Markela Panegyres is an Australian performance artist, academic, activist and a member of the Socialist Alliance Australia. Known for her raw, provocative performances and video installations, she explores themes of trauma, memory, power, and resistance. Beyond the arts, she is a vocal left-wing organiser deeply involved in Palestine solidarity work, actively campaigns for the academic boycott of Israel, and has helped lead student and staff actions pushing universities to cut ties with Israeli institutions. 

In this episode, we speak to her about her journey as an activist and discuss how the Palestine solidarity movement can evolve from winning the discourse to winning tangible changes. 

Markela Panegyres is an Australian performance artist, academic, activist and a member of the Socialist Alliance Australia. Known for her raw, provocative performances and video installations, she explores themes of trauma, memory, power, and resistance. Beyond the arts, she is a vocal left-wing organiser deeply involved in Palestine solidarity work, actively campaigns for the academic boycott of Israel, and has helped lead student and staff actions pushing universities to cut ties with Israeli institutions. In this episode, we speak to her about her journey as an activist and discuss how the Palestine solidarity movement can evolve from winning the discourse to winning tangible changes.

As they say, democracy doesn't begin and end at the ballot box. 
On Beyond the Ballot Box, we have in-depth conversations about political economy and human rights in Malaysia, Southeast Asia, and around the globe through a class prism.

As they say, democracy doesn't begin and end at the ballot box. On Beyond the Ballot Box, we have in-depth conversations about political economy and human rights in Malaysia, Southeast Asia, and around the globe through a class prism.

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.

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.

What Would It Take for the Palestine Solidarity Movement to Turn Protest into Material Change?

Ethnic affirmative action has shaped Malaysian policymaking and political discourse for more than five decades. The transformational New Economic Policy (NEP) and subsequent similar frameworks have anchored national debates on inequality, opportunity, and the country’s broader social contract. 

Yet despite how central these policies are to our politics, our understanding of where interethnic inequality actually stands today is surprisingly patchy: we know the broad narrative, but not the details. We talk about progress or regress, quotas and meritocracy, but rarely examine who has moved up, who has stalled, and why. 

In this episode, we speak to Lee Hwok-Aun, a Senior Fellow and Co-coordinator of the Malaysia Studies Programme at ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute. He recently published an article titled Interethnic income inequality in Malaysia: Revisiting Old Records, Exploring New Narratives, which takes a hard look at these questions and challenges some of our long-held assumptions. 

Ethnic affirmative action has shaped Malaysian policymaking and political discourse for more than five decades. The transformational New Economic Policy (NEP) and subsequent similar frameworks have anchored national debates on inequality, opportunity, and the country’s broader social contract.&nbsp;Yet despite how central these policies are to our politics, our understanding of where interethnic inequality actually stands today is surprisingly patchy: we know the broad narrative, but not the details. We talk about progress or regress, quotas and meritocracy, but rarely examine who has moved up, who has stalled, and why.&nbsp;In this episode, we speak to Lee Hwok-Aun, a Senior Fellow and Co-coordinator of the Malaysia Studies Programme at ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute. He recently published an article titled <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.ehm.my/publications/articles/interethnic-income-inequality-in-malaysia-revisiting-old-records-exploring-new-narratives">Interethnic income inequality in Malaysia: Revisiting Old Records, Exploring New Narratives</a>, which takes a hard look at these questions and challenges some of our long-held assumptions.

The Truth About Interethnic Inequality in Malaysia Today

9% of Malaysian women who have ever been in a relationship experience domestic violence. 9% may not seem like much, but that essentially amounts to about 800,000 Malaysian women. These are the very realities that Eswari Varanarasamma from WAO confronts in her daily work.

Eswari Varanarasamma is a social worker at the Women’s Aid Organisation, where she works closely with women and children affected by domestic violence. In light of WAO’s 16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence campaign, in this episode, we speak to Eswari about her journey as a social worker, some of the challenges she faces, and more.



If you’re experiencing domestic violence, here are some numbers you can contact. You are not alone. 


WAO Hotline: +603 3000 8858 (9 am – 5 pm)


SMS/WhatsApp TINA: +6018 988 8058 (24 hours)

9% of Malaysian women who have ever been in a relationship experience domestic violence. 9% may not seem like much, but that essentially amounts to about 800,000 Malaysian women. These are the very realities that Eswari Varanarasamma from WAO confronts in her daily work.Eswari Varanarasamma is a social worker at the Women’s Aid Organisation, where she works closely with women and children affected by domestic violence. In light of WAO’s 16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence campaign, in this episode, we speak to Eswari about her journey as a social worker, some of the challenges she faces, and more.If you’re experiencing domestic violence, here are some numbers you can contact. You are not alone. <ul><li>WAO Hotline: +603 3000 8858 (9 am – 5 pm)</li><li>SMS/WhatsApp TINA: +6018 988 8058 (24 hours)</li></ul>

On the Frontline of Domestic Violence Support

United Nations experts have warned that there is “widespread and systematic” exploitation and deception affecting Bangladeshi workers in Malaysia. In their statement, they highlight excessive and fraudulent recruitment fees, false job offers, passport confiscation, forced labour and forced return. Simply put, this is debt bondage, or to put it even more plainly, modern-day slavery. 

But what is driving this? How much do poverty, desperation, the lack of opportunity in home countries, and the reliance on cheap labour in the Malaysian economy contribute to and maintain this system? 

In this episode, we speak to Adrian Pereira, who’s the Director of the North South Initiative (NSI), about corruption, the imbalance of power, inequality and the international division of labour. 

<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/11/malaysia-un-experts-sound-alarm-over-continued-systematic-exploitation">United Nations experts have warned that there is “widespread and systematic” exploitation and deception affecting Bangladeshi workers in Malaysia.</a> In their statement, they highlight excessive and fraudulent recruitment fees, false job offers, passport confiscation, forced labour and forced return. Simply put, this is debt bondage, or to put it even more plainly, modern-day slavery. But what is driving this? How much do poverty, desperation, the lack of opportunity in home countries, and the reliance on cheap labour in the Malaysian economy contribute to and maintain this system? In this episode, we speak to Adrian Pereira, who’s the Director of the North South Initiative (NSI), about corruption, the imbalance of power, inequality and the international division of labour.

What Would It Take for the Palestine Solidarity Movement to Turn Protest into Material Change?

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