Beyond the Ballot Box

Charles Santiago, who’s a human rights defender and the former Klang MP for DAP, recently wrote a four-parter on Malaysiakini detailing modern-day slavery, forced labour, and abuse perpetrated against a group of migrant workers from Bangladesh. On today’s show, we go through the series of heartbreaking events experienced by these workers and also discuss what needs to be done so that this doesn’t happen again.

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The East is Green is a mini-series where we bring you stories from the East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia (also known as the Malay Heartland) in hopes of painting a more nuanced picture of its people, culture and politics. In this episode, we get acquainted with DHPP - Dewan Himpunan Penyokong PAS, which is essentially PAS’ non-Muslim wing. We speak to Dr Balachandran Gopal Krishnan, advisor of Non-Muslim affairs to the Terengganu MB. 

Image Credit: Berita PAS, Wikimedia Commons

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MUDA has announced that it's going solo and will be contesting against not just Perikatan Nasional, but the Pakatan Harapan-led MADANI government pack, as well. The move has received mixed reactions on social media, with some saying it’s inevitable, some sending well wishes, while others have criticised and even trolled them. 

But what does MUDA going solo tell us about our political landscape today? Is this move good for the people? We speak to Dr Bridget Welsh, Honorary Research Associate, University of Nottingham Asia Research Institute Malaysia (UoNARI-M). 

Image Credit: zmpixes / Shutterstock, partimuda / Instagram, amirxabdhadi / Instagram, MUDA

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The East is Green is a mini-series where we bring you stories from the East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia (also known as the Malay Heartland) in hopes of painting a more nuanced picture of its people, culture and politics. On the first episode, we reflect on our trip to Kelantan & Terengganu and also talk about the Malaysian Happiness Index. 

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We are at a critical juncture in politics right now. The rise of right-wing populism and post-truth narratives isn’t just a Malaysian problem but a global one. There’s also the Russia-Ukraine war, the refugee crisis and the climate crisis. And so, the push to strengthen democracy and the power of the people to build a more equitable society has never been more crucial. 

Our guest on today’s episode is Thomas Mulcair. He’s a retired MP and former leader of Canada’s New Democratic Party (NDP), as well as a former opposition leader from 2012 - 2015. We discuss how the NDP, a left-wing party managed to break through the barriers of the First Past the Post system, as well as what the priorities of the global left should be.

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Terengganu can be considered one of the true swing states in the country. For decades now, the state has flipped between UMNO and PAS, with no political party managing to hold onto power for more than a term. In the run-up to the upcoming state elections, we speak to Dato’ Tengku Hassan Tengku Omar, Exco in Terengganu – Chairman, Terengganu State Committee For Trade, Industry, Regional Development and Administration Wellbeing. 

We discuss the state government’s economic vision, job creation in Terengganu and dealing with UMNO’s legacy of mismanagement in the state.

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We’ve all probably come across the term T20, M40 and B40. We’ve probably said “T20” in reference to the rich. But does this classification system accurately reflect financial realities on the ground and the imagination of the masses? Does it help the government provide subsidies to the right groups? The short answer is, not quite.  

This is one of the reasons why Minister of Economy, Rafizi Ramli has announced the government’s intention to move away from the current classification system of household income towards ‘household net disposable income’. 

We discuss this with Dr Geoffrey Williams, Economist, Malaysia University of Science and Technology.

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It is often said that state elections should focus on local issues, while parliamentary elections focus on national issues. However, the upcoming series of state elections looks to be huge, with both PN and the Unity Government side painting this as a test for Anwar Ibrahim’s leadership and popularity. On top of that, this election will be different from GE15, in terms of alliances heading into the polls. We speak to  Dr Bridget Welsh, Honorary Research Associate, University of Nottingham Asia Research Institute Malaysia (UoNARI-M). 

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Democracy, a term that resonates with notions of freedom, participation, and equality, lies at the heart of many political systems worldwide, at least in concept. But what does it actually mean? For many, democracy equals elections and the ability to cast a vote once every however many years. Others might consider that a problematic and reductive way of defining democracy. So, what is democracy? And what needs to be done to make Malaysia a more democratic nation? We discuss with Ooi Kok Hin, Executive Director of Bersih. He’s also the editor of the book titled ‘Making Democracy Work: Institutional Reforms for Malaysia.

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Minister of Economy, Rafizi Ramli recently said that the government is looking in principle at the policy for a progressive wage system in Malaysia and the discussion and engagement process has begun with various stakeholders. The minister said this is in line with the 12th Malaysia Plan’s aim for the compensation of employees as a percentage of GDP to hit 40%, which is an increase of roughly 3-6%. In simple terms – a larger share of the pie of companies’ revenue will go to its workers. For perspective, the compensation of employees as a percentage of GDP is about 50% in Australia and South Korea and slightly over 40% in Singapore. This highlights just how low and unfair wages are in Malaysia.

A progressive wage scale model refers to a system or framework where wages or salaries increase progressively based on various factors such as skill level, experience, job performance, or seniority. The model is designed to ensure that individuals are rewarded fairly for their contributions and that wage growth aligns with career advancement or increased expertise. Many countries have some form of progressive wage model, including Singapore. We discuss what a progressive wage scale would look like in reality in Malaysia, with Terence Ho, Associate Professor in Practice, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore, as well as Kevin Zhang, Senior Researcher, ISEAS-Yusok Ishak Institute.

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