Beyond the Ballot Box

Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) is celebrating its 25th anniversary this week. Founded in 1998 by a group of social activists, PSM has been an important left-wing voice in Malaysian politics, advocating for social justice, workers rights, the expansion of democracy and most importantly, an equitable and classless society. It is a party that explicitly anchors its politics on class struggle. They’re some of the key people behind the push and implementation of a minimum wage in Malaysia, which was a major victory for workers in this country. However, despite their battles, PSM still struggles to gain traction among the mainstream and at the ballot box. So, what does the future hold for this party? We’re joined by S. Arutchelvan, Deputy Chairperson, Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM). 

Image Credit: PSM Facebook

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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 congestion, public transportation and last-mile connectivity. But since we’re on the road to the Selangor State elections, we dive into that, as well. We’re joined by Rajiv Rishyakaran, ADUN, Bukit Gasing.

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Dr Sharifah Munirah Alatas is a retired academician who believes that universities should be a hub for political discourse and a place to liberate minds. However, this cannot be truly achieved so long as UUCA (or AUKU) – Universities and Universities Colleges Act nor when education is guarded or gatekept by the ruling elite. We unpack this with Dr Sharifah.

Image Credit: http://82-g.blogspot.com/2013/05/kisah-aku-dan-juandajaya-15.html

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Ikea Malaysia has cut ties with a labour recruitment firm that provides security guards after it had violated the retailer’s policies. IKEA said it initiated an investigation following claims that Nepali security guards had to fork out US$1,000 (RM4,400) to obtain the job, according to the Financial Times.

But this isn’t just an isolated problem. In fact, the issue of labour brokers and recruitment agencies is one that has been plaguing Malaysia for years, with dire consequences.

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Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) has launched a campaign, urging the government to implement a pension scheme for senior citizens. Under their proposed pension scheme, all retirees above the age of 65 will receive RM 500 a month. PSM estimates that such a scheme would help 1.8 million senior citizens lead a “dignified” life as well as reduce the financial burden on their children. But is it feasible? Some critics have pointed out that it could be too expensive a burden for the government to bear, while others say the abhorrent situation of most people’s retirement savings is due to their own laziness and inability to plan for the future. 

How much of these arguments hold weight? And why does PSM maintain that this is an absolutely feasible and important piece of legislation that needs to be implemented?

We unpack this with Sivarajan Arumugam, Secretary General of Parti Sosialis Malaysia.

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Over the past 10 years or so, social media has taken over our lives. Most of us have social media accounts, if not live in these spaces altogether. But more than that, it has also become a powerful advocacy tool for marginalised groups, including indigenous communities, sexual minorities, racial minorities and more. It has transformed the lives of these communities by providing a platform for expression, connection, and mobilization. 

And this is what media expert, Dr Benjamin Loh and political scientist, Professor James Chin, explore in their new book titled New Media in the Margins. The book is a fascinating window into the world of marginalised communities on social media. 

Dr Benjamin and Prof James join us on the show to chat about their book. 

If you’d like to buy the book, you can check out Springeror Kinokuniya.

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In a 4-1 decision, the Federal Court bench rejected former premier Najib Abdul Razak's review application in the RM42 million SRC International corruption case last week. Legally, this means Najib will remain behind bars. However, the days that followed have been a fracas, to say the least. For one, it seems like Najib and his allies are unsurprisingly continuing to push for the release of the disgraced former Prime Minister, as members of the UMNO Supreme Council call for a Royal Pardon. 

On a separate note, it was reported yesterday that the High Court has agreed to postpone Zahid's Yayasan Akalbudi trial, as MACC seeks further investigation and AG considers 'new facts'.

As a result, the reformist Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and his coalition government are facing public scrutiny, as they are currently in an alliance with UMNO.

We unpack this with Kevin Zhang from the Malaysian Studies Programme at ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute.

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Public housing has been an important aspect of Malaysian development for decades, as it is viewed as a means to improve the quality of life of the low-income population. While public housing in Malaysia has undergone several transformations over the years, it still faces numerous challenges, including poor living conditions, inadequate maintenance, and ironically, issues with affordability too. 

Badrul Hisham who’s a policy researcher has written a paper for ThinkCity called From Public Housing to Public Homes, which takes a look at the evolution of Malaysian public housing policies, lessons we can learn from it and where we can go from here.

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Malaysia is highly polarised. The results of GE15 told us that much. But just how polarised are we, especially across racial and religious lines? Dr Bridget Welsh who’s a political scientist and an Honorary Research Associate with the University of Nottingham Asia Research Institute Malaysia (UoNARI-M), recently wrote a 7-part series for Malaysiakini breaking down ethnic voting patterns of GE15. 

Dr Bridget Welsh joins us in this episode to unpack her findings.

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It’s no secret that Malaysia has been plagued with issues of racism, religious extremism and xenophobia, for many years. And things have been intensifying since GE15 which painted a highly polarised Malaysia. But just how bad are things looking? And what can we do about it? 

Pusat KOMAS recently released their 2022 Malaysia Racism Report, which aims to document and record incidents of racism, racial discrimination and xenophobia that have taken place in Malaysia, last year.

We unpack the Malaysian Racism Report, with Dr Ryan Chua, Programme Director of Pusat KOMAS. 

If you’d like to read the full report: https://komas.org/launch-of-the-malaysia-racism-report-2022/

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