Hello!

Welcome to New Naratif! This page explains who we are, what we do, and why you should join us.

Who we are

New Naratif is a movement for democracy, freedom of expression, and freedom of information in Southeast Asia. We are based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and we have offices in Medan and Jakarta, Indonesia.

What we do

Our goal is to empower Southeast Asians by giving them the information and tools to be fully engaged and participatory citizens. We seek to achieve this by:

• identifying, and conducting research on, important issues facing the people of Southeast Asia;
• publishing in-depth evidence-based information about these issues, in a variety of accessible formats (research articles, journalism features, comics, podcasts, and videos) and languages (the languages of the people of Southeast Asia, including Bahasa Indonesia, Bahasa Melayu/Malaysia, Vietnamese, and Chinese);
• empowering people to become fully engaged citizens of their communities via events such as our democracy classrooms, civic participation workshops, and journalism training; and
• advocating for and modelling ethical, moral, and progressive values rooted in the Southeast Asian context.

For more information on our goals and beliefs, about read our Manifesto.

“In being highly transparent, regularly gathering and learning from its community members in person, and being a trusted watchdog in its coverage, New Naratif is an organization to watch.” – Emily Goligoski, The Membership Puzzle Project  

 

Research

We seek to understand Southeast Asia by

• conducting research such as The Citizens’ Agenda, which seeks to understand what the people of Southeast Asia consider the most important issues facing our region;
• publishing original research on our region; and
• making academic research about Southeast Asia accessible, by rewriting it for the lay reader and in Southeast Asian languages (see below for examples).

Publishing

Here are some of our articles which demonstrate what we do:

Publishing original academic research which sheds light on issues, especially issues which governments don’t want reported

• How Malaysia’s Election is Being Rigged / Bagaimana pilihan raya di Malaysia disalah atur explained how the then-Barisan Nasional government was trying to rig the redistricting process ahead of Malaysia’s General Elections
• The Duterte Playbook, which demonstrated how Philippines President Duterte’s rhetoric of “drugs and crime” was a smokescreen for using violence for political control. This strategy dated back to his Mayoralty of Davao City.
• How Discrimination Kills Gay Men in Singapore, in response to the official PAP government statement that LGBTQ individuals do not suffer any negative consequences of the legal ban on gay sex (Section 377A of the Penal Code).

Translating academic research into accessible formats and languages

• The Filipino Catholic Nun as Transnational Feminist (adapted from Mina Roces (2008) The Filipino Catholic Nun as Transnational Feminist, Women’s History Review, 17:1, 57-78, DOI: 10.1080/09612020701447657).
• Foundations laid, Directions Set (adapted from Michael Barr, Singapore: A Modern History (I.B. Tauris, 2019)).

Reporting on an issue from different perspectives across the region, that allow us to tell a more complete story

• How do you interview God? (and Part 2) / Gimana cara mewawancarai Tuhan? (dan Bagian Dua), about an Indonesian who was convicted of blasphemy for asking her neighbourhood mosque to slightly turn down its speakers. Our correspondents in Medan and Jakarta collaborated to produce these articles and incorporate both the local and national perspective to explain the deeper context of the blasphemy charge and conviction.
• Hawker Culture, on both sides of the Causeway / Budaya Penjaja di Sebelah Sini dan Sana Tambak, about food culture in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, and what unites the twin capitals of Malaya, done via reporting from a Singaporean and a Malaysian based in the respective cities.

Stories which explore perspectives which no one else will explore and publish

• The Making of a Female ISIS Bomber / Bagaimana ISIS Mencetak Seorang Bomber Perempuan Pertama di Indonesia, an interview with the first female ISIS suicide bomber. She failed and is currently in prison.
• (Podcast) Road To Raqqa Part 1 (Part 2 forthcoming), an interview with an Indonesian who went to Syria to join ISIS and returned.
• (Podcast) Political Agenda: What’s up with Singapore’s Bicentennial?, a discussion with minorities in Singapore who have a different perspective on Singapore’s commemoration of the 200th anniversary of its colonisation in 1819.

Stories which highlight the diversity of Southeast Asia, in the voices of Southeast Asians

• (comic) One Day Out / Satu Hari Tanpa Sembunyi, a story by a closeted gay Muslim woman and her decision to not come out.
• (comic) My Name Is… / (Versi Bahasa Indonesia), a reflection by Iskandar Salim, a Chinese-Indonesian, on names, politics, culture and identity in Indonesia.

Explainers which illuminate complicated, contested issues to our audience

• Explainer: What’s going on in West Papua? / Apa yang terjadi di Papua? on the Indonesian occupation of West Papua and its struggle for self-determination.
• Explainer: The Ahmadiyya in Indonesia / Sebuah Pengenalan dengan umat Ahmadiyah Indonesia about one of the most oppressed minority Muslim groups in Indonesia.
• Our ongoing series of political concepts:

1. What is Politics?
2. Political Power, Authority, and Force

“Yet rather than be cowed by the scale of what they face, New Naratif seems energised… It has a relationship with its readers like no one else in the media… It’s an example of the extraordinary level of innovation going on in the [Southeast Asian] region. ” – Duncan Greive, The Spinoff

Empowerment

We hold events to try and empower the people of Southeast Asia to equip them to make positive change in their communities and become fully engaged, participatory citizens.

• Democracy classrooms, where we discuss complicated issues in safe, constructive, environments. Here’s one early example. We no longer record these as authoritarian governments frown on citizenship empowerment, so we keep a low profile when we organise these. Join as a member to find out more!
• Journalism workshops, to increase capacity for independent journalism across Southeast Asia.
• Here’s a list of recent events, including discussion fora, film screenings, and seminars.
• We also take part in workshops, festivals, and other events promoting human rights, freedom of information, and freedom of speech in Southeast Asia, such as Freedom Film Fest, Cooler Lumpur, and Splice Beta; and academic events such as the ASEAN Forum in Sydney and the European Association of Southeast Asian Studies’ biennial conference.

Be a part of our community! Please see our list of upcoming events.

Advocacy and Best Practice

We publish transparency reports, including full financial reports, every six months, at newnaratif.com/transparency. We do our best  to account for every cent that we take in and spend.

We also hold open online meetings every month, hosted by Managing Director PJ Thum, to allow all members and anyone interested in New Naratif to ask questions of us. The meetings are usually held online twice in a single day at 10am SGT (9pm EST) and 7pm SGT (11am GMT) to allow people all around the world to call in.

We strongly believe in privacy—see our privacy policy. We really only need three pieces of information: your name (which can be a fake name), your email (which can be a throwaway email), and your country (for tax purposes). We explain clearly in our policy the principles on which the policy is governed, what data we collect, why we collect it, and how we we use it. We endeavour to keep as little data as possible and only the data that is absolutely necessary for our movement to function properly. If we don’t have your information, it can’t be stolen, misused, or monetised.

We do these because if a tiny organisation with no full time staff and next to no resources can be transparent and accountable, why not governments, multinational corporations, and sovereign wealth funds?

“Let’s try and coin a new label here. Let’s call [these publications] ‘interest transparent’. New Naratif is at the forefront of this thinking.” – Alan Soon, Founder of Splice Media

Membership and our Financial Model

Our movement is supported primarily by our members, who pay a membership fee of between US$52/year and US$552/year (or US$5/month to US$49/month). All members are treated equally regardless of level of subscription. We also accept donations and grants on condition of full management and editorial independence. Please see our transparency reports for a full accounting of our finances.

Most of our content is behind a paywall, but any member can share any article an unlimited number of times with anyone in the world. We freely share a lot of our content via our Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter feeds, along with our Telegram groups (click here to join in English, Bahasa Indonesia, and Bahasa Melayu/Malaysia). In this way, we balance sustainability with access.

As such, members do not join to gain access—all of our content is easily available for free. Members join because they share our values, and want to support our movement. Members help us with our research, via focus groups to shape the surveys and volunteer to publicise content; they help shape our content, by deciding upon our themes, reviewing and commenting on our drafts, and acting as resources for our reporting; and they take part in our events and participate in our citizenship empowerment events.

For more information, please visit our Frequently Asked Questions. You can also follow us on YouTube. Join our mailing list to receive updates—newsletters go out every Thursday. If you’d like to write, draw, or record a video or podcast for us, please pitch us your idea.

If you’d like to be a part of our movement for democracy, freedom of information, and freedom of expression in Southeast Asia, please join New Naratif today or make a donation!