How Will Johor Transform Over the Next Decade?

We're just a few days away from the Johor state election on the 11th of July. As Johor positions itself to become one of Malaysia's most important economic engines, with the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone aiming to attract major investments and high-value industries, questions are also being…

Ones to Watch #1: UNDI 18, Buyers Regret?

1.2 million youth became eligible voters when Malaysia lowered the voting age to 18 in 2019. As Malaysia enters another season of elections, are youth ready to step up to participate in national politics? Nurul Rifayah, a youth activist and Ahmed Faris, CEO of Impact Integrated, walk us through ref…

What Explains Malaysia’s Long-Standing Low Wage Problem?

The big perennial problem in Malaysia is wages. A lot of Malaysians today feel they're working harder but not getting ahead—they're either experiencing stagnant incomes or finding themselves worse off than the generation before—because wages remain stubbornly low. Despite years of economic growth, …

Why Malaysia Needs a More Robust Refugee Framework

According to UNHCR, there are about 117 million asylum seekers worldwide as of 2025. In Malaysia, approximately 200,000 refugees and asylum seekers are registered with UNHCR, with estimates suggesting the actual number may be significantly higher. In past interviews, we’ve talked extensively about …

Is Liberalism Fading? What Comes Next?

Since the end of World War II, the world has been underpinned by a particular global economic system: Liberalism. This has solidified further since the end of the Cold War and has remained largely unchanged for decades. However, for various reasons that we will unpack throughout this conversation, …

The Big Political and Economic Challenges Facing Malaysia

Many Malaysians are familiar with the story of how colonial powers used divide-and-rule policies to reshape Malayan society, creating ethnic and class structures whose effects continue to reverberate today.  But how should we understand our political and economic development post-independence?  H…

Malaysia’s Death Formula

An extensive new report by the criminal justice system reform NGO Hayat contends that Malaysia’s anti-drug framework has evolved into a system that often punishes low-level couriers who are deceived and manipulated rather than kingpins that run the show. It traces this problem to two key legal mech…

The Truth About US and Israel's Relationship With Iran

The Strait of Hormuz has been blocked for a few months now, which has resulted in a global energy crisis. While some hope things will return to the way they were, many geopolitical experts think this is the new normal. So it's all the more reason for us to understand the conflict between Iran and…

Does Singapore Need More Democracy?

Dr Chee Soon Juan is one of Singapore’s most prominent opposition politicians and has served as secretary-general of the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) since 1993. Despite not having a seat in Parliament, Chee has spent decades advocating greater political pluralism, civil liberties, democratic r…

How International Institutions and Structures Failed Palestine

Saul Takahashi is a Japanese human rights lawyer and academic known for his work on Palestine, international human rights law, and Islamophobia research. He served as Deputy Head of Office of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Occupied Palestine from March 2009 to May 2014. …