Beyond the Ballot Box

Xavier Justo is a name that might ring familiar to anyone who’s been following the 1MDB scandal closely. The former Swiss banker who worked for PetroSaudi obtained and leaked crucial documents to journalist Clare Rewcastle Brown, which then unravelled a web of high-level corruption and kleptocracy involving high-ranking officials, including of course, disgraced former Prime Minister, Najib Razak. 

Xavier was arrested in Thailand and even spent more than 2 years in what he describes as a hellish time in Thai prison. 

Some argue that Xavier shouldn’t be hailed as a hero or a whistleblower because he didn’t obtain nor leak the PetroSaudi files for noble reasons nor for the pursuit of justice, but for personal reasons, at least initially. 

But whether he should be hailed as a hero or not, one thing is for sure – his efforts and bravery were integral to getting to the bottom of the 1MDB scandal, which has since changed the course of Malaysian history forever. 

Xavier and his wife, Laura Justo, recently wrote a book titled Rendezvous with Injustice, detailing the struggles he and his family had to go through because he leaked crucial documents pertaining to the scandal.

We speak to Xavier Justo. 

Rendezvous with Injustice is available at Gerakbudaya and all major bookstores.

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Apa Macam, ADUN? is a monthly series where we speak to a different Selangor state legislative assembly member each month about a plethora of issues affecting folks from Selangor. 

This episode is centred around party politics – the dynamics between unity government parties, seat negotiations and containing the much talked about “green wave.” We’re joined by YB Juwairiya Zulkifli, ADUN, Bukit Melawati.

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There’s been a lot of debate and discussion surrounding that on social media recently. For example, when Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced that the T20 income group will not benefit from electricity subsidies and haj financial assistance, some people cried foul, saying that the T20 already pay the highest taxes so surely they deserve the highest subsidies from the government too. Similar conversations also took place when the government made the 2% tax cuts for the M40 and increased tax rates for relatively high-income earners by 0.5%. Many wondered why higher-income earners should pay more taxes. 

We discuss the importance of progressive taxation and if taxing the rich – the real rich – stifles innovation, with Ng Sze Fung, Research Officer, REFSA.

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Global Communications firm, Edelman recently released their annual Trust Barometer. The Trust Barometer measures the level of trust and credibility that people have in various institutions, such as governments, businesses, media, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). 

Unsurprisingly, the survey found that Malaysians, like the rest of the globe are highly worried about their economic future, climate crisis and war. Also unsurprisingly is the lacklustre trust by Malaysians towards governments. What is surprising though – or at least fascinating – about the results is that Malaysians seem to place their trust in businesses to drive social change. 

Christopher de Cruz, COO of Edelman, joins us to unpack their findings.

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What does it mean to be a Malaysian urbanite in 2023? It’s about celebrating diverse cultures, one’s love for nasi lemak and of course, complaining and crying about our daily commute. The roads are always congested and unless you’re staying in specific areas in the Klang Valley, you’ll have no choice but to own a car and brave through the traffic every day. Heck, even if you are living in specific areas of the Klang Valley, you might have to buy a car and drive to the nearest LRT station, which of course is absolutely ridiculous. 

In contrast, our neighbouring country Singapore is considered to be one of the most well-connected countries in the world today. Many would say that you literally do not have to own a car to travel around the country. 

We discuss what we can learn from Singapore with Kevin Zhang, Senior Researcher, ISEAS-Yusok Ishak Institute.

Image Credit: Shutterstock

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Last weekend, the inaugural Unity Government National Convention was held at World Trade Centre Kuala Lumpur. A running theme from the unity government’s national conference was that of unity and cooperation between former rivals. A lot was also said about history and how never in a million years would any Pakatan Harapan politician have thought they would be giving speeches in the UMNO fortress. But was there anything substantive in terms of the vision for the country? We discuss with Dr James Chin, Professor of Asian Studies, University of Tasmania

Image Credit: Shutterstock / Wikimedia

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Last weekend, the inaugural Unity Government National Convention was held at World Trade Centre Kuala Lumpur. A running theme from the unity government’s national conference was that of unity and cooperation between former rivals. A lot was also said about history and how never in a million years would any Pakatan Harapan politician have thought they would be giving speeches in the UMNO fortress. But was there anything substantive in terms of the vision for the country? We discuss with Dr James Chin, Professor of Asian Studies, University of Tasmania

Image Credit: Shutterstock / Wikimedia

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Last weekend, the inaugural Unity Government National Convention was held at World Trade Centre Kuala Lumpur. A running theme from the unity government’s national conference was that of unity and cooperation between former rivals. A lot was also said about history and how never in a million years would any Pakatan Harapan politician have thought they would be giving speeches in the UMNO fortress. But was there anything substantive in terms of the vision for the country? We discuss with Dr James Chin, Professor of Asian Studies, University of Tasmania.

Image Credit: Shutterstock / Wikimedia

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When Dr Bridget Welsh who’s a political scientist and an Honorary Research Associate with the University of Nottingham Asia Research Institute Malaysia (UoNARI-M), previously joined us on the show, we unpacked a series of articles she had written for Malaysiakini, analysing ethnic voting patterns of GE15. She recently penned another series of articles, this time looking at GE15 voting patterns beyond racial and religious lens. We unpack her findings with her.

Image Credit: Shutterstock

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Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM) recently released their 2022 human rights report. In we will be taking a look at the various human rights violations that have occurred throughout the year, here in Malaysia, and look at the changes that should happen in 2023.

Image Credit: SUARAM

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