Beyond the Ballot Box

Last week, a political debate took place between former Prime Minister Najib Razak and opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim. The debate centred around Sapura Energy Bhd, as well as the economic future of this nation. But was the debate useful for the masses? Does it promote healthy democracy or did it do more to legitimize Najib, who’s convicted of corruption.

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We’re all part of a global capitalist economy – A system that promised to benefit the rich and the poor alike. Yet, youth unemployment rate has been on the rise, salaries have stagnated for close to 20 years, despite the massive increase in cost of living. Cost of education is at an all-time high and the average millennial and Gen Z cannot even afford adequate housing on a single paycheck, despite it being a fundamental human right.

So, what went wrong? And what’s the solution?

This is ThinkLeft on Beyond the Ballot Box, a series that explores various issues through a leftist/socialist prism, with Parti Sosialis Malaysia.

On the first episode of the series, we take a look at what exactly is socialism, especially in the 21st Century.

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Nagaenthran Dharmalingam, a Malaysian man with mental disabilities convicted for drug trafficking, was executed by the Singaporean government on 27th April 2022. This happened despite protests and public pressure both online and offline in Malaysia and Singapore and letters from Prime Minister Ismail Sabri and the Yang di-Pertuan Agong. 

On top of that, Singapore will be executing another Malaysian man, Datchinamurthy Kataiah, on 29 April 2022 over trafficking 44.96g of diamorphine into the city-state.

A lot has been said over the past few weeks about the Singapore government’s ruthlessness and lack of compassion and empathy. Calls for the Singapore government to abolish the death penalty is said to be at an all time high. 

However, criticising our neighbours is one thing. We also have to reflect on where we, Malaysians, are when it comes to the death penalty. While we do have a moratorium in place, the law has not been abolished. 

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Last Thursday, UMNO made the decision to announce incumbent Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, as the party’s PM candidate for GE15. This announcement certainly came as a surprise, as many expected Mohamad Hasan (Tok Mat) or perhaps even party president Zahid Hamidi to be named instead. But what does the naming of Ismail Sabri as PM candidate mean for UMNO, and does that tell us anything about when GE15 will be held?

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Parti Keadilan Rakyat’s party elections are just around the corner. The nominations are in, with results set to be announced on June 26. While there will be no changes right at the top – as incumbent President Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim has retained his post uncontested – there’s a lot of excitement at other leadership levels with the likes of Rafizi Ramli announcing his return to frontline politics by gunning for the Deputy President post. But what does this mean for the future of PKR?

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After the string of state elections, all eyes are now on GE-15, which many experts anticipate would most likely be taking place sometime this year. While it’s impossible to give a concrete answer as to who’s going to win GE15, there’s a lot that can be analysed and learned from recent trends as well as simulations.

Recently, Dr Bridget Welsh, honorary research associate at the University of Nottingham Malaysia’s Asia Research Institute,analysed recent trends and simulations and came up with predictions for the upcoming General Elections.

Dr Bridget joins us on the show today to discuss.

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Has Pakatan Harapan lost its lustre? The voter turnouts at the recent string of elections have been low. Pakatan Harapan has faced defeat after defeat. Many political analysts have suggested that a big chunk of the voters who aren’t going out to vote are fence-sitters who previously voted for Harapan. On today’s episode we’re going to be discussing Harapan’s failings, as well as some shake ups happening in the camp consisting of PKR, DAP and AMANAH that may rejuvenate voter interest. Iskandar Fareez of DAP’s youth wing, joins us to discuss.

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Yesterday, Parliament voted down a motion to extend the enforcement period for a provision under the Security Offences (Special Measures) 2012 Act (Sosma). The provision, namely Section 4(5) of SOSMA is an important one, which allows for detention without trial for up to 28 days. This provision must be renewed by parliament every five years to remain valid. However, yesterday in a news that has been celebrated by progressives and human rights defenders across the country, the motion to renew the provision was voted down 86-84. But what does this mean exactly? Sevan Doraisamy of SUARAM joins us to discuss.

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The UMNO General Assembly took place last week and a whole bunch of stories have come out of it – a threeway battle to be UMNO’s PM candidate, the Najib factor, their waning partnership with PAS, etc. Dr Oh Ei Sun joins us to unpack.

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The Johor state elections took place last weekend. Barisan Nasional secured 40 out of 56 seats, a 2/3 majority victory, Pakatan Harapan won 12 seats, MUDA 1 and Perikatan Nasional 3. This is the 3rd thumping defeat in a row for Harapan and its allies after Sarawak and Melaka. On today’s episode, we take a closer look at the results and discuss what they could mean for our political landscape moving forward.

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