Beyond the Ballot Box

Recently, Dr Lee Hwok-Aun, Senior Fellow, Malaysian Studies Programme, ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, wrote: “Pakatan Harapan routinely disavows race-based policies, offering instead the notion of need-based policies. This commitment to need-based assistance has constructively focused attention on low-income households, but its prescription for ‘replacing’ race-based programs is fundamentally flawed.” 

This is pretty much an extension of what Hwok-Aun has been writing for years now. 

Question is, why is it fundamentally flawed? Hwok-Aun joins us to share his insight.

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The 10th Prime Minister of Malaysia, Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim has formed his cabinet and things seem to be chugging along relatively smoothly for the mixed coalition government. But at the same time, the survival of this government relies not just on competency but also our fluid and highly volatile political landscape. 

Question is, will Anwar survive the vote of confidence on the 19th of December?

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A look at the results of GE15 tells us that Malaysia is politically polarised. Pakatan Harapan won 37% of the popular vote, followed by PN with 30% and BN with 22%. In fact, Perikatan Nasional (anchored by PAS) managed to win almost the entirety of support deep in the Malay Heartland, namely the Northern and East Coast of the Peninsular. But why are we polarised? What did the progressive block do wrong – and what did PAS do right?

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Now that Anwar Ibrahim has been named the 10th Prime Minister of Malaysia, all eyes are on him to put his cabinet together. So, what should be taken into consideration when choosing the cabinet and will he get to stick to his principles when making his decision? 

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We are a few days away from the 15th General Elections (GE15) happening on the 19th of November. So, on the show today, we’re going to be taking a look at where we are at right now – how are political parties doing on the campaign trail, what’s voter sentiment like on the ground and who could possibly emerge victorious on Saturday.

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Road to GE is a show that explores your power in deciding who serves you in government. 

On today’s episode, we’re explore ideologies and manifestos – what are they and should you familiarize yourself with a party’s ideology and manifesto before deciding which party you’d like to cast your vote for.

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 Malaysian politics has largely been centred around racialised narratives, which is bad in and of itself. But what’s particularly interesting is how Indians (almost similar to Orang Asal/Orang Asli) are regularly not featured even in this racialised discourse. The narrative is always Malays vs Chinese. But just how important is the Indian vote and what are the struggles the community faces?

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People often think that democracy begins and ends at the ballot box. While elections are important -- and everyone should exercise their right to vote -- it's also equally important to understand the power you have beyond voting. On the final episode of ThinkLeft, we discuss the people's power and also how we can make Malaysia's Parliamentary system more democratic. Sivarajan Arumugam, Secretary-General of PSM also shares his party’s aspirations for GE15.

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GE15 is on the horizon. The Election Commission has announced that it will be held on the 19th of November 2022. 

GE15 is going to be very different from GE14, where the narrative was anti-Najib, Anything But UMNO and toppling BN for the first time. Things are different in 2022. The political landscape has changed and so did the sentiment on the ground. So, what could the results of GE15 look like? What are the various combinations and permutations to consider? We speak to Liew Chin Tong, National Elections Director of DAP. 

Image Credit: Wikimedia/Creative Commonsand Facebook/Liew Chin Tong

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On the 10th of October, Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced the dissolution of Parliament. This means that GE15 will be taking place within the next 60 days. While the date has not been announced by the Election Commission yet, many Malaysians have voiced their disgruntlement towards an election being called right smack in what potentially could be a period of heavy floods across the country, as we experienced during monsoon season last year. 

We unpack the politics of #UndiBanjir with Iskandar Fareez of REFSA.

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