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.
Posted inPodcast
Advocating for Trans Liberation in Southeast Asia
Bonnibel Rambatan talks about trans liberation in Southeast Asia with Erik Nadir and Nhuun Yodmuang from Asia Pacific Transgender Network, also known as APTN.
Posted inResearch
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.
Posted inArtists Respond
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.
Posted inComic
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.
Posted inComic
Don’t Let Them Kill My Mother: Fragments
Devy Christa remembers fragments of her memory with her mother. Her mother went away for quite a long time to become a migrant worker to provide money for the operation of Devy’s brother, Yossi. And now, Devy sees her mother again on television.
Posted inComic
Don’t Let Them Kill My Mother: Scapegoat
Devy Christa discovers the details about the case of her mother, Merry Utami, the same week the state plans to execute her. Her mother was manipulated by a foreign man named Jerry and underwent an unfair process of interrogation, trial, arrest, and detention for over a dozen years.
Posted inComic
Don’t Let Them Kill My Mother: Wishes
President Jokowi may have cancelled Merry Utami’s execution that day, but he never gave the clemency. To this day, Merry can still be executed at any time. Devy Christa continues to hope, “Don’t let them kill my mother”.
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Posted inExplainer
Explainer: Malaysia’s Electoral System
This brief article presents an overview of the Federation of Malaysia’s (Malaysia) electoral system, how it works, how and why it has been altered over the years, and the challenge it presents for representative democracy in Malaysia.
Posted inFeature
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.