Hello!
Stay up to date with New Naratif’s latest stories and upcoming events with our weekly newsletter. No spam, just good content.
Development Through Distress
Bonnibel Rambatan talks to Teo S. Marasigan and Zelda Santos about the phenomenon of Overseas Filipino Workers and help desk for distressed OFWs run in secret by a handful of Filipinos from various professions. Guest Teo S. Marasigan & Zelda Santos Host Bonnibel Rambatan Producer Dania Joedo In this episode, Bonnibel Rambatan talks to Teo…
Highlights
Answering Your Top Three Questions on the Aftermath of Malaysia’s GE15
Ram Anand speaks to Professor James Chin, University of Tasmania’s Professor of Asian Studies, to answer the top questions on what comes next after Malaysia’s fifteenth general elections: the Anti-Hopping Law (AHL), the Unity Government, and the impact of the upcoming six state elections.
The Higher Education Labyrinth for Refugee Learners in Peninsular Malaysia
The issue of primary and secondary school access for refugee learners in Peninsular Malaysia has received some public attention. But with a minority of refugees arriving or graduating with secondary school diplomas, an equally important question to ask is: What comes next?
Honouring Trans Lives in Southeast Asia: Artists Respond to Transgender Day of Remembrance 2022
New Naratif’s Editorial Manager Bonnibel Rambatan talks to five other trans artists who have made works of art to commemorate this year’s Transgender Day of Remembrance.
Reimagine Southeast Asia: Eight Works of Flash Fiction to Inspire Hope for Our Home
Eight selected works of flash fiction from reader submissions that reimagine Southeast Asia as their ideal homeland.
New Naratif is a movement democratising democracy in Southeast Asia. Our vision is to foster an inclusive Southeast Asia community where all peoples are fully engaging and participating in building democracy. We build capacity for this through our three-step process: engage, educate, and empower Southeast Asians.
Stay up to date with New Naratif’s latest stories and upcoming events with our weekly newsletter.
Get Involved
Southeast Asia faces severe challenges to media freedom in the form of hostile regulatory, legal, and commercial environments.
Here at New Naratif, we believe that independent media is vital to building Southeast Asian democracy, and as part of the Media Freedom in Southeast Asia Project, the Media Freedom Network (MFN) is our response to these challenges.
/ba∙ca/ with New Naratif is a reading group series that invites members to come together to discuss selected stories published by New Naratif. Discussions are led by New Naratif team members and feature guest speakers and contributors.
/ba∙ca/ with New Naratif aims to bring our community together to discuss complicated issues and take collective action.
Get Informed
latest
10-year Post-Haiyan: LGBTQ+ Survivors Still Fight for Their Legal Rights
Nearly a decade after the Haiyan disaster, the LGBTQ+ community still faces hardships to be on the list of housing recipients in the Central Philippines. Even until today, they relentlessly…
On Media Freedom and Public Journalism
Bonnibel Rambatan talks to Evi Mariani, Project Multatuli’s co-founder, about what media freedom means and what the ideals of public journalism are, and how we can keep up a good…
Myths & Migration
Bonnibel Rambatan talks to Lengga Pradipta, New Naratif’s migration researcher, about her work on the intersection of migration and environmental issues in Kalimantan and the myths the government perpetuate.
RESEARCH: migration
The Philippines’ Dangerous Dependence on the Exploitation of its People
While it started labour export as a stop-gap measure, the Philippine government now aggressively exports Filipinos. Labour migration has helped address the short-term needs of migrant families and the economy, and has benefitted migrant-receiving countries, local elites and the government, but also poses serious long-term problems to migrants, Filipinos, and the country.
Kalimantan’s Warning: The Intertwined Dynamics of Environmental Degradation and Internal Migration
For 150 years, migration has helped drive environmental degradation in Kalimantan. But now, in a cruel, reverse twist of fate, environmental degradation is forcing the people of Kalimantan to migrate. This fate awaits us all unless we can overturn fundamental assumptions about natural resources, nationalism, colonialism, capitalism, and development.
Reclaiming Dignity, Reasserting Agency: Female Labour Migration in Indonesia
Understanding labour migration in purely economic terms fails to adequately capture why Indonesian women choose to migrate: for some, it is a way to reclaim dignity and reassert agency over their lives.
Agency Amidst Structures in Migration: Stories of Filipina Domestic Workers in Dubai
Stories from three female domestic workers from the Philippines who tried to survive abuse at the hands of their employers in the UAE allows for a balance in seeing the OFW phenomenon from the structural and agency lenses.
Videos
The Media Freedom in Southeast Asia Project
Southeast Asia faces severe challenges to media freedom in the form of hostile regulatory, legal, and commercial environments. Here at New Naratif, we believe that independent media is vital to building Southeast Asian democracy, and as part of the Media Freedom in Southeast Asia Project, the Media Freedom Network (MFN) is our response to these…
Media freedom insights
Envisioning Media Freedom and Independence: Narratives from Southeast Asia
A qualitative exploratory study of media freedom in Southeast Asia, centring on the voices of independent media workers in the region.
Beyond the Absence of Killings and Arrests
A qualitative exploratory study of media freedom in Southeast Asia, centring on the voices of independent media workers in the region.
Media Work as Resistance
A graphic summary of New Naratif’s study of media freedom in Southeast Asia, drawn from media workers’ experiences and challenges.
Making The World We Want
A Manifesto for Media Freedom and Independence in Southeast Asia
THE CITIZENS’ AGENDA 2022: MALAYSIA AND SINGAPORE
FICTION: REIMAGINE SOUTHEAST ASIA
![[Re:] #302: Happy Birthday! (6)](https://newnaratif.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/925F07A8-B59A-4F91-B62E-4ABB3688E3C6-1200x900.png?crop=1)
[Re:] #302: Happy Birthday! (6)
In post-revolution and post-climate crisis Southeast Asia, Samudra routinely makes voice recordings for their father on their birthday. Now, Samudra talks about their longing for their father, giving him updates on their beloved home at Number Three Kolepang Street.
ID Card
No longer wearing a hijab, Dina wants to change her picture on her ID card. Worries occupy her head when she has to face the state apparatuses, who have long been thought to be cold and judgemental.
Sprouts
Raising a toddler, pursuing a career of scientific innovation, and being active in social communities seem like a series of impossible demands for one woman. But in Inez’s work, all of these roles weave into each other seamlessly as we visit a food-sovereign community with no gender discrimination.
Setelah Tanda Tanya
After her first heartbreak, K wonders if it was still possible for queer people to find and share love in this country.
Writing the Future Through Queer Intimacy
Amid the search for a faraway and foreign future, the character “I” in Himas Nur’s story realizes that they have been living and breathing the warmth of their future thus far—the future through the embrace of their friends.
Faraway Dream
An old, retired domestic worker and her husband watches the graduation ceremony of their daughter with pride. In this parallel reality, domestic workers have the same rights, opportunities, and welfare as the rest of us.
Orange
Under a big orange tree, two little girls talk about oranges and how the indigenous people will get their land back. Do you want an orange from their three? I mean, tree?
is utopia a mere pipe dream?
As you sift rice with a mind in constant questioning about your liberation from oppression, the smile of your peers make you realise that your fight is worth it nonetheless.
southeast asia dispatches
Advocating for Trans Liberation in Southeast Asia
In commemoration of Transgender Day of Remembrance 2022, Bonnibel Rambatan talks about trans liberation in Southeast Asia with Erik Nadir and Nhuun Yodmuang from Asia Pacific Transgender Network.
Sued by Singapore’s Prime Minister: Roy Ngerng’s Ridiculous Case
Blogger and researcher Roy Ngerng had his life destroyed by Singapore PM Lee Hsien Loong’s defamation lawsuit. Seven years on, he talks to PJ Thum about the injustice of his case, politics in Singapore, his new life in Taiwan, and what Taiwan is like compared to Singapore.
Features
Monopoly and Monotony of Political Representation in Malaysia
Malaysia’s parliament system offers two options for the new parties, including MUDA. They can go solo but be stranded in the political wilderness or join a broader coalition that moderates their radicalism and reduces their autonomy.
Cambodia’s At-Risk Construction Workers Raise Families On-Site
Cambodian construction workers and their families often live inside the buildings they are constructing, despite dozens being killed in building collapses in recent years. Few labour protections and low pay leave them vulnerable to accidents and exploitation.
See all features in other languages:
Bahasa Indonesia | Bahasa Melayu | 中文 | ဗမာစာ | Tiếng Việt
COMICS
Don’t Let Them Kill My Mother: Confusion
Devy Christa receives a call from a friend on a Sunday morning who urges her to look at the television news. It turns out all the news is about her mother, Merry Utami, who is on her way to Nusa Kambangan—a highly secure prison in Indonesia.
See all comics in other languages:
Bahasa Indonesia | Bahasa Melayu | 中文 | ဗမာစာ | Tiếng Việt
Stay Connected!
Get to know New NaratifLearn who we are, what we do, and why you should join us.
Sponsored MembershipNo one is left behind, write in to us for a membership.
Get the latest narratives.
Subscribe to our newsletter.
Join the movement.
Be a part of our fight for a better democracy in Southeast Asia
As a non-profit organisation, your donations help pay for our team members, freelancers, events and advocacy. Help keep New Naratif independent with a donation today.