Beyond the Ballot Box

Several investigations are being carried out by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) right now into various high-profile individuals. One of which is on former finance minister Tun Daim Zainuddin, whose name was listed on the Pandora Papers in 2021. There’s also the case of the previous government which allegedly spent RM 700 million on publicity efforts. We speak to Raymon Ram who’s a certified fraud examiner & anti-money laundering specialist at Graymatter Forensic Advisory. He’s also a part of Transparency International–Malaysia.

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South Africa, the nation that fought and dismantled Apartheid in their backyard has once again emerged as a country that we should learn from, as they have taken the Zionist State of Israel to court. On the 29th of December, South Africa filed an application instituting proceedings against Israel in front of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), concerning Israel’s cruel bombardment of Gaza, Palestine. 

Since October 7th, Israel has brutally killed around 25 000 Palestinians, half of whom are children. On top of that, about 1.9 million people have been displaced – which is 85% of the Gazan population. The bombardment and massacre have not stopped. We also have to keep in mind that the Palestinians have suffered 75 years of ethnic cleansing and illegal occupation by Israel. 

So, how important are the documents submitted by South Africa, to the ICJ? What could be the outcome?

We speak to Dr Jinan Bastaki, Associate Professor of Legal Studies, at NYU Abu Dhabi. Dr Jinan is an international law scholar who focuses on human rights.

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The care economy is something that we need to take seriously, especially since we’re becoming an ageing nation. But are we on the right track? Not quite, says Edwin Goh, who’s an independent public policy researcher and a columnist at FMT. In one of his columns, he argues that we need new narratives for Malaysia’s care economy. We speak to Edwin Goh.

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What's Politics is a series where we delve into political concepts, ideas, and questions and explore how they impact all of us. 

It’s the new year. So, in this episode, we look ahead and discuss some of the key things to keep our eye on in 2024 – the ongoing genocide in Palestine, the upcoming elections in the US and the UK, as well as how China is reshaping global politics.

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It’s been close to 3 years now since the military coup in Myanmar that took place in February 2021. A lot has happened since then. Immediately after the coup, millions took to the streets in a peaceful civil disobedience movement to call for the restoration of democracy. But when the military decided to respond by force, brutally assaulting and even killing protestors, civilians took up arms and formed armed resistance groups. So, what does the future of Myanmar look like?

We speak to Thinzar Shunlei Yi, pro-democracy activist from Myanmar. She’s also the advocacy Coordinator with grassroots coalition Action Committee for Democracy Development (ACDD).

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It’s the new year! On today’s episode, we reflect on the year that was 2023 and discuss the kind of reforms Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and the Madani government should prioritise in their second year in power, with Ooi Kok Hin, Executive Director, Bersih.

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Redelineation is a constitutional process of drawing electoral boundaries to ensure that the value of one’s vote is equal irrespective of our geographic and demographic background. 

Redelineation exercises can only be done no less than eight years after the last exercise – which means we’re in an incredibly critical juncture right now. Sarawak can begin redelineation exercises this year, Sabah in 2025 and Peninsular Malaysia in 2026. 

One of the big questions on everybody’s mind is: Should East Malaysia be allocated 1/3rd of the parliamentary seats? 

We speak to Danesh Prakash Chako, Director, Tindak Malaysia – an NGO focused on promoting democracy, good governance and active citizen participation in Malaysia.

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Malaysia is becoming increasingly polarised across racial and religious lines. And while the culture wars dominate political discourse, inequality is on the rise – the gap between the rich and the poor continues to widen at an incredibly rapid pace.

On today's episode of '45 Mins With' we're joined by Dr Jeyakumar Devaraj, chairperson of Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM). Dr Kumar believes that we’re so distracted by racial and religious sentiments, that we’re not talking about one of the biggest issues plaguing Malaysia right now – Transnational Capital and how we’re subservient to it.

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Education is a fundamental human right and should be free, or at least highly affordable for everyone. Unfortunately, the reality on the ground is that education, especially tertiary education, is becoming increasingly unaffordable and students are often forced to take loans just to pursue a bachelor’s degree or their diplomas. Upon completing their education, these students are saddled with massive debt that many cannot afford to pay, due to low wages in the country.

Dr Geoffrey Williams, an economist at the Malaysian University of Science and Technology is someone who believes student loans should be abolished in Malaysia. He joins us on the show today to unpack why we should abolish PTPTN loans and how we can finance our higher education sector.

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There are many different aspects and types of trains in our expanding Transit System in KL and the greater Klang Valley – LRT, MRT, KTM, to name a few. But why do we build public transport infrastructure in Malaysia? What’s our philosophy? Are we heading in the right direction? How do we compare to cities like Singapore, Hongkong, Sydney and Los Angeles? We spoke to Nischal Muniandy, a public policy researcher and committee member of Transit Malaysia.

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