Democratising Democracy in Southeast Asia
/ba.ca/ with New Naratif: The Future is Gentle Event Recap
In today’s Community Corner, let’s revisit /ba·ca/ with New Naratif’s The Future is Gentle, an Agenda Warga special where we invited Indonesians to an intimate discussion on how to build a more compassionate future. This special /ba.ca/ with New Naratif featured Jalla ‘Jelly’ Ismail, an art worker and co-founder of the trans/nonbinary/intersex art collective, Kolektif…
Highlights
Unlawful Surveillance in Southeast Asia, Pegasus Case
Gema Gita Persada and Ni Putu Candra Dewi talks about unlawful surveillance in Southeast Asia, what can we do about it, and of course, what can the listeners do to help this process.
New Naratif for Palestine: A List of Resources
The world is witnessing the atrocities happening in Palestine, yet knowledge remains limited and, in some cases, censored. This page is a living document curating information on the issue and its relevance for Southeast Asia.
Reflecting and Envisioning Transnational Southeast Asian Feminist and Gender Justice Movements
Having explored structural and systemic factors as well as daily challenges hindering the work of Southeast Asian feminist and gender justice activists, in this explainer, we delve into the possibility of facilitating transnational movement-building. We first explore existing transnational feminist and gender justice movements that our research participants have formed or joined. Then, we reflect…
Migrant Domestic Workers in Malaysia: Forced Labour and its Catalysts
According to a report by the International Labour Organization, one-third of migrant domestic workers in Malaysia are toiling as forced labourers. But what exactly is forced labour and what makes migrant domestic workers vulnerable to such modern-day slavery in Malaysia?
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.
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The Principles of Southeast Asia Democracy
Democracy means “the power of the people”, but do Southeast Asians feel they have the power? Do their governments genuinely represent them? Are their voices heard or taken into account? We have elections, therefore we are a democracy.” This isn’t sufficient proof that democracy exists. As the history of Southeast Asia shows, democracy is more than elections. The people need to play an active role in decision-making and be able to express their opinions.
Story Fellowship 2023: Mobility, Home, and Belonging Across East and Southeast Asia
We believe that real human stories play a crucial role in raising awareness, understanding, and sympathy towards migrant communities and stateless people alike. Those who are immobile or involuntarily mobile have been stripped of basic rights and privileges we often take for granted.
Agenda Warga Indonesia
Di tengah percakapan dominan tentang elektabilitas politisi, manuver politik partai, dan siasat para kandidat jelang Pemilu 2024: bisakah urusan politik mikro—perkara kehidupan warga sehari-hari—mendapat cukup ruang dalam “pesta demokrasi”?
Agenda Warga adalah ruang menyuarakan keresahan dan kepedulian, sekaligus untuk memperkuat partisipasi politik kita sebagai warga negara.
Keanggotaan dengan Rupiah
Sebagai sebuah hub untuk demokrasi, New Naratif berfokus pada penguatan komunitas. Kini kamu bisa bergabung sebagai anggota New Naratif dengan pembayaran Rupiah.
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latest
Swimming Against the Tide: Everyday Struggles of Gender Justice Activists
In this explainer, we examine the existing challenges towards advancing gender justice in Southeast Asia. Based on conversations with regional feminist and gender justice activists, we find that deeply entrenched…
Police Violence Against Thailand’s Journalists: The Risks of Covering Pro-Democracy Protests
Many protests in Thailand criticised and demanded a new constitution, the cabinet’s resignation, and monarchy reform in the last few years. The government is trying to suppress it by using…
Structural and Systemic Factors Hindering Democracy in SEA: A Feminist Perspective
This Explainer investigates the structural and systemic factors hindering the practice of inclusive feminist and gender justice-informed democratic action in Southeast Asia. We identify common and critical challenges, including but…
ON SOGIESC-INFORMED DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION
A Tale of Queer Migration – Homeward
In this very personal comic trilogy, visual artist and ethnographer Asmara S. Wigati takes us on their journey migrating across islands in Indonesia in search of a better life. This…
A Tale of Queer Migration – Transition
In this very personal comic trilogy, visual artist and ethnographer Asmara S. Wigati takes us on their journey migrating across islands in Indonesia in search of a better life. This…
Mother Goddess Worship: A Safe Space for Vietnamese Queer Spirits
Đạo Mẫu, the worship of mother goddesses, has helped destabilise gender norms and stigma towards the queer community in Vietnam. The tradition is often regarded as a safe space for…
A Tale of Queer Migration – Separation & Liminality
In this very personal comic, visual artist and ethnographer Asmara S. Wigati takes us on their journey migrating across islands in Indonesia in search of a better life. This first…
Queerphobia in the Newsroom: Beyond the News on LGBTQIA+
Indonesian national media outlets often opt not to publish news on LGBTQIA+ issues. When they do, they tend to perpetuate the stigma on the queer community. This condition is worsened…
A New Feminist Narrative: Towards More Inclusive Southeast Asian Democracies
This Democratic Participation Research series aims to understand democracy in Southeast Asia through studying the independent gender rights organisations in Southeast Asia. The research will focus on the following countries:…
ON REFUGEES AND MIGRATION
A Tale of Queer Migration in Indonesia
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…
Quarantined Feelings: A Short Film
In this short film produced in collaboration with BEBESEA, Bradley Jason Pantajo tells us a story of a mother separated from her family and dealing with physical, psychological, and emotional…
The Struggles of Refugees in Malaysia
In this episode, we will talk about refugee struggles in Malaysia, Joshua Low’s previous and current work, and the broader issues at hand.
The Shadows Floating Along The Mekong
In Cambodia, Vietnamese immigrants face many challenges, such as policy changes, depleted fish resources, and mistreatment by authorities. A Vietnamese Cambodian couple, Hen and Tham, were forced to abandon their…
Fleeing from Violence, Facing Violence: The Challenge of Foreign Female Refugees in Indonesia
Foreign female refugees arriving in Indonesia hope that the country can be a more comfortable temporary dwelling place compared to their war-torn homeland. Sadly, the expectation is yet to be…
Fighting Forward
In this special episode produced in collaboration with BEBESEA, Ali Reza Yawari shows us the life of a refugee lost in the middle of a country that doesn’t acknowledge his…
ON media freedom
Thailand’s Press by the People
In this episode, we will talk about the media freedom situation in Thailand, how “the press by the people for the people” can change the status quo, and what kind…
Cambodia’s Media Clampdown
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…
Eroding Press Freedom: Media Crackdown in Cambodia
The move of Cambodia’s former prime minister, Hun Sen, to shut an independent media, Voice of Democracy (VOD), ahead of the 2023 general elections reflects the 2017 media crackdown playbook.…
Journalism in Vietnam: Walking the Tightrope Between Communism and Capitalism
Media and journalism in Vietnam are facing a challenge when it comes to publishing stories about the government. On the one hand, the single-party government has absolute power to control…
Engendering Media: Findings from Malaysia, Singapore, and Brunei
Given the increasingly hostile climate for media workers in Southeast Asia, New Naratif’s Media Freedom Insights publications set out to better understand their lived experiences. This report focuses on the…
The Red Zone: Threats and Murders of Journalists in North Sumatra
North Sumatra sees the highest number of cases of violence, including murders of journalists in Indonesia. Most media companies are reluctant to provide appropriate aid, while the police remain the…
community corner
Democracy Classroom: Engendering Media Freedom in Southeast Asia Event Recap
Media freedom is an essential pillar of democracy to shape a transparent and informed society. On 29 August, we held a Democracy Classroom on “Engendering Media Freedom in Southeast Asia”…
Kelas Demokrasi: Mendengar Agenda Warga Event Recap
New Naratif launched Agenda Warga in collaboration with The Conversation Indonesia. With 33 participants, the inaugural Democracy Classroom discussed what participants thought should be the most important issues in Indonesia…
Protecting Childhood: The Struggle to End Child Immigration Detention Event Recap
In this Community Corner, we revisit our Protecting Childhood: The Struggle to End Child Immigration Detention event held in Malaysia. The event featured the work of Joshua Low, New Naratif’s…
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.
podcasts
Penyadapan Ilegal di Indonesia, Kasus Pegasus
Kami bersama Gema Gita Persada (LBH Pers) membahas peraturan penyadapan di Indonesia, pelanggaran-pelanggaran yang terjadi, serta peran masyarakat sipil dalam menghadapi situasi ini.
Unmasking the Menace of Pegasus
This episode recorded from a legal briefing session on Pegasus issue with Southeast Asia Freedom of Expression Network (SAFEnet) and Internet Law Reform Dialogue (iLaw) as two important proponents of democracy and media freedom in Southeast Asia.
Videos
Features
Principles of Democracy: Free, Fair, Regular, and Representative Elections
Elections allow voters to pass judgement and express their will on the government. How elections are designed and how their results are determined are fundamental to any country’s democracy. Thus, it should be regularly and carefully debated through a democratic process, with the design updated as flaws become apparent.
The 22 Most Important Issues Facing Indonesia in 2023
In Stage 1 of The Citizens’ Agenda 2023, New Naratif asked Indonesians what they think are the most important issues facing Indonesia, and what they’d like political candidates to talk about in the next general election. Here’s what our readers said (and didn’t say).
See all features in other languages:
Bahasa Indonesia | Bahasa Melayu | 中文 | ဗမာစာ | Tiếng Việt
COMICS
The Pegasus Threat: Unlawful Surveillance of Indonesian Citizens Approaching 2024 General Elections
What is Pegasus? This comic is a 101 explainer of the military-grade spyware and the recent IndonesiaLeaks investigation that unveils its threat in Indonesia and what it might mean for democracy in the rest of Southeast Asia.
The Journey of a Filipino Seafarer in Taiwan
Due to low wages in the Philippines, Kuya Ver was willing to take the risk of becoming a seafarer in Taiwan. However, the abuse that he and his crewmates suffered led to a man’s death and almost his own. Now, he is pushing for justice—and you, too, can help stop these cases from happening again.
Courage is Collective: A Retrospective for Transgender Day of Visibility 2023
Editorial Manager Bonnibel Rambatan presents a personal experimental short comic on the idea of visibility, courage, and collective care for this year’s Transgender Day of Visibility.
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.
See all comics in other languages:
Bahasa Indonesia | Bahasa Melayu | 中文 | ဗမာစာ | Tiếng Việt
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