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A digital hand-drawn illustration showing a man sitting on a hospital cot in a quarantine centre. He wears a hospital gown and holds a mobile phone in his hands. A large beam of light shines from the phone, illuminating his torso and spreading out behind him to show a stylised screenshot of a Facebook support group for COVID long-haulers. In the beam of light, two other people emerge; a woman in a long-sleeved dark red shirt with a nasal oxygen tube connected to an unseen oxygen tank, and a man in glasses, a grey hoodie and a light blue shirt. The man reaches out to grasp the woman’s hand. The rest of the quarantine centre not illuminated by the light beam is depicted in shades of grey.

Across Southeast Asia, Long COVID Haunts Pandemic Survivors

These Southeast Asians caught COVID-19 and survived, only to be misdiagnosed, misunderstood and fundamentally ignored by their countries’ medical communities. Hope for the region’s long-haulers lies in banding together.

by Gerald Flynn and Farid Nad 25 January 202225 January 2022

LATEST

Fiction

Flipside

In New Singapore, Kevin, an Accident Inspector, has always wanted to be a Grand Meteorologist, and now he might have a chance. Though at what cost?

by Myle Yan Tay and Row Yow 26 January 202227 January 2022

Podcast

Communist Democracy in the Philippines

Jacob Goldberg speaks to Professor Jose Maria Sison, 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.

by Jacob Goldberg 21 January 202227 January 2022

An illustration in colour pencil and watercolour, divided into one large central image and three panels on the left and right sides. In the centre, a woman in a t-shirt and skirt bows her head and reaches out to her partner, a man in a t-shirt and slacks who is wiping tears off his face. A Malaysian flag hangs in the background, red and white stripes forming bars behind the couple. In the six panels, three on the left and three on the right, the same couple stand at a counter, speaking to different immigration officers in each panel. There are small Malaysian flags on the countertop. The first officer looks stern; the second holds up their paperwork, laughing at it; the third shakes a form at the man angrily; the fourth beckons to another officer; the fifth looks apprehensively at another set of documents; the sixth points to a counter off in the distance, directing them into another series of altercations.

Feature

Amid Tourism Push, Malaysia Keeps Binational Families Apart

Pandemic travel and immigration rules in Malaysia have left many binational families stressed, strained and separated for months, with officials deeming foreign spouses “non-essential”. Some have turned to online groups to support and advocate for each other.

by Liani MK and Charis Loke 21 January 202221 January 2022

Mijak Tampung and other members of youth collective Kelompok Makekal Bersatu prepare to present their map of Makekal Hulu to the Orang Rimba community in 2016. Dodi Rokhdian

Feature

Pushed From National Parks, Forest-Dwellers Defend Land and Customs

From Thailand to Indonesia, indigenous people who have lived off the land for centuries are struggling to preserve their forest homes and customs. But as states create national parks and forcibly evict forest-dwellers, their ties to ancestral land are cut.

by Samira Hassan and Sahnaz Melasandy 14 January 202214 January 2022

The Media Freedom in Southeast Asia Project

TOPICS

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FEATURES >

Mothers Fight Sexism in Malaysia’s Citizenship Law

Malaysia’s constitution allows Malaysian fathers—not mothers—to pass their citizenship to children born abroad. Six mothers successfully challenged this discriminatory policy in court, but must continue to take on a recalcitrant government.

by Liani MK 21 December 202121 December 2021

Planting on plots that are overgrown with grasses, bushes and vines requires clearing all vegetation except for trees that grow wild. Reforestation teams use machetes to cut down overgrowth, which is often taller than them.

Sabah Community Aims to Regrow Healthy Forests Amid Pandemic

The pandemic has strained reforestation work in Sabah’s biodiverse Lower Kinabatangan region, but locals continue to replant trees in an effort to secure their livelihoods, protect endangered species and regrow carbon-capturing rainforests.

by Alexandra Radu 20 December 202110 January 2022

Members of the Shah Alam Community Forest Society and consultants visit the forest in Malaysia’s Selangor State in November 2021.

In Fight for Malaysian Forest, Can Activists Replicate a Win?

Community conservationists in Selangor are working to save the Shah Alam forest from planned development by showcasing its threatened biodiversity, disproving government claims and building support. Can they repeat an earlier victory by other forest defenders?

by Deborah Germaine Augustin 9 December 202110 January 2022

COMICS >

Ripple Effect

My mother became a refugee in her own country during the Indonesian War of Independence. The experience reverberated through the rest of her life.

by Stephani Soejono

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RESEARCH >

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.

by Charis Loke, Fadhilah Primandari, Samira Hassan, Sahnaz Melasandy and Jacob Goldberg 10 December 202110 December 2021

PODCASTS >

New Naratif in 2021: A Year of Many Firsts

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.

by Kelly Anissa and Thum Ping Tjin 17 December 202121 January 2022

VIDEOS >

Women from Sabah’s Sukau Village ride in a boat before working to replant forests in the Kinabatangan River region in late 2021. Chen Yih Wen

The Women Tree Planters of Sukau

Since 2008, women from Sabah’s Sukau Village have planted trees to connect forest fragments and preserve the area’s biodiversity. COVID-19 stopped their work for months, resulting in the deaths of many newly planted trees. Now, they have returned to the forest.

by Chen Yih Wen 16 December 202110 January 2022

MIGRATION >

The Long Road Home

A domestic worker in Singapore returns to Indonesia during the pandemic. She encounters differential treatment and a costly road home.

by Okky Madasari, Ghufroni An'ars and Abdul Khalik 20 December 202120 December 2021

Under-Protected Abroad, Domestic Workers Find Ways to Resist

Southeast Asian domestic labourers often migrate to wealthier countries where they are excluded from labour protections and left vulnerable to abuse. While COVID-19 has made labour conditions worse, some migrant workers have found their own ways to resist.

by Lam Le and Row Yow 15 November 202110 January 2022

Can Malaysia’s Cycle of Statelessness Be Broken?

Deborah Augustin speaks to Haijan Omar, Dr. Vilashini Somiah and Wong Kueng Hui, one of the many stateless people in the Malaysian state of Sabah, about his decade-long legal battle to gain citizenship in Malaysia.

by Chen Yih Wen and Deborah Germaine Augustin 5 November 202121 January 2022

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