New Naratif's Southeast Asia Dispatches: Recent Episodes
New Naratif
Southeast Asia Dispatches is a fortnightly podcast bringing you reports, interviews and commentary from New Naratif’s network around Southeast Asia.
The Social Media Licensing Framework is one of the ways that the Malaysian government is trying to control online interactions of its citizens. However, where did this licensing framework emerge from?
In this episode of Southeast Asia Dispatches, we talk to Khairil Yusof from the Sinar Project about the lessons we can learn from past actions of civil society, the government, and tech companies, alongside the factors that we need to be paying attention to this time around.
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In its early days, many looked to the internet as a tool for people from around the world to connect and share ideas freely. But the last few decades have shown that authoritarian governments the world over see the internet as a challenge to their power and have taken steps to limit the ways people can share their thoughts and organise. This is the shift that our guest, Trần Quỳnh-Vi of Legal Initiatives for Vietnam, has seen happen in Vietnam today. In this episode we talk to her to understand the ways that the government tries to limit internet freedoms in Vietnam, and how they have forced the hand of tech companies to comply with their regulations.LIV's Website: https://www.liv.ngo/
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In his efforts to platform the struggles of Masyarakat Bajau Laut in Sabah, Mukmin Nantang was detained and his home and workplace harassed. All of this was done under the Sedition Act. What is the Sedition Act and what can we learn from Mukmin’s advocacy and fighting the charges against him.
Borneo Komrad's Website:
https://www.borneokomrad.net/tentang-kami/
Today we want to discuss a very particular kind of censorship. It’s a subtle kind of censorship, it materialises in behind the scenes, in everyday interactions between coworkers and editors. To some it won’t even be apparent that censorship is going on. Today I want to find out if media work has a masculinity problem, and just how deep does it run.
What does it mean to be invisible? Do you need to be completely hidden, or is it simply lacking a voice, or maybe having an uninterested audience? And once you’re hidden, how do you bridge that gap to be seen again?
In this episode we talk with Journalist S. Noina Supratya and examine how a legacy of Thai centrality erases the news from local and rural media outlets. We’ll also discuss the new and unexpected ways journalists can overcome this erasure.
Thai Publications you can support:
- Prachatai
- HaRDstories
- The Isaan Record
This episode was recorded in front of an online live audience as part of our Media Freedom Network Legal Briefing activity.This episode was recorded in front of an online live audience as part of our Media Freedom Network Legal Briefing activity. In this episode with Fatia Muliyadiyanti and Haris Azhar we discuss their court victory following their criminalisation over a video discussing the involvement of Indonesia’s Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment, Luhut Binsar Panjaitan, in Papua’s mining operations and continued military occupation. We also discuss the sweeping victory of Prabowo Subianto ex-special forces commander with an alleged history of human rights abuses, in the 2024 general elections.
You can also find this podcast on our website. Our movement needs your support. A movement is only as strong as its members. If you believe in a more democratic Southeast Asia, join New Naratif as a member here.
Transparency and accountability and historical awareness are some of the most important pillars of democracy. Historical revisionism is an affront to that democracy. And enforced disappearances, where the police or military or paramilitary forces knock on your door and kidnap you, has always been the bedrock of such revisionism.
In this episode with Wulan Kusuma Wardhani and Celia Sevilla, we will talk about the cases of enforced disappearance in Indonesia and the Philippines, mechanisms for dealing with enforced disappearances, and what kind of regional solidarity that we need to tackle this issue.
You can also find this podcast on our website. Our movement needs your support. A movement is only as strong as its members. If you believe in a more democratic Southeast Asia, join New Naratif as a member through our website.
Editors Note: At 47:44, we mentioned "72 organisations" it is supposed to say "72 ratifications".
In this episode, Wai Liang Tham (New Naratif's Researcher) and Avon Ang (Altermidya's National Coordinator) will talk about the 2nd and the 3rd publication of New Naratif’s Media Freedom Insights series titled “Engendering Media Freedom”, the role of Altermidya, and what to expect from New Naratif’s 4th MFI publication.
You can also find this podcast on our website. Our movement needs your support. A movement is only as strong as its members. If you believe in a more democratic Southeast Asia, join New Naratif as a member through our website.
In this episode, Oktaria Asmarani (New Naratif's Researcher) and Thilaga Sulathireh (Justice for Sisters) will talk about the systemic and structural issues that hinder the practice of inclusive democracy in Southeast Asia, the cases in Malaysia, the role of research, and the importance of regional solidarity.
You can also find this podcast on our website. Our movement needs your support. A movement is only as strong as its members. If you believe in a more democratic Southeast Asia, join New Naratif as a member here.
This is a special edition of the podcast, the fourth of six episodes in the Pegasus series that New Naratif are co-producing together with KBR. Three episodes will be conducted in English, while three in Bahasa Indonesia, which you can find at Ruang Publik at kbrprime.id.
At a time when the use of spyware is becoming increasingly normalised and the lines between counterterrorism efforts and surveillance technologies are increasingly blurred, it is important to secure human rights before national security through collective action on rights-based approaches to counter-terrorism.
In this episode, Gema Gita Persada (LBH Pers) and Ni Putu Candra Dewi (Manushya Foundation) will talk about unlawful surveillance in Southeast Asia, what can we do about it, and of course, what can the listeners do to help this process.
You can also find this podcast on our website. Our movement needs your support. A movement is only as strong as its members. If you believe in a more democratic Southeast Asia, join New Naratif as a member here.
This episode was recorded in front of an online live audience as part of our Media Freedom Network Legal Briefing activity. It is also part of our Pegasus Series, a series of podcasts, comics, articles, and other conversations on the Israeli spyware Pegasus and its unlawful applications in Indonesia and the rest of Southeast Asia.
We hope that this legal briefing session can help media practitioners and members of the public in Southeast Asia and beyond. We also hope to establish further cooperation in our efforts to promote democracy and media freedom in Southeast Asia.
You can also find this podcast on our website. Our movement needs your support. A movement is only as strong as its members. If you believe in a more democratic Southeast Asia, join New Naratif as a member here.
This is a special edition of the Southeast Asia Dispatches, the third of six episodes in the Pegasus series that we are co-producing together with KBR. Three episodes will be conducted in English, while three in Bahasa Indonesia, which you can find at Ruang Publik at KBRPrime.id.
In our previous two episodes of Pegasus Series, we discovered that we need to push the government to form an investigation team related to Pegasus spyware in Indonesia. This team will also serve as checks and balances for the use of Pegasus and other surveillance tools in Indonesia.
However, until now there has been no follow-up from the government regarding this situation. In 2021, Member of Commission I DPR, Effendi Simbolon, said that Indonesia was indeed using Pegasus. According to him, this tool has long been used by Indonesian intelligence, mainly to deal with terrorism.
On the other hand, the Head of the Technology, Informatics and Communications Division of the National Police, Slamet Uliandi, did not deny the use of zero-click based spyware, but not Pegasus.
In this episode, Gema Gita Persada (LBH Pers) will discuss surveillance regulations in Indonesia, unlawful surveillance, and the role of civil society.
You can also find this podcast on our website. Our movement needs your support. A movement is only as strong as its members. If you believe in a more democratic Southeast Asia, join New Naratif as a member here.
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Dari pembicaraan pada 2 episode sebelumnya di Pegasus Series, kita mendapati betapa pentingnya menekan pemerintah Indonesia untuk membentuk tim investigasi sesuai dengan kewajiban konstitusionalnya. Tim ini juga akan berfungsi sebagai checks and balances untuk penggunaan Pegasus dan alat-alat pemantauan lainnya di Indonesia.Namun, hingga saat ini belum ada tindak lanjut dari pemerintah terkait situasi ini. Pada 2021 silam, Anggota Komisi I DPR, Effendi Simbolon, menyebut Indonesia memang memakai Pegasus. Menurutnya, sudah lama alat itu digunakan oleh para intelijen Indonesia, terutama menangani terorisme.
Di sisi lain, Kepala Divisi Teknologi, Informatika, dan Komunikasi Polri Slamet Uliandi tak membantah adanya penggunaan penyadap berbasis zero-click, tapi bukan Pegasus.Dalam episode kali ini, Gema Gita Persada (LBH Pers) akan membahas tentang peraturan penyadapan di Indonesia, pelanggaran-pelanggaran yang terjadi, serta bagaimana peran masyarakat sipil dalam menghadapi situasi ini.
We’ve covered the political situation in Thailand before in this podcast – a constant struggle between pro-democracy factions and former royalist powers. Although there are members of the press on both sides, the idea and maintenance of press freedom itself remains a challenge, especially since the 2014 military coup.
In this episode, we're talking with New, a citizen journalist and pro-democracy activist who believes that there are ways to maintain your safety while still being very very critical of the government. New is not employed by any news organisation and covers protests voluntarily.
In this episode, we're talking about New's personal experiences, how to stay safe, and, of course, the kind of regional solidarity that we need for Thailand across Southeast Asia.
You can also find this podcast on our website. Our movement needs your support. A movement is only as strong as its members. If you believe in a more democratic Southeast Asia, join New Naratif as a member here.
The Citizens’ Agenda is a space for citizens to express their concerns and increase their political participation. In general, it is a survey aimed at creating a space for citizens to express their concerns and increase their political participation.
Your concerns will then be used to guide our democracy classes and media coverage to create pathways for citizens to engage in politics and help Southeast Asians Participate as citizens in their communities more easily.
In this episode, we will talk about New Naratif’s The Citizens Agenda, 22 most important issues facing Indonesia in 2023, and what we can do about it.
You can also find this podcast on our website. Our movement needs your support. A movement is only as strong as its members. If you believe in a more democratic Southeast Asia, join New Naratif as a member here.
In February 2023, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen ordered the closure of one of the country's last independent local news outlets, Voice of Democracy (VOD), saying it had attacked him and his son and caused damage to the country. VOD is one of the few independent and vital media outlets left in Cambodia since the media crackdown circa 2017-2018.
Silence of the press is one of the Cambodian government's strategies to stay in power. Freedom House observed that the 2018 Cambodian elections took place "in an extremely repressive environment".
In this episode, we will talk about media shutdowns and shrinking democratic space in Cambodia, how media workers and the public alike are dealing with the situation, and how regional solidarity is really important to create change.
You can also find this podcast on our website. Our movement needs your support. A movement is only as strong as its members. If you believe in a more democratic Southeast Asia, join New Naratif as a member here.
In July 2022, Jasmin Rubia, Kenneth Rementilla, and Hailey Pecayo took part in a fact-finding mission to look into the alleged murder of Kylene Casao, a 9-year-old girl, and Maximino Digno, a 50-year-old farmer, by members of the 59th Infantry Battalion on July 18 in Taysan, Batangas. Later, the military stated that people who took part in the fact-finding mission were giving terrorists material assistance.The law authorises the police and military to hold people for up to 24 days without a warrant or charge. This is clearly in violation of international laws and standards. But this is what red-tagging does: giving the government vast rights to conduct surveillance and label groups or people as terrorists without due process, or in fact any clarity on how that label can be removed afterwards.In this episode, we will talk about the Kyllene and Maximino investigation, the ATA law in the Philippines, and what we can do as Southeast Asians to support the persecuted activists and to vigorously fight for the repeal of said law.
You can also find this podcast on our website. Our movement needs your support. A movement is only as strong as its members. If you believe in a more democratic Southeast Asia, join New Naratif as a member here.
Based on April 2023 figures from the Home Ministry, a total of 1,030 children, 43% of whom are girls, are currently being held in 19 immigration detention centres across Malaysia. Two-thirds of these are unaccompanied and separated children.
There are alternatives to detention that ensures proper administration of migration in kinder, more successful, and less expensive ways that do not include arrest or imprisonment. We call this Alternatives to Detention, or ATD. But if that’s so promising, why hasn’t there been any concrete action?
In this episode, Hannah Jambunathan (International Detention Coalition) and Joshua Low (New Naratif) will talk about children in Malaysia’s immigration detention centres, what the deal is with the holdup in the Malaysian government, and what researchers and non-researchers can do to help advocacy moving forward.
You can also find this podcast on our website. Our movement needs your support. A movement is only as strong as its members. If you believe in a more democratic Southeast Asia, join New Naratif as a member here.
This is a special edition of the Southeast Asia Dispatches, the first of six episodes in the Pegasus series that we are co-producing together with KBR. Three episodes will be conducted in English, while three in Bahasa Indonesia, which you can find at Ruang Publik at KBRPrime.id.
Pegasus Spyware has been used in over 24 countries throughout the world, including Thailand and Ukraina, even a narcotics cartel in Mexico. Data from Indonesia Leaks reveals that Pegasus was purchased in 2018 from its developer, NSO Group, a cyber weapons company from Israel. In this episode, Ika Ningtyas (AJI Indonesia) and Imal (SAFENet) will discuss the Indonesia Leaks report, the impact of Pegasus on human rights in Indonesia, and the role of civil society in this situation.
You can also find this podcast on our website. Our movement needs your support. A movement is only as strong as its members. If you believe in a more democratic Southeast Asia, join New Naratif as a member here.
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Pegasus adalah perangkat lunak mata-mata atau spyware yang telah digunakan di lebih dari 24 negara di seluruh dunia, termasuk Thailand dan Ukraina, serta bahkan kartel narkotika di Meksiko. Data dari Indonesia Leaks mengungkapkan bahwa Pegasus dibeli pada tahun 2018 dari pengembangnya, NSO Group, sebuah perusahaan senjata siber asal Israel. Dalam episode kali ini kami bersama Ika Ningtyas (AJI Indonesia) dan Imal (SAFENet) akan membahas tentang laporan Indonesia Leaks, dampak Pegasus terhadap hak asasi manusia di Indonesia, dan peran masyarakat sipil dalam situasi ini.
This is a special edition of the Southeast Asia Dispatches, the first of six episodes in the Pegasus series that we are co-producing together with KBR. Three episodes will be conducted in English, while three in Bahasa Indonesia, which you can find at Ruang Publik at KBRPrime.id.
In 2022, iLaw, Digital Reach, and The Citizen Lab discovered a large-scale espionage campaign targeting pro-democracy demonstrators and activists calling for monarchy reform in Thailand. At least 30 people were infected with NSO Group's Pegasus spyware.
Thailand's parliament has so far failed to introduce regulation or countermeasures against the government's extensive and evolving surveillance powers, while government accountability mechanisms have weakened and attacks on civil society continue.
You can also find this podcast on our website. Our movement needs your support. A movement is only as strong as its members. If you believe in a more democratic Southeast Asia, join New Naratif as a member here.
Thailand’s political situation has been rather tumultuous for a while. What began as pro-democracy marches by students in February 2020 expanded into endless protests against the pro-military administration, and has become the first time in modern Thai history that the monarchy has been discussed openly in a critical manner, despite the fact that doing so is a punishable violation.
At the height of the situation, the movement also founded protection mechanisms for human rights defenders and activists which aim to provide digital security support and assistance to activists in need through helpline service.
In this episode, Bonnibel Rambatan and Darika Bamrungchok will be talking about what’s happening in Thailand after the Elections and the importance of digital security support during protests.
You can also find this podcast on our website. Our movement needs your support. A movement is only as strong as its members. If you believe in a more democratic Southeast Asia, join New Naratif as a member here.
This episode is based on their short comic trilogy called “The Rites of Passage: A Tale of Queer Migration” by Asmara S. Wigati. In this episode, Asmara and Bonni discusses the trilogy, Asmara’s journey, and how we can build better connections and collective care for queer people in Indonesia.
You can check the trilogy through the link below:
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Separation & Liminality
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Transition
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Homeward
You can also find this podcast on our website. Our movement needs your support. A movement is only as strong as its members. If you believe in a more democratic Southeast Asia, join New Naratif as a member here.
In general, the national media in Indonesia either ignores LGBTQ+ issues or does not cover them at all. Otherwise, when they publish such content, they are blatantly reflecting hate and discrimination through the language, choice of sources, and use of news frames. In this episode, Bonnibel Rambatan and Widia Primastika will talk about the queerphobia media ecosystem in Indonesia, policies that forbid publishing news on LGBTQIA+, and where do journalist queer peoples stand. Previously, we also published Tika's article titled "Queerphobia in the Newsroom: Beyond the News on LGBTQIA+" as one of our Media Freedom Voices publication.
You can also find this podcast on our website.
Our movement needs your support. A movement is only as strong as its members. If you believe in a more democratic Southeast Asia, join New Naratif as a member here.
In this episode, Bonnibel Rambatan and PJ Thum will be talking about New Naratif’s upcoming Principles of Democracy project and what it takes to build a democracy.
In the upcoming months, we’ll be publishing a series of articles on principles of democracy, illustrated through concrete examples from Southeast Asia, showing how Southeast Asians define and promote democracy in their communities. We’ll also be holding Democracy Classrooms, about once a month, online, on these principles, which you can also take part in. So, what else does it take to build a democracy?
You can also find this podcast on our website at https://newnaratif.com/sead-principles-of-democracy/
Our movement needs your support. A movement is only as strong as its members. If you believe in a more democratic Southeast Asia, join New Naratif as a member https://newnaratif.com/product/membership/
The start of the new decade in 2020 was devastating and demoralising for many Malaysians. Millions of Malaysians' quality of life has been drastically lowered by the pandemic, political and economic crisis, and flood. The present social protection system in Malaysia has been stretched to its breaking point by the extraordinary scope and severity of the health, political, flood, and economic crises, demanding ad hoc budgetary help to complement them.
In this episode, Bonnibel Rambatan and Greg Lopez will discuss the top three issues, cost of living, employment and wages, and the economy, along with how the Malaysian government may address them through inclusive economic growth and all-inclusive social protection.
You can also find this podcast on our website at https://newnaratif.com/managing-the-cost-of-living-in-malaysia/
Our movement needs your support. A movement is only as strong as its members. If you believe in a more democratic Southeast Asia, join New Naratif as a member https://newnaratif.com/product/membership/
On May 18th, we released an episode talking about Indonesia’s new Health Bill that is currently being proposed. The Indonesian government has been criticised for their hasty process and lack of access to information for the public. It’s problematic, to say the least, and while some activists are seeing opportunities for reform in this Bill, its potential for harm is nothing to scoff at.
In this episode, we’ll be talking about something a little more complicated. Trans healthcare in Indonesia. It’s already a tricky subject, but if the health bill passes, there will be a lot more risks of criminalisation and imprisonment, not only for trans people but also for the healthcare providers and the rest of our allies.
You can also find this podcast on our website at https://newnaratif.com/trans-healthcare-in-indonesia/
Only as strong as its members. If you believe in a more democratic Southeast Asia, join New Naratif as a member https://newnaratif.com/product/membership/
Through their initiatives, FundLife, a purpose-driven not for profit organisation in the Philippines, is committed to improving this situation. They aim to establish educational and employment pathways for Philippines underprivileged youth so that they can achieve their full potential.
In this episode we will be talking about how the most marginalised children and youth are living in chronic and short-term emergencies in the Philippines, FundLife’s initiatives, and of course, how every dream is worth believing in.
Marie Angelique Villamor is the Project Lead for Girls and Women Empowerment at FundLife. Angel is a nurse and a teacher by profession, and has been in the field of development work for years. She works on the grass roots level in the marginalised sectors in the community. She is a strong advocate in Child Rights, Gender Equity, and Youth Empowerment.
You can also find this podcast on our website at https://newnaratif.com/enabling-filipino-children-to-dream-in-colour/
Our movement needs your support. A movement is only as strong as its members. If you believe in a more democratic Southeast Asia, join New Naratif as a member https://newnaratif.com/product/membership/
Earlier this month, the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR RI) and the government continued the legislative process of the Health Bill.The rapidity with which the government and the House of Representatives drafted the Health Bill has drawn criticism, as has the public's lack of access to information
In this episode, Bonnibel Rambatan will talk with Diah Satyani Saminarsih and Ignatia Alfa Gloria about the updates on Indonesia Health Bill progress and its problems, reproductive health issues on the Health Bill, and why this health bill needs to be monitored together.
Diah Satyani Saminarsih is theFounder & CEO of Center for Indonesia’s Strategic Development Initiatives or CISDI. Diah is a psychologist by training, her professional journey has gone across consulting companies, national ministry/public institutions, and now multilateral organisations.
Ignatia Alfa Gloria. is Policy and Advocacy Officer at Yayasan IPAS Indonesia. She believes every woman needs to be able to determine their own sexuality and reproductive rights. Beside her day job, she is also learning and doing stand up comedy.
You can also find this podcast on our website at https://newnaratif.com/the-fight-for-reproductive-rights-in-indonesia/
Our movement needs your support. A movement is only as strong as its members. If you believe in a more democratic Southeast Asia, join New Naratif as a member https://newnaratif.com/product/membership/
In Peninsular Malaysia there are over one hundred and eighty thousand refugees. Regardless of origin or identity, they all run into the same core problem of legal recognition. Malaysian authorities treat refugees as illegal, as there are no laws relating to their status. How do you expect to have a democracy when there are that many people not being legally recognised?
In this episode, we will talk about refugee struggles in Malaysia, Joshua Low’s previous and current work, and the broader issues at hand.
Joshua is a social anthropologist by training who recently completed fieldwork in Northern Ecuador researching xenophobia and the impact of legal documentation. Having grown up in Southeast Asia, he has since moved back and is now working on Forced Migration Research along with the Research Team here in New Naratif.
You can also find this podcast on our website at https://newnaratif.com/the-struggles-of-refugees-in-malaysia/
Our movement needs your support. A movement is only as strong as its members. If you believe in a more democratic Southeast Asia, join New Naratif as a member https://newnaratif.com/product/membership/
In this episode, Bonnibel Rambatan and Thet Wai talks about Myanmar's New Feminist Narrative and Wai's experiences as a feminist activist in Myanmar.
Thet Wai is a gender rights researcher at New Naratif currently leading our Democratic Participation research. She has spent more than ten years working with different marginalised groups in Myanmar for feminist movement building.
You can also find this podcast on our website at https://newnaratif.com/myanmars-new-feminist-narrative/
Our movement needs your support. A movement is only as strong as its members. If you believe in a more democratic Southeast Asia, join New Naratif as a member https://newnaratif.com/product/membership/
The episode will be presented to you by Levi Masuli, who will be telling the story of former migrants turned riverside vegetable farmers in Santa Ana of the Rizal Province, Philippines.
Levi Masuli is a sound artist and community organiser for Migrante Philippines, whose community work focuses on strengthening local migrants' formations, providing education, and empowering their capacity for political mobilisation and cultural expression.
This Southeast Asia Dispatches special episode was brought to you by New Naratif and made possible by the BEBESEA Story Fellowship.
Find other stories produced in this fellowship, and find out more about what you can do to support migrant workers, stateless people, and other displaced populations at newnaratif.com/story-fellowship.
You can also find this podcast on our website at https://newnaratif.com/santa-ana-stories-by-the-riverside/
Our movement needs your support. A movement is only as strong as its members. If you believe in a more democratic Southeast Asia, join New Naratif as a member https://newnaratif.com/product/membership/
One of the key pillars of democracy is the ability to freely criticise those in power. But as we all know, such is rarely the case in Southeast Asia. Whenever journalists criticise any police-related issues, it is no secret that they need to be extremely careful.
Over the last five years, the police have been a major perpetrator in violence against journalists in Indonesia. Worse is that they remain unpunished. Contrary to their explicitly stated principles, often known as Tri Brata and Catur Prasetya, police members in Indonesia contribute to plenty of human rights violations. They clearly do not protect and serve the people – just in case anyone still believes that.
In this episode, Bonnibel Rambatan, Fadiyah Alaidrus, and Ade Wahyudin will be talking about Indonesia’s police brutality and its effect on media freedom, police reform and other related policy advocacies, and how we can contribute to create change.
You can also find this podcast on our website at https://newnaratif.com/myanmars-new-feminist-narrative/
Our movement needs your support. A movement is only as strong as its members. If you believe in a more democratic Southeast Asia, join New Naratif as a member https://newnaratif.com/product/membership/
With an increasingly hostile atmosphere towards media workers in Southeast Asia, New Naratif’s Media Freedom Insights publications try to better understand their life experiences. New Naratif’s current Media Freedom Insights series, titled “Engendering Media Freedom,” aims to showcase the gendered experiences of journalists in the region to understand the media ecosystem.
In this episode, Bonnibel Rambatan and Wai Liang Tham we’ll be talking about Research as Activism. But essentially, rather than simply applying a theoretical framework, this approach platforms marginalised voices, researching with people instead of researching people.
You can also find this podcast on our website at https://newnaratif.com/research-as-activism/
Our movement needs your support. A movement is only as strong as its members. If you believe in a more democratic Southeast Asia, join New Naratif as a member https://newnaratif.com/product/membership/
Bonnibel Rambatan talks to Damar Juniarto, Executive Director of SAFEnet, about digital rights and digital security, the increasing judicial harassment of expression in the digital space in Southeast Asia, how various countries try to emulate China's Great Firewall to conduct surveillance and censorship of its people, and how can the people of Southeast Asia fight back the digital authoritarian practices.
Damar Juniarto mentioned lots of things that us listeners can access for our own protection, as well as to share to everyone in our networks who might benefit from it:
- For the fast response team for those under cyber attacks, go to trace.mu
- For an education on online gender-based violence go to awaskbgo.id
- For an education on digital rights, go to padepokan.safenet.or.id
- For an education on digital security, go to digses.safenet.0r.id
- And finally, to assess your own digital vulnerability, go to pakemdiri.safenet.or.id
You can also find all of these links in our show notes at https://newnaratif.com/on-media-freedom-and-digital-security/
Our movement needs your support. A movement is only as strong as its members. If you believe in a more democratic Southeast Asia, join New Naratif as a member https://newnaratif.com/product/membership/
It is important for any coalition of democratic allies to play both defensive and offensive roles, promoting resilience to authoritarian digital threats while building an affirmative alternative that diminishes the influence of authoritarian actors over time.
In New Naratif, the Media Freedom Network (MFN) is our response to these challenges as we aim to build a sustainable network of media workers, organisations, and activists to provide support, solidarity, and resources to media practitioners in our region. There are, fortunately, quite a few initiatives with a similar mission across Southeast Asia. One of the oldest ones is the Alliance for Independent Journalists in Indonesia or Aliansi Jurnalis Independen Indonesia (AJI)
In this episode, Bonnibel Rambatan talks to Ika Ningtyas, the current Secretary General of AJI Indonesia. Having been an independent journalist for a number of years herself, she now fights for media freedom as well as the safety and welfare of journalists and human rights defenders alike.
MFN network activities include digital security trainings, legal briefings, and workshops, which you can find out more about at newnaratif.com/mediafreedom.
Our movement needs your support. A movement is only as strong as its members. If you believe in a more democratic Southeast Asia, join New Naratif as a member https://newnaratif.com/product/membership/
In this episode, Bonnibel Rambatan talks to Arturo Golong, or Arthur, a trans woman who was also Haiyan’s survivor, and Mavic Conde, a Filipino environmental journalist, about how things are going right now regarding Haiyan’s survivors, the story behind discriminatory laws in Philippines, the Yolanda Permanent Housing Program, and SOGIESC Equality Bill in Philippines.
You can help their initiatives by signing the petition to support the SOGIESC Equality Bill becoming a law in the Philippines on change.org, link in the show notes or in our article at newnaratif.com. Share the article, as well as this podcast, to raise awareness about this issue.
Our movement needs your support. A movement is only as strong as its members. If you believe in a more democratic Southeast Asia, join New Naratif as a member https://newnaratif.com/product/membership/
Previously, Teo S. Marasigan, Filipino activist and New Naratif's researcher, published research series on OFWs titled "The Philippines’ Dangerous Dependence on the Exploitation of its People" and "Agency Amidst Structures in Migration: Stories of Filipina Domestic Workers in Dubai".
In this episode, Bonnibel Rambatan talks to toTeo S. Marasigan and Zelda Santos, a domestic worker and volunteer of a help desk for distressed OFWs in the United Arab Emirates, about the history of OFWs, how the government ended up aggressively exporting Filipinos, how did people decided to be one, bagong bayani narrative from the government, help desk for OFWs from OFWs, and who are the beneficiaries of this phenomenon.
You can find this podcast on our website at https://newnaratif.com/development-through-distress/
Our movement needs your support. A movement is only as strong as its members. If you believe in a more democratic Southeast Asia, join New Naratif as a member https://newnaratif.com/product/membership/
In this episode, Bonnibel Rambatan talks with Evi Mariani, one of the co-founders of Project Multatuli, a collective initiative dedicated to carrying out the ideals of public journalism by giving a voice to the voiceless, spotlighting the marginalised, and reporting on the underreported, whose work involves collaboration with other news organisations, research bodies, and civil society groups that strive for democracy, human rights, social justice, environmental sustainability, and equal rights for all.
Evi Mariani has won the 2020 Public Service Journalism Award from the Society of Publishers in Asia and the 2020 Tasrif Award from the AJI, the Indonesian Alliance of Independent Journalists. In this interview, Bonni and Evi talks about what media freedom means and what the ideals of public journalism are, and how we can keep up a good fight despite the increasing threats to our freedom of expression in Southeast Asia
On this episode, Bonnibel Rambatan talks about New Naratif’s Research Department and the idea of research as activism with Lengga Pradipta, Migration Researcher at New Naratif.
Migration research is an evergreen field of study that has only grown in its breadth of topics and range of micro-disciplines. In line with our approach of research as activism, that by conducting and publishing research that draws attention to such systematic failures of countries, and the consequent price that individual communities and people have to unjustly pay for, that we will embody the metaphorical butterfly whose flapping wings causes a cascading effect, changing people's attitudes and raising their awareness until this eventually manifests as the healing winds in a reformatory hurricane of social change, whether this is done through highlighting the environmental degradation resulting from reckless policies, the heartbreaking circumstances that lead Indonesian women to seek to migrate, or the self-destructive ways through which governments can actively encourage their people to desire being exploited.
You can also find this podcast on our website at https://newnaratif.com/myths-migration/
Our movement needs your support. A movement is only as strong as its members. If you believe in a more democratic Southeast Asia, join New Naratif as a member https://newnaratif.com/product/membership/
On this episode, Bonnibel Rambatan talks about trans liberation in Southeast Asia with Erik Nadir and Nhuun Yodmuang from Asia Pacific Transgender Network, also known as APTN, a trans-led organisation that engages with a range of partners across Asia and the Pacific to support, organise, and advocate for fundamental human rights including gender identity, access to justice and legal protections, and comprehensive gender-affirming policies and healthcare. APTN work to improve the lives of trans and gender diverse people throughout Asia and the Pacific.Over the course of a decade, APTN has grown to become a credible voice for transgender people in Asia and the Pacific, working to ensure that their rights and needs are represented politically, socially, culturally, and economically. The network serves as a platform for transgender people to advocate for access to health, legal gender recognition, legislative reform, social justice and human rights, and to share information and strategies with one another.
You can also find this podcast on our website at https://newnaratif.com/advocating-for-trans-liberation-in-southeast-asia/
Our movement needs your support. A movement is only as strong as its members. If you believe in a more democratic Southeast Asia, join New Naratif as a member https://newnaratif.com/product/membership/
Content warning: This podcast includes references to sexual assault.
On this week’s episode, Jacob Goldberg speaks to Peter Murphy, chairman of the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines, also known as ICHRP. ICHRP is a network of organisations in the Philippines and in diaspora communities around the world working to inform the international community about extrajudicial killings and other human rights abuses in the Philippines. Philippine human rights groups estimate that up to 30,000 people have been killed in President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs, and more than 400 have been killed in what appear to be politically motivated attacks. Almost every week, reports emerge of a new massacre, and almost always, these are coordinated attacks, and the victims are workers, poor people, fisherfolk, indigenous leaders and human rights defenders.
In this interview, Jacob and Peter talk about how these killings are aimed at preventing leftist people’s movements and political parties from campaigning.
On this week's episode, Jacob Goldberg speaks to Professor Jose Maria Sison, who goes by the nickname Joma. Joma is the founding chairman of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), which has been waging a revolutionary guerilla war against the Philippine government since 1968. He is a controversial figure to many and a beloved comrade to others. The United States and the Philippine governments have designated him as a terrorist, while he lives in the Netherlands as a recognised political refugee. In 1977, he was imprisoned for more than eight years for organising against the Marcos dictatorship.
Today, he continues to advise the CPP and its network of allied revolutionary organisations that make up the National Democratic Front, always pushing for the introduction of what he calls National Democracy—a democracy for the toiling masses of the Philippines, distinct from the “semi-colonial and semi-feudal society” that exists there today.
In this interview, Jacob and Joma discuss the meaning of National Democracy and how to achieve it.
In the process, there are some acronyms not every listener might be familiar with. There’s the CPP—the Communist Party of the Philippines; the NPA—the New People’s Army, which is the armed wing of the CPP, waging a guerilla war in the countryside. Joma refers to the GRP, which is the Government of the Republic of the Philippines, and to the SGRM—the Second Great Rectification Movement, which was an effort by the CPP in 1992 to correct its political course and identify counterrevolutionaries. Critics of the CPP say this process led to several assassinations, while Joma denies this.
New Naratif founder PJ Thum and editor-in-chief Jacob Goldberg reflect on the tough decisions, impactful stories and blossoming team spirit that made 2021 our most memorable year yet.
Earlier this year, New Naratif published a piece about Wong Kueng Hui, one of the many stateless people in the Malaysian state of Sabah, and his decade-long legal battle to gain citizenship in Malaysia.
In October 2019, the Kuala Lumpur High Court finally granted Wong citizenship. But this breakthrough only lasted for three weeks. The Malaysian government applied for a stay of execution on the order to grant Wong’s citizenship. Last month was the two-year anniversary of what could have marked the end of his ongoing struggle.
On this week’s episode of Southeast Asia Dispatches, we look at what has happened since. We hear from Wong himself, along with his lawyer, Haijan Omar, and Dr. Vilashini Somiah, executive committee member of the Sabah Human Rights Centre. We discuss Wong’s efforts to break the generational cycle of statelessness affecting him and nearly a million other people who live in Sabah.
If you enjoy what we’re doing, please support our work by becoming a member of New Naratif at newnaratif.com/join. Memberships start at just 52 US dollars a year — that’s just one dollar a week. Or you can donate at newnaratif.com/donate.
On the 16th of August, Malaysia’s 8th prime minister, Muhyiddin Yassin and his cabinet, who came to power via a political coup in 2020, officially resigned. At the time of this recording, the next prime minister is being selected by a secret vote by members of parliament via statutory declarations to the king. The next prime minister—the third in two years—will be just another product of a long-running political crisis. How can Malaysians enact meaningful change when politicians can so easily topple the government by jumping between coalitions?
On this week's episode, Deborah Augustin speaks to Arveent Kathirtchelvan and Chong Yee Shan from Parti Sosialis Malaysia about the limitations of electoral politics and potential alternatives to this system.
Since March 2020, Malaysia has been placed under several movement control orders (MCOs) that restrict movement and business operations in order to curb COVID-19 infections. However, the MCOs have also resulted in rising unemployment, business closures and increased food insecurity. Cash aid from the government has been disbursed in several stages, with the next one only due to arrive in August 2021. As the country faces increasing economic difficulties in the wake of the pandemic, mutual aid funds have sprung up around Malaysia to provide food and cash aid to affected communities.
However, LGBTQIA+ people face an extra hurdle when it comes to accessing aid. Fears of discrimination, being dead-named and an increasingly hostile environment toward queer people prevents them from accessing aid from public COVID-19 funds.
In this episode, Deborah Augustin speaks to Nisha Ayub from SEED Foundation and Connie Connor, an organiser with the Queer Solidarity Fund, about the need for LGBTQIA+ specific mutual aid funds that are more gender-inclusive, and how the queer community in Malaysia has organised themselves against the backdrop of an increasingly hostile environment.
For the sake of full transparency, we'd like to disclose that the presenter has previously donated to both SEED Foundation and the Queer Solidarity Fund.
Every so often, heartwarming stories emerge of educators and students alike overcoming hurdles in order for learning to continue, whether that’s a teacher travelling over 100 kilometres daily to reach students in rural areas, or a student who spent the night in a tree for better internet connection to sit for her exams. Stories like these tend to take off on social media because they represent a sense of triumph over adversity. But on the flip side, they also represent a societal failure to ensure access to education for all—a problem that has only been made worse by COVID-19.
In Malaysia, students have mostly been learning online since the onset of the pandemic and online learning seems likely to continue through August before a gradual reopening of schools. For many students without regular internet access, this has meant falling behind with their lessons. A survey conducted by the Ministry of Education in 2020 with almost 900,000 student respondents suggests that 37% do not have appropriate devices for home learning—and those who do may have to share with others in their household. So while remote learning may be an inconvenience to some, it is a true barrier to education for many, especially those from low-income families.
On this episode, Dayana Mustak speaks to Mazliza Mahmood, a teacher, and Chan Soon Seng, CEO of Teach for Malaysia. They talk about the educational alternatives available when a pandemic means in-person learning could put lives at risk and what help has been given to support students in need during this time.
For more information on how you can help Mazliza's students, you can send an enquiry to taniazae@rocketmail.com.
Infection rates continue to climb in Malaysia’s latest wave of COVID-19 infections. National COVID-19 Immunisation Programme was launched in February, not long after it was announced that everyone would be included in the vaccination program, including undocumented migrants. However, the Malaysian government later reversed this decision and instead pledged to crack down on undocumented migrants amid a nationwide lockdown. This has led to the arrest of more than 500 migrant workers, bringing the number of undocumented migrants detained this year to more than 9,000.
This U-turn by the Perikatan Nasional administration is unsurprising. Last May, the same assurance was given to undocumented migrants to coax them into coming forward to get tested for COVID-19, only for hundreds to later be arrested in raids by the immigration department.
On this episode, Deborah Augustin speaks to Adrian Pereira from North South Initiative and Mohammed*, an undocumented migrant from Bangladesh, about how the Malaysian government’s decision to deprive undocumented migrants of vaccines endangers not only this marginalised community but also Malaysia’s chances of reaching herd immunity.
*A pseudonym has been used to protect the guest’s identity due to fear for his safety.
This interview was recorded on 14 July 2021
This podcast includes references to suicide.
These days, almost anyone you meet can talk about how the COVID-19 pandemic has changed their lives for the worse. Salary cuts or a total loss of income, separation from friends and family, and long periods of isolation. It is no surprise that this pandemic has taken a toll on our mental health.
But there are some groups who are not only more systematically vulnerable to mental illness, but have also suffered from a far more brutal experience than others. From heightened xenophobic sentiment, to being hunted down by the authorities during a nationwide lockdown and facing threats on social media, the refugee community in Malaysia have been forced to endure all of the same hardships as Malaysian citizens, plus an additional set of hardships stemming from their refugee status. Refugee mental health already received little attention or resources before the pandemic hit, so what kind of repercussions has COVID-19 had on this marginalised community?
In this episode, Deborah Augustin speaks to Matilda Xavier, Clinical Psychologist, and Bo Min Naing, president of the Rohingya Society in Malaysia. They talk about the stigma around mental health in the refugee community, how they have been coping with it during the pandemic, and how some communities are affected more than others.
If you are based in Malaysia and would like to speak to someone, you can contact:
Befrienders: 03-76272929 or email them at sam@befrienders.org.my
For more information on Mentem Psychological Services, please click here.
When you hear the word “refugee”, what picture comes to mind? Is it an image of a boat full of people trying to find a safe place to stay, or is it a desolate refugee camp? Often, the narrative we have of refugees is that they are helpless. On this episode of Southeast Asia Dispatches, Deborah Augustin speaks to Monique Truong and Leena Al-Mujahed, two women who have experienced forced displacement and continue to face their circumstances and obstacles with courage.
They reflect on the characterization of refugees as heroes and their vision for their lives and the society they want to be a part of.
You can register for the Women in Displacement event, taking place on 26 June, 8 PM GMT +8 by clicking here.
If you would like to learn more about the work that Leena does, please visit the Yemeni Refugee Women Association's Facebook or Instagram for more information. You can also go to their website yrwa.org to find out how you can support their work. If you would like to read Monique’s latest book, The Sweetest Fruits, you can find it here.
Do politicians and rulers have anything to worry about when it comes to the influence of art in politics?
This year alone, Fahmi Reza, a Malaysian political graphic designer and activist has been questioned by police five times for publishing his work on social media. Last month in May, it was for his satire piece depicting Malaysia’s health minister in a missing person’s poster. The month before that, it was for allegedly insulting the queen with a Spotify playlist.
On this episode of Southeast Asia Dispatches, Deborah Augustin speaks to Sharon Chin, a Malaysian artist, about her thoughts on protest art and whether political satire is an effective tool when it comes to challenging people in power.
New Naratif needs your support to survive. To be able to continue operating this year, we need to raise a total of US$226,336—that’s 4,353 new members. Please click here to join our movement to create a freer, more democratic Southeast Asia.
After 10 months of protests, in which Thai people took to the streets to call for reform of the monarchy and the political system, more than 600 activists have been arrested and charged for their political expression. In 2021 alone, at least 30 people have been detained on charges of sedition or royal defamation. For months, most were denied bail while awaiting trial.
But this month, the Thai Criminal Court started granting bail to 24 of the detained activists. However, most of the activists were only released on the condition that they do not participate in activities that might cause public disorder or damage the monarchy. This means they cannot continue expressing their political opinions. Meanwhile, seven activists remain in detention, with several now testing positive for COVID-19 due to the recent outbreaks in prisons across the country. A question remains: Is it worth getting out of jail when you cannot speak freely?
On this week’s episode of Southeast Asia Dispatches, Yiamyut Suthichaya, assistant editor for Prachatai English, speaks to Sirikan Charoensiri from Thai Lawyers for Human Rights about the tension between the Thai constitution’s presumption of innocence and the Criminal Court’s criminalisation of political speech.
This episode is a collaboration between New Naratif and Prachatai, an independent non-profit online newspaper in Thailand. You can find out more about how to support Prachatai at prachatai.com/support.
Language has the power to shape our understanding about the world. It’s a cultural, political, and psychological tool that impacts our psyche and the way we relate to people around us. But who gets to decide the meaning of the words we use?
In the official Indonesian dictionary, the word “woman” (or perempuan) is listed among compound words that mean “whore”, “evil”, “mistress”, “pervert”, and many other terms that give the concept of “woman” a derogatory and sexualised connotation.
The dictionary entry for “man” (or laki), on the other hand, only contains two examples of compound words: “masculine” and “courage”.
On this episode, Dwitri Amalia speaks to Ika Vantiani, a visual artist from Indonesia who has been pushing the Language and Book Development Agency to revise the entry for “woman” in the Indonesian dictionary to have more neutral and inclusive connotations.
Please note that this episode contains some foul language that some listeners may find offensive.
For more than a month, Malaysian authorities detained Nigerian national Simon Momoh even after he had paid a fine and served his one-day jail term for a drink-driving offence. Although a court has since ruled that Malaysia’s Immigration Department had unlawfully detained Simon, his detention and the threat of deportation brought to light the many challenges foreign spouses and transnational families face in the country.
On this episode, Deborah Augustin speaks to Bina Ramanand, founding member of Family Frontiers and co-founder of the Foreign Spouses Support Group; and Naz, a Malaysian in a transnational marriage, to share their experience and to talk about the existing policies in place that affect these families.
This interview has been edited for clarity.
On the 1st of February this year, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing launched a coup, aborting Myanmar’s five-year experiment with electoral democracy. The army toppled the civilian government a day before a newly elected parliament was set to take office. State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and hundreds of their allies were arrested.
Since then, numerous ad hoc online fundraisers have materialised in the wake of the coup to support the Civil Disobedience Movement, whose primary tactic is to encourage civil servants to walk off their jobs until a stalled economy and an inability to govern force the generals to step down. New Naratif recently published a journalism piece on this, so please visit our website to check that out.
On this week's episode, Jacob Goldberg speaks to 23-year-old Hein Aung Htet, about how the coup has affected him personally, his role in the anti-coup movement, and what those listening in can do to help.
To donate, please visit this Instagram page for more information.
In 2019, Malaysia’s parliament agreed to lower the voting age from 21 to 18, a move that was supposed to be implemented by July this year. However, a few days ago, it was announced that this will be delayed and pushed to September 2022 instead. This led to speculation about an impending general election, which many think will be called once Malaysia’s state of emergency is lifted in August. In response, Malaysian youths marched to parliament in protest on the 27th of March.
On this episode of Southeast Asia Dispatches, Deborah Augustin speaks to Lim Wei Jiet, one of the co-founders of the Malaysian United Democratic Alliance, Malaysia’s first youth-driven political party, about their thoughts on this voting age controversy, the challenges the party has faced in getting registered, and the political climate for young politicians in Malaysia.
On this episode of Southeast Asia Dispatches, Deborah Augustin speaks to Febriana Firdaus, an independent journalist based in Indonesia, and Leo Plunkett, a filmmaker and video journalist, about their recent documentary, Our Mother’s Land. The documentary looks at some of the women at the forefront of hundreds of rural communities that are in conflict with corporations seeking control of their resources. The film gives us a glimpse into how some of the women fighting against these issues have faced violence, the threat of imprisonment, and even death, as a result of their activism.
Febriana and Leo talk about their experience documenting these stories and share their thoughts on the challenges women activists face in Indonesia when it comes to environmental activism, and how environmental issues overlap with women’s activism.
For more information on where to watch the film and how to support the women involved, please visit New Naratif's website.
Refugee children in Malaysia are denied access to the formal education system. This leaves informal community-based learning centres as their only option.
On this episode of Southeast Asia Dispatches, Deborah Augustin speaks to Htoi San Nhkum, director of the Kachin Refugee Learning Center, and Abeera Abdullah, a Fugee School alumni and the co-founder of Project Stand Up. They tell Deborah about their educational experience in learning centres here in Malaysia and the impact the pandemic has had on the informal education system for refugee children.
To find out more, please read this article by Emily Fishbein and Jaw Tu Hkawng about how refugees in Malaysia are facing a widening school gap.
Art and music have always been a part of social change and activism. They have the power to intervene in politics and create lasting impact. In Indonesia, Efek Rumah Kaca is an indie rock band who have been using their music as a tool to protest against government policies and to comment on other important issues. Their song, Mosi Tidak Percaya, (Vote of No Confidence in English), has become an anthem for civil demonstrations in Indonesia. The song can be heard playing in street marches, most recently at the Omnibus Law protest that took place last October and previously at the country’s criminal code protest in 2019.
On this episode of Southeast Asia Dispatches, Dwitri Amalia speaks to Cholil Mahmud, the lead vocalist and guitarist of the band, about using their music to advocate against regressive policies, and the role of art and music in a democracy.
You can listen to Mosi Tidak Percaya here.
2020 was a bumpy ride, but we’re already excited for what 2021 has in store for us, starting with a new addition to our team. For the first episode of Southeast Asia Dispatches this year, Deborah Germaine Augustin sits down with New Naratif's new Editor-in-Chief, Jacob Goldberg, and talk about his direction and what members can look forward to under his leadership.
From internal changes to being called in for questioning, this year has been action-packed from start to finish for New Naratif. On the final episode of Southeast Asia Dispatches for 2020, PJ Thum and Deborah Augustin look back at the year New Naratif has had, the highs and lows and the lessons they’ve learned.
Like most Southeast Asian countries, Malaysia has extremely strict anti-drug laws that are often punishable by death. Filmmakers Loh Jo Yee and Hidayah Hisham delve into Malaysia’s criminal justice system with their upcoming documentary, Ayahku, Dr G (My Father, Dr G) which follows Siti and her 60-year-old father, who faces the death penalty for using medical cannabis to treat his chronic illnesses.
The Kuala Langat North Forest Reserve in Malaysia is an area that has an important role to play in conserving biodiversity. It is home to rare species such as the Malayan Sun Bear, the Selangor Pygmy Flying Squirrel and the rare Langat Red Fighting Fish. For the local Orang Asli or indigenous people, particularly the Temuan community, this has been their home for more than 150 years. So why has the Selangor State Government proposed to degazette 930.93 ha (97%) of the forest reserve for a mixed development project?
An entire way of life will be directly impacted by the removal of this peat swamp forest. The Orang Asli Temuan communities rely on this forest both to survive and for its religious and spiritual significance.
On today’s episode of Southeast Asia Dispatches, Deborah Augustin speaks to Shaq Koyok, a contemporary artist from the Temuan community about his thoughts on this.
In recent weeks, the Caliphate podcast produced by the New York Times has attracted controversy after its main source was arrested on terrorism hoax charges in Canada, raising questions about how journalists should report on the the so-called War on Terror.
On this week’s episode of Southeast Asia Dispatches, New Naratif talks to Noor Huda Ismail, a former member of Darul Islam, and a social entrepreneur, film maker and scholar. Having narrowly avoided a life of radicalisation, Noor Huda founded the Institute for International Peace Building, and runs a number of deradicalisation programmes that focus on deradicalisation through narrative stories and credible voices.
Thousands of protesters have taken to the streets across Indonesia in recent weeks as tensions have risen following the passage of a controversial “omnibus law” on 5 October 2020 that demonstrators fear will destroy jobs instead of creating them. Demonstrators have clashed with riot police across the country, as the authorities deployed tear gas and water cannons in an attempt to quell the unrest.
On this week’s episode of Southeast Asia Dispatches, Aisyah Llewellyn talks to Damai Pakpahan, the country representative of Protection International, and Dr. Ian Wilson, Senior Lecturer in Politics and Security Studies at Murdoch University. They discuss the recent protests, the historical background and impact of demonstrations in Indonesia, and what the future may bring with the upcoming regional elections.
Last week, a senior Malaysian politician claimed to have the majority of support amongst Members of Parliament to form a new government. This comes as no surprise to Malaysians, who have watched helplessly as their politicians jumped ship to other parties throughout the year. Some of these defections resulted in a coup that took place in February. While Malaysia is no stranger to the phenomenon of party hopping, the constant shift in allegiances has led many Malaysians to feel like their mandate has been betrayed. Many are now calling for an anti-hopping law to be introduced as a solution to the political instability.
On this week’s episode, Deborah Augustin speaks to Professor Wong Chin Huat, a political scientist working on political institutions and group conflicts about the feasibility of an anti-hopping law in Malaysia and the larger systemic issues that have led to these shifting political alliances.
In Indonesia, unclear work contracts, unlimited workloads and poor working conditions are just a few examples of issues that plague domestic workers. In a country with approximately 4 million domestic workers, is the government doing enough to safeguard their rights and well-being?
On today’s episode of Southeast Asia Dispatches, Editor in Chief Aisyah Llewellyn speaks to Lita Anggraini, the national coordinator at the National Network for Domestic Workers Advocacy (JALA PRT), and Damai Pakpahan, the country representative at Protection International. They discuss the Protection for Domestic Workers Bill in Indonesia (RUU PRT), a draft law for domestic workers’ protection that has been stuck in parliament for over a decade and share the initiatives being taken to help them.
The past few months have shown us that not even a pandemic can slow down advocacy or activism. Globally, people from across the world continue to mobilize against injustice. In the United States, activists have taken their grievances to the streets to fight back against police brutality and racism; in Hong Kong, the pandemic has not dampened the anti-government protests, while Thailand had their largest pro-democracy rally in years. These physical protests have been met with criticism or push back from the authorities. Malaysia is no exception.
On today’s episode of Southeast Asia Dispatches, Deborah Augustin speaks to Danaletchumi Langaswaran from the National Union Of Workers in Hospitals Support and Allied Services, and Juana Jaafar, a women’s human rights advocate working in the field of communications. They discuss protesting during a pandemic, the obstacles they face and what this means for advocacy and activism moving forward.
Amid an ongoing state of emergency to contain COVID-19, young people around Thailand have taken to the streets to call for Prime Minister Prayuth's resignation and for systemic reforms. Protesters have even hinted at their dissatisfaction at the Thai monarchy, a taboo that can have legal consequences. The latest protest held on 16 August 2020 is now known to be the largest demonstration in Thailand since the military coup in 2014.
On this episode of Southeast Asia Dispatches in collaboration with Prachatai, Anna Lawattanatrakul, assistant editor at Prachatai, speaks to Tattep 'Ford' Ruangprapaikitseree, secretary general for the Free People Movement and Nuttaa Mahattana, an activist from the We Vote Movement, about what led to these protests and the implications of a renewed youth movement.
After winning the general elections in 2015, the National League for Democracy (NLD) became the first democratically elected, civilian-led government in Myanmar since 1962, which kindled hope that the country would see a significant shift in freedom of expression. Almost five years on, substantive changes have yet to happen.
On this week's episode of Southeast Asia Dispatches, Adam Bemma speaks to Thinzar Shunlei Yi, advocacy coordinator at Action Committee for Democracy Development, and Maung Saungkha, executive director of ATHAN about freedom of expression in the country under the NLD government, led by Aung San Suu Kyi.
In July 2019, the Malaysian Parliament passed a Constitutional Amendment to lower the voting age from 21 to 18. This amendment means that an estimated 8 million eligible voters will be added to the electoral roll. While many have celebrated the move to lower the voting age, critics have said that Malaysian youth are not ready for the responsibility of voting.
On this week’s episode of Southeast Asia Dispatches, Deborah Augustin speaks to Qyira Yusri from Undi18, and Melinda Anne, a representative at Parlimen Digital, about their thoughts on youth political participation in Malaysian politics.
During these uncertain and tumultuous times, activists have gone above and beyond to help the most vulnerable groups in our communities. But what happens when activists start to feel burnt out due to the stress, threats and trauma they face daily?
On this week’s episode of Southeast Asia Dispatches, Membership Engagement Manager, Deborah Augustin speaks to Katrina Jorene Maliamauv from Malaysia and Veronica Iswinahyu in Indonesia about their experiences and the prevalence of burnout in activism spaces. They discuss how it affects an activist’s psycho-social well-being and the role of self-care in creating sustainable activism.
On this week’s episode of Southeast Asia Dispatches, Adam Bemma speaks to Myanmar’s trailblazing podcaster, Nandar. Last year, Nandar started the G-Taw Zagar Wyne podcast along with members of her Purple Feminists Group in Yangon. The name G-Taw Zagar Wyne comes from a nickname Nandar was given growing up in Shan State. It means a woman willing to speak up to share her ideas and begin a dialogue.
In Southeast Asia, poverty is often associated with rural communities. As a result, conversations around urban poverty have largely taken a backseat in public discourse.
On this week's episode of Southeast Asia Dispatches, Deborah Augustin speaks to Prof. Datuk Dr. Denison Jayasooria, chair of the Asian Solidarity Economy Council and Pete Nicoll from Reach Out Malaysia, an organisation that works with the rural and urban poor. We discuss their experiences in working closely with this community and the misconceptions surrounding this multifaceted subject.
In the age of COVID-19, family dynamics have understandably shifted. As a result, we’ve seen more parents openly talk on social media about their struggles with balancing work, child care and self-care during this time. But children in particular may respond to this stress differently.
On this week’s episode of Southeast Asia Dispatches, our Editor-in-Chief Aisyah Llewellyn spoke to Louis, a science teacher based in Medan, Indonesia about how parents can help children cope with the changes brought by this pandemic.
This interview was recorded last month and some of the particulars mentioned in this recording might be dated.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, society’s most vulnerable are at risk in several ways. Refugees and migrants in particular, whether documented or undocumented, face challenges such as having inadequate access to healthcare, reduced income and overall increased precarity. It becomes even more complicated when their host countries do not recognise their rights.
On this week’s episode of Southeast Asia Dispatches, membership engagement manager, Deborah Augustin speaks to a journalist, writer and observer about the rise in xenophobia in Malaysia towards migrants and refugees. We’ve kept our guest’s identity anonymous out of concerns for his safety.
Today is World Press Freedom Day. In Southeast Asia, journalists face both legal and financial challenges when reporting. But now more than ever, quality journalism is important to keep people informed and many journalists across the globe continue to do that despite the threat of the current pandemic.
On today’s episode, our Membership Engagement Manager Deborah Augustin speaks to Aisyah Llewellyn, our Editor in Chief about what it’s like to be out in the field when most people are being told to stay home.
Globally, lockdowns are a key tactic to combat COVID-19. Phrases like ‘Stay Home, Stay Safe’ are used on social media to encourage people to stay indoors during this pandemic. But what happens when home isn’t a safe place for some people?
On this week’s episode of Southeast Asia Dispatches, membership engagement manager, Deborah Augustin looks at what happens when survivors of domestic abuse are forced to stay home with their abusers during a lockdown. She is joined by Tan Heang Lee, the Communications Officer of the Women's Aid Organization in Malaysia and Patricia Sue-Lin Knudsen, who is a co-producer and host of The Pool, a podcast series about and for domestic abuse survivors in Malaysia.
On this episode of Southeast Asia Dispatches: our Editor-in-Chief Aisyah Llewellyn talks to Effendy Aritonang, the National Director of Yayasan Fondasi Hidup - an Indonesian NGO based in Medan, North Sumatra. The foundation was created in Indonesia after the devastating 2004 tsunami, and today it works to address all forms of human poverty through education, healthcare and disaster risk reduction.
As part of our Covid-19 coverage, Effendy talks to Aisyah about the work his foundation does and how you can help apply some of their methods to work in your local community.
In August 2018, Febriana Firdaus (via skype) and Thum Ping Tjin sat down with Benny Wenda, a West Papuan Independence leader, Chairperson for the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP), and founder of the Free West Papua Campaign, to interview him about his life, his people's struggle for freedom, the Free West Papua Movement, and his hopes for the future.
Adam Bemma speaks to a Thai democracy and human rights activist about his arrest under the country’s lese majeste law and Victoria Milko looks at the difficulties of reporting on the Rohingya crisis in Myanmar and Bangladesh.
This week, Victoria Milko visits refugee camps on the Myanmar-Bangladesh border around the two-year anniversary of an exodus of Rohingya from Myanmar (00:50), Kelly Anissa speaks to Malaysian students protesting against their university's involvement in a problematic event (16:54), and Kirsten Han reflects on the state of dissent and activism in Singapore (26:21).
This week, Laura McDowell and Teodosia Dos Reis join domestic workers in Timor Leste as they march for their rights (00:50), Adam Bemma talks to political groups in Thailand trying to decentralise politics from the capital of Bangkok (10:12), Quinn Libson interviews researchers highlighting Facebook’s struggles with the Khmer language (17:41), and James Rose reflects on the weaponisation of the word “Rohingya” in Myanmar (28:37).
In 2016, 22-year-old Febri made a decision to move to Syria and live under Islamic State, better known as ISIS. In the final of a special two-part series for New Naratif, Deputy Editor Aisyah Llewellyn talks to Febri about reuniting with his family, the reality of life in Raqqa, and their journey home again.
In 2016, 22-year-old Febri made a decision to move to Syria and live under Islamic State, better known as ISIS.
In the first of a special two-part series for New Naratif, Deputy Editor Aisyah Llewellyn reports on Febri's journey to Syria and the reasons why some Indonesian families made the decision to join the so-called Caliphate.
This week, Victoria Milko takes a look at how providers are bringing healthcare to the Naga Self-Administered Zone (00:50), Adam Bemma speaks to Hasan Al-Akraa, a refugee in Malaysia who uses social media to provide support to fellow asylum seekers (09:50), Mark Tilly talks to Hanna Guy of sustainable clothing label Dorsu Cambodia about conditions in the garment industry (17:06), and Kirsten Han argues that the lack of information about the death penalty in Singapore affects accountability and debate (23:52).
This week, Adam Bemma takes a look at the political parties running in Thailand’s general election (00:51), Laura McDowell profiles Timor-Leste’s first blind broadcaster (9:09), PJ Thum interviews Andreas Harsono of Human Rights Watch about Indonesia’s internet law (17:59), and Michael Tatarski reflects upon his experience covering the Trump-Kim Summit in Hanoi (26:31).
This week, Kirsten Han invites us to lunch with Singapore's Old Left (00:52), Mike Tatarski looks at the effects of Vietnam's booming tourism industry (09:31), PJ Thum talks to Cambodian feminist Eng Chandy (15:47), and James Rose reflects upon efforts to clean up Thailand's fishing industry (25:17).
Joko Widodo dan Prabowo Subianto bertarung dalam debat capres kedua pada tanggal 17 Februari 2019. Wakil Editor Bahasa Indonesia di New Naratif, Aisyah Llewellyn membahas dengan Konsultan Editor untuk Kalimantan Nita Roshita Konsultan Editor untuk Sulawesi Ian Morse, dan kontributor Max Regus tentang debat tersebut dan isu energi, pangan, infrastruktur, dan sumber daya alam di Indonesia.
Indonesia is heading to the polls on 17 April. Incumbent president Joko “Jokowi” Widodo with his new vice-presidential pick Ma’ruf Amin, an influential Muslim cleric. They're facing off against former army general Prabowo Subianto and former deputy governor of Jakarta Sandiaga Uno. New Naratif’s Indonesian team sit down to discuss the candidates, the hot-button issues, and their predictions.
This week, Jamie Fullerton visits an ethical elephant park in Vietnam (00:50), Victoria Milko brings us through the history and struggles of Myanmar’s ethnic minorities (10:39), and Adam Bemma talks about the cases of two high-profile refugees from the Middle East who found temporary shelter in Southeast Asia before being resettled in Canada (29:23).
This week, Adam Bemma speaks to LGBT rights activists working to establish an advocacy network in Laos [00:50], Victoria Milko visits a peace park set up by the Karen ethnic group in conflict-embroiled Myanmar [09:15], Aidila Razak speaks to a trans woman who left her home country of Malaysia to seek asylum in the UK [17:26], and Aisyah Llewellyn talks about her experience covering the December 2018 tsunami from Lampung in South Sumatra [26:01].
Photo credit: Teguh Harahap
This week, Teodosia Dos Reis and Laura McDowell attend the anniversary of Timor-Leste’s Santa Cruz Massacre (0:53), Teguh Harahap looks at the future of Kuda Lumping dance seances in Indonesia (12:00), Tehmina Kaoosji talks to MP for Batu Kawan Kasthuri Patto about ICERD and Malaysia (20:19), and Victoria Milko reflects on the lack of protection for women against violence in Myanmar (29:30).
Despite the large number of women going to journalism school every year, studies have shown that men continue to dominate the media industry and hold positions of power in the newsroom.
At New Naratif, though, most of our editorial team is made up of women. Since there’s always been a lot of interest during our open meetings in how our editorial team works and how we find and commission stories, we recorded this special episode of Southeast Asia Dispatches to give everyone an insight into how we work!
Our Chief Editor, Kirsten Han, sits down with Deputy Editor for Bahasa Indonesia, Aisyah Llewellyn, and Deputy Editor of Bahasa Malaysia, Pauline Wong, to talk about what they look for when commissioning stories, why they believe it’s important to push back against a media culture of breaking news, and their own experiences as women in journalism.
Southeast Asia Dispatches is a fortnightly podcast bringing you reports, interviews and perspectives from New Naratif’s network around Southeast Asia.
This week, Victoria Milko talks to those fighting for freedom of expression in Myanmar [00:51], Adam Bemma hits the streets in Bangkok amid clean-up operations targeting street food vendors [07:18], Aisyah Llewellyn interviews Ian Morse about his experience covering the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami in Sulawesi [15:21], and Kirsten Han argues that the mainstream media’s attitude hampers the push for press freedom in Singapore [26:00].
This week, Tehmina Kaoosji takes a look at the sustainability of the palm oil industry in Malaysia [00:48], Adam Bemma speaks to young Thai rappers pushing boundaries [07:00], Kirsten Han interviews a Singaporean performance artist upon his release from prison [14:34], and Stanley Widianto reflects on co-writing a piece about Indonesia’s notorious blasphemy law [23:51]. Hosted by PJ Thum.
If you have an idea for a story, op-ed or interview, pitch us here! Feedback and suggestions welcome at feedback@newnaratif.com.
This week, Adam Bemma speaks to the wife of a community worker disappeared in Laos six years ago [01:41], Mark Tilly talks to architects about the development and urbanisation of the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh [09:18], Calum Stuart interviews Edmund Bon on the likelihood of Malaysia legalising medical marijuana [16:01] and Aisyah Llewellyn looks at why it’s so difficult to sort out Indonesia’s violent football culture [24:58].
If you would like to help with the relief effort in Sulawesi, Jakarta Post has this list of organisations who are accepting donations in the form of funds, goods and volunteer work.
This week, Adam Bemma speaks with a Syrian refugee stuck in the transit lounge of the Kuala Lumpur International Airport [00:51], Victoria Milko visits churches in Yangon trying to keep ethnic languages alive [07:32], Calum Stuart talks to Michael Tatarski about online freedom and the cybersecurity law in Vietnam [13:41] and Teguh Harahap reflects on his experience writing about LGBT “exorcisms” [24:58].
In this week’s episode, Kirsten Han visits a modernist building in danger of demolition in Singapore [00:48], Samantha Cheh talks to PJ Thum about anti-LGBT pseudo-science in Malaysia [10:25], and Febriana Firdaus examines the challenges faced by local journalists in Indonesia-ruled West Papua [21:35]. Hosted by PJ Thum.
This week’s episode includes a look at child marriage in Malaysia by Tehmina Kaoosji [00:48], an interview with Aisyah Llewellyn about her story on US-Indonesian relations during the Asian Financial Crisis [06:33], and a profile of Singapore’s “accidental activist” Roy Ngerng by Calum Stuart [17:39]. Hosted by PJ Thum.
A fortnightly podcast bringing you reports, interviews and commentary from New Naratif’s network around Southeast Asia.
This week’s stories include educating child labourers in Myanmar with Victoria Milko, a new train line in Cambodia with Mark Tilly and Sineat Yon, and reporting on grief with Aisyah Llewellyn. Hosted by PJ Thum.