Pressing Matters

On today's Pressing Matters, Philip speaks to Dr. Olsi Jazexhi from the Department of History at the International Islamic University Malaysia, discussing the potential ripple effects, both regionally and globally, following the recent demise of former Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi. Additionally, Dr. Olsi weighs in on whether this event might signal a forthcoming shift in the power structure away from conservative factions in the upcoming elections to replace Ebrahim Raisi.

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We continue our discussion on press freedom. Last week Philip See spoke to Watshlah Naidu on Malaysia’s drop in press freedom ranking and on today’s show we take a more global view and get the perspective from Reporters without borders RSF Asia-Pacific Bureau Director Cédric Alviani to really understand how press freedom has been faring all around the world.

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On Pressing Matters, Philip See speaks to Wathshlah Naidu, Executive Director, Center for Independent Journalism to get her perspective on the recently announced results from the Reporters without Borders RSF World Press Freedom Index. Malaysia’s ranking dropped 34 spots from its 73rd position last year and we get her perspective whether the excuse by Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil's comments about taking into consideration 'Eastern Values' really is valid?

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Philip See speaks to Yanitha Meena, analyst at the Institute of Strategic and International Studies Malaysia (ISIS Malaysia) about the upcoming general election in India which will be the largest polls held this year with over 970 million people having an opportunity to decide if they would like to give Prime Minister Narendra Modi a 3rd term.

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Philip See speaks to Dr Anas Iqtait from the Middle East and Central Asia Studies of Australian National University to shed some light on the governance structure of the Palestinian Authority, its revenue streams and its ability to deliver these services that we normally take a government would deliver for granted. With the current conflict in Gaza, we get his perspective on the challenges of governing Palestine and what dual-rentierism means!

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For Pressing Matters, Philip See speaks to former US ambassador Gerald Feierstein who is currently a senior fellow on U.S. diplomacy at the Middle East Institute in Washington DC as we get his take on the developing crisis taking place in the Middle East. In today’s episode we deep dive in to the tensions between Israel and Iran on the back of the recent attacks launched by both sides on  their respective territories.

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On today's Pressing Matters, we continue our deep dive on how this Palestine - Isreal conflict is shaping our lives.  We speak to Phyllis Bennis, a writer, activist, and political commentator as well as fellow from the Institute for Policy Studies at Washington DC as we get her take on how the Palestine- Israel conflict is shaped by and also shaping the broader international community. We get her perspective on how this war is testing multi-lateral institutions and whether there will be a rise of militarism all across the globe as a result of this conflict.

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Philip See speaks to Raja Khalidi, Director General of the Palestine Economic Policy Research Institute about the state of Palestine’s economy before and after the current conflict. We get his take on the structure of Palestine’s economy and how it is intertwined with Israel and whether it can leverage on its diaspora to rebuild the economy that has been ravaged.

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In today's Pressing Matters, Philip See speaks to Gordon Fairclough World Coverage Chief from the Wall Street Journal on the wrongful detention Wall Street Journal Journalist Evan Gershkovich. Evan was detained by Russia's Federal Security Service on charges of espionage in March 2023, marking the first time a journalist working for an American outlet had been arrested on charges of spying in Russia since the Cold War. In conjunction with the 1 year anniversary of his detention, we discuss Gordon how Evan is doing and what is likelihood of him being released soon.

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On today’s Pressing Matters, Professor Dwight H. Perkins from Harvard University sheds some light on Vietnam’s political power structures and how it impacts the economic and foreign policy trajectory of the country. We have this timely conversation, following the sudden resignation of its President Vo Van Thuong who resigned from the post which he has held for less than a year.

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