying is hardly surprising. 

What’s interesting is Western mainstream media’s coverage of the whole ordeal – which is to pretty much twist the court’s ruling to suit their narrative and protect their interests.

We discuss this and more in this episode.

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When we look at the “Muslim World” – particularly, but not limited to the Middle East – there are many countries which exhibit high levels of authoritarianism or anti-democratic tendencies. There are also many regions which are underdeveloped and riddled with conflict. The Western and/or neoliberal narrative is that the problem is with Islam in and of itself. 

This is an incredibly shallow way of looking at things.

In this episode, we have a conversation with Prof Ahmet Kuru, the author of Islam, Authoritarianism, and Underdevelopment: A Global and Historical Comparison. The book is a deep dive into the rich history and politics of the Muslim World and dissects the issue in detail. 

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The Johor Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar has been sworn in as the 17th Agong, for a five-year term. His deputy is Sultan Nazrin Shah of Perak. 

In light of that, we take a look at what exactly the role of the monarchy is according to the Malaysian constitution.

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We live in a globalised society. The world has gotten smaller, especially over the past 30-40 years. Then came the Covid-19 pandemic. Borders were closed for a prolonged period and there was a reduction in international trade. This intensified the process of deglobalisation, something that has been discussed in politics for more than a decade. 

So, how has the pandemic influenced – or continues to influence – a local process of deglobalisation here in Malaysia? And what do we do to navigate this?

That’s exactly what the book titled Social and Political Deglobalisation: Covid-19, Conflict, and Uncertainties in Malaysia, seeks to answer. The book is by Associate Prof Dr Khoo Ying Hooi from University Malaya, Associate Professor Dr Anantha Raman Govidasamy from University Malaysia Sabah, and Kavitha Ganesan from University Malaysia Sabah, alongside other researchers. We have a conversation about this book. 

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What's Politics is a series where we explore and break down political concepts and ideas. 

In this episode, we discuss a concept called neocolonialism. Malaysia and many parts of the Global South may no longer be directly colonised by the British Empire or any other superpower – after all, we don’t see European soldiers marching down our streets with guns. But the truth of the matter is, we still are colonised today, just in different, perhaps more complex ways. So, what exactly is neocolonialism? 

Our guest as always is Assistant Professor Peter Beattie, who’s a political economist and political psychologist at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK). He’s the author of Social Evolution, Political Psychology, and Media in Democracy. 

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Why are our economic narratives often convoluted and incohesive? Malaysia is a capitalist country, but why do some economists say we don't have a cohesive capitalist class? We vote for MPs to sit in Parliament, but where else does power reside? What are the competing interests?

We often try to understand Malaysian politics by looking at it through the prism of race and religion. But to understand contemporary politics -- to understand why Malaysia is the way it is and who holds power in our society -- it is more important to look at political economy and how it has evolved over the years. It is important to understand the relationship between the state and the various classes.

Jeremy Lim, secretary of Imagined Malaysia wrote a paper for the Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung titled Malaysia’s Incomplete Revolution: From Comprador Capitalism to State-Led Development to State-Dependent Development, which details the shifts in Malaysia’s political economy over the decades. We speak to Jeremy.

Also mentioned in this podcast:
Traditionalism and the Ascendancy of the Malay Ruling Class in Malaya, by Donna J. Amoroso.

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The Malaysian economy relies on the sweat and toil of migrant workers. Yet, every so often, there will be news about migrant workers who are exploited – underpaid, overworked, passports confiscated, bullied and placed in horrible living conditions. Rarely, if ever, do we hear about employers and recruitment agencies getting arrested for their modern-day slavery practices. Instead, what always ends up happening is the migrant workers themselves, who are already living in poverty and fear, get rounded up and arrested. So, why does this happen? We speak to Charles Santiago, former Klang MP and Co-Chair of ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights(APHR).

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