Good Things

Sivarajan Arumugam, Secretary General of Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM). He has been fighting for the rights of the marginalised and underprivileged, including plantation and factory workers, orang asli and the likes, for about 30 years. He joins us on the show to share his journey in activism and politics, what radicalised him and growing up in a middle-class Malaysian Indian family.

Image credit: Parti Sosialis Malaysia

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Rajsurian Pillai is the criminal lawyer who has been part of the legal team helping out some of the recent protests that have been taking place, such as the LAWAN protest, candlelight vigil, etc. He joins us on the show today to discuss his journey thus far and the role of a lawyer during a protest.

Image credit: Rajsurian Pillai Facebook Page

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Yu Ren Chung is Deputy Executive Director, Women's Aid Organisation (WAO). He has been a women’s rights activist for close to a decade now and has pushed for various bills and laws such as the Sexual Harassment Bill and now the anti-stalking law. He joins us on the show to share his journey.

Image credit: Yu Ren Chung Facebook Page

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Meera Samanther, a lawyer and veteran women’s rights activist. Meera was the longest-serving president of WAO (11 years) and also served as the president of the Association of Women Lawyers (AWL) for five years.  She joins us on the show to share her journey, struggles and changes she’s seen over the years.

Image credit: Kang & Kang Advocates & Solicitors

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Before entering into the realm of frontline politics, YB Maria Chin Abdullah was first a women’s rights and human rights activist. She was also the President of Bersih 2.0, and at one point even spent 11 days in detention without trial. She joins us to share some memories.

Image credit: YB Maria Chin Twitter

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Cynthia is a key advocate for human rights and good governance in Malaysia for decades. She spent most of her life defending human rights and fighting corruption. She was the Executive Director of SUARAM and even worked with United Nation bodies such as OHCHR & UNODC. After the 2018 elections, she was appointed into the 1MDB special committee, reporting directly to then-Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir. She joins us on this episode to share her journey.

Image credit: Cynthia Gabriel Twitter

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For the last two weeks of the year, we revisit some of the most inspiring conversations we’ve had on the show throughout the year. On this edition of Best of Good Things 2021, we’ll be focusing on young people building a better Malaysia.

Image credit: Amir Abd Hadi, UNDI 18, Closing The Gap, Refuge For Refugees Facebook Page

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Listen to inspiring anecdotes from the OGs – veteran human rights activists who have been relentless for decades – and relive some of the best moments from the show in 2021.

Image credit: Wikimedia Commons, Tatler Asia, SUARAM Facebook Page, learonomics.org, Nalini Elumalai Twitter Page

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Dr. Hartini Zainudin is a child’s rights activist. She is the co-founder of Yayasan Chow Kit and also the Vice President of Voice of the Children, an NGO that does advocacy work, law and policy reforms and training on children’s issues. She joins us on the show to share her journey.

Image credit: Tatler Asia

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Part of her name means peace and bravery, and Mary Shanthi Dairiam has certainly lived up to that, spending the better part of her life tirelessly advocating for women's rights. The founding director of the International Women’s Rights Action Watch? Asia Pacific (IWRAW-Asia Pacific), she has served as an expert assisting key UN agencies, including the United Nations’ Gender Equality Task Force on the Convention for the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) committee from 2004 to 2008. In conjunction with Human Rights Day, we speak to Shanthi to track her journey from English teacher to activist, and discuss why this octogenarian continues to fight against inequality.

Image credit: Tatler Asia

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