Beyond the Ballot Box

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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.

  1. 12/18/2025

    What Does the Future Look Like For Europe?

    Where is Europe heading? This is one of the big questions as we shift towards a more fractured and multipolar world order. Europe is in a moment of deep political and ideological reckoning. After all, we’re seeing the rise of right-wing movements, anti-immigration sentiments, a yearning by some quarters to “go back” to a less multicultural imagined past. In this episode, we have a conversation with Nikita Dhawan, who holds the chair in Political Theory and History of Ideas at the Technical University Dresden. Her research and teaching focus on global justice, human rights, democracy, and decolonization. She is the author of many books, including Rescuing the Enlightenment from the Europeans: Critical Theories of Decolonization. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    49 min

  2. 12/16/2025

    Here’s Why Feminism is Relevant Today -- For Men Too!

    From memes to heated exchanges in the comment section, feminism is often distorted through the lens of viral and even ragebait content on social media and reduced to caricatures and stereotypes. Today, feminism has even become a sort of ‘foul word’ in some quarters, with some women trying to distance themselves from the label, as well. But beyond the noise, lies a global grassroots movement against the patriarchy, shaped by history, economics, and everyday realities on the ground. Maria Castro Varela is a feminist thinker and professor of Pedagogy and Social Work at the Alice Salomon University in Berlin. In this episode, we speak to her about some myths surrounding feminism, what the movement truly stands for, what some feminists get wrong, and why men should be part of the movement too. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    44 min

  3. 12/11/2025

    The Truth About Interethnic Inequality in Malaysia Today

    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. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    36 min

  4. 12/09/2025

    On the Frontline of Domestic Violence Support

    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) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    47 min

  5. 12/04/2025

    The Key Factors that Drive Exploitation of Migrant Workers

    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. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    46 min

  6. 12/02/2025

    Attempting to Break the Israeli Blockade

    Al Awda is a documentary by Singaporean Jason Soo that follows 22 activists from 15 countries as they sail on the Al Awda Flotilla in an attempt to break the Israeli blockade of Gaza in 2018. Originally meant to leave the journey early, Jason ended up remaining on board, capturing the activists’ fears, strategies and decision-making as they approached an inevitable confrontation with the Israeli Occupying Force. Among the activists onboard were Malaysian academic Afandi Salleh and Singaporean exile Dr Ang Swee Chai. In this episode, we speak to Jason about his personal journey in activism, his documentary and more. If you'd like to watch Al Awda, do catch the screening happening on Friday, the 5th of December at 8.30pm at the Damansara Performing Arts Centre (DPAC). Entrance is by a minimum donation of RM30, with proceeds split between crowdfunding for Al Awda and Viva Palestina Malaysia’s winter campaign. Registration for the event is available at bit.ly/AlAwdaKL. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    45 min

  7. 11/27/2025

    Work, Wages and Savings: Unpacking Malaysia’s Economic Reality

    Malaysia’s latest labour force figures paint a mixed and intriguing picture of the economy in 2025. Unemployment has fallen to a decade-low of 3%, signalling a labour market that appears resilient on the surface. Growth is also being supported by strong investment flows and steady expansion across key industries, or at least that’s the impression we get from the headlines every time the government announces billions of dollars of investments coming from one country or another. Yet, beneath that headline lie deeper problems. Large numbers of Malaysians are still working jobs that don’t match their qualifications, wages are still stagnating and there are serious concerns about the inadequacy of retirement savings among a vast majority of people. So, what does this all tell us? And how do we ensure economic dignity and upward mobility for all Malaysians? As we slowly wind down towards the end of the year, in this episode, we unpack these questions with Dr Geoffrey Williams, Economist & Founder of Williams Business Consultancy. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    44 min

  8. 11/25/2025

    Key Lessons From Sabah Election History

    The 2025 Sabah state election is taking place this weekend on the 29th of November. There are close to 600 candidates representing various parties or running independently, contesting for 73 seats. There are multi-cornered fights everywhere. Indeed Sabah is highly democratised and fluid politically. Its electoral history has been shaped by shifting demographics, the struggle over state rights, and cycles of political instability marked by strong personalities and frequent party defections. Recently, Tindak Malaysia published a historical atlas of Sabah elections through the years, exploring the various forces that have shaped Sabah elections. In this episode, we unpack key lessons from Sabah election history with Danesh Prakash Chacko, who's the director of Tindak Malaysia. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    44 min
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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.

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