Beyond the Ballot Box
Beyond the Ballot Box
As they say, democracy doesn't begin and end at the ballot box. On Beyond the Ballot Box, we speak to politicians and analysts and explore burning issues and questions surrounding our fluid and ever-changing political scene.Social links:
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Reform or Regression? AG-PP Split, MACC Controversy and MADANI’s Promises
Malaysia today finds itself at an important juncture. For starters, the MADANI government is currently led by a reformist coalition and a Prime Minister who has championed good governance and institutional reform for decades. The past few weeks have been especially pivotal, though. On the one han…
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Iran, US, Israel: Can Regime Change Be Defended in the Name of Human Rights?
Two days ago, the U.S. and Israel launched massive joint air operations against Iran, saying they were targeting military infrastructure and seeking regime change. Hundreds of civilians have been killed, including more than a hundred young Iranian girls, whose school was bombed. Several senior Iran…
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How Transparent and Accountable Are Major Political Parties in Malaysia?
For the longest time, particularly since the late 90s, then-opposition parties from PKR to DAP to PAS campaigned on a platform of anti-corruption and anti-cronyism, against the Barisan Nasional. This only intensified during former, disgraced Prime Minister Najib Razak’s time in power and the 1MDB s…
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Understanding The Politics of Eviction in Malaysia
We often hear about neighbourhoods being evicted, houses being torn down, and communities organising against the state or private developers, demanding fair compensation, proper consultation, and the right to remain on their land. Development, Displacement and Democracy: The Place of Eviction Prot…
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How Films Can Help Us Make Sense of the World
Take One Action is an initiative based in Scotland that uses film as a tool to help people make sense of the world. The organisation curates documentaries and features that explore themes like inequality, climate justice, human rights, and collective action, often pairing them with discussions, wor…
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China Rising Part 2: Taiwan, Xinjiang, Sovereignty and Human Rights
For many of us born in the 90s, we’ve only known one world: A world where the US has been the singular hegemon, leading what we call a unipolar world. This has been the case since the tail end of the Cold War and especially so after the fall of the Berlin Wall. But things are changing. There’s pl…
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China Rising Part 1: How the Unipolar World Is Ending
For many of us born in the 90s, we’ve only known one world: A world where the US has been the singular hegemon, leading what we call a unipolar world. This has been the case since the tail end of the Cold War and especially so after the fall of the Berlin Wall. But things are changing. There’s pl…
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What Do the Epstein Files Teach Us About Power?
Jeffrey Epstein was a financier and convicted sex offender whose network spanned the worlds of finance, politics, academia, and celebrity. Recently, the U.S. Department of Justice released what is now known as the Epstein Files. There are over 3 million pages, 2,000+ videos, and 180,000+ images, …
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Do Business Schools Play a Role in Normalising Labour Exploitation?
We often discuss the exploitation of labour, especially at the very bottom of the chain, namely the migrant workers who are frequently trapped in conditions that resemble modern-day slavery. But one thing we haven’t really interrogated is the role of business schools: what they teach, what they l…
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How Cartels Shape the Migrant Labour System in Malaysia
Recently, Bloomberg published an in-depth investigation into the recruitment of Bangladeshi migrant workers into Malaysia, exposing how inflated fees, cartel-like recruitment structures and political protection have trapped thousands of workers in debt, exploitation and, in some cases, human traffi…
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