PJ Thum speaks to Hallam Stevens and Monamie Bhadra Haines, professors at Nanyang Technological University, about the TraceTogether app, and more broadly about Citizen Science, and the broader societal implications of using such technology to address deeply contentious and difficult political issues.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, society’s most vulnerable are at risk in several ways. Refugees and migrants in particular, whether documented or undocumented, face challenges such as having inadequate access to healthcare, reduced income and overall increased precarity. It becomes even more complicated when their host countries do not recognise their rights. On this week’s episode of Southeast Asia Dispatches, membership engagement manager, Deborah Augustin speaks to a journalist, writer and observer about the rise in xenophobia in Malaysia towards migrants and refugees. We’ve kept our guest’s identity anonymous out of concerns for his safety.
PJ Thum speaks about freedom of expression and the media in Singapore with Dr James Rowlins, previously a lecturer in film and media studies at the Singapore University of Technology and Design from 2012 to 2018.
Today is World Press Freedom Day. In Southeast Asia, journalists face both legal and financial challenges when reporting. But now more than ever, quality journalism is important to keep people informed and many journalists across the globe continue to do that despite the threat of the current pandemic. On today’s episode, our Membership Engagement Manager Deborah Augustin speaks to Aisyah Llewellyn, our Editor in Chief about what it’s like to be out in the field when most people are being told to stay home.
PJ speaks with Zakir Hossain Khokan, a migrant worker from Bangladesh and founder of "Migrant Writers of Singapore", who is currently ill with COVID-19 (but recovering), and Jay and Michelle, two Singaporeans who volunteer with his organisation, about their work and other initiatives; about the ongoing COVID-19 crisis among migrant workers; and about broader structural and systemic issues facing migrant workers in Singapore
Globally, lockdowns are a key tactic to combat COVID-19. Phrases like ‘Stay Home, Stay Safe’ are used on social media to encourage people to stay indoors during this pandemic. But what happens when home isn’t a safe place for some people? On this week’s episode of Southeast Asia Dispatches, membership engagement manager, Deborah Augustin looks at what happens when survivors of domestic abuse are forced to stay home with their abusers during a lockdown. She is joined by Tan Heang Lee, the Communications Officer of the Women's Aid Organization in Malaysia and Patricia Sue-Lin Knudsen, who is a co-producer and host of The Pool, a podcast series about and for domestic abuse survivors in Malaysia.
PJ Thum talks to two young Singaporean Climate Strikers about their strike, themselves, their activism, their goals, and their hopes for the future.
On this episode of Southeast Asia Dispatches: our Editor-in-Chief Aisyah Llewellyn talks to Effendy Aritonang, the National Director of Yayasan Fondasi Hidup - an Indonesian NGO based in Medan, North Sumatra. The foundation was created in Indonesia after the devastating 2004 tsunami, and today it works to address all forms of human poverty through education, healthcare and disaster risk reduction. As part of our Covid-19 coverage, Effendy talks to Aisyah about the work his foundation does and how you can help apply some of their methods to work in your local community.
Thum Ping Tjin talks to Tan Wah Piow about childhood, his time in the University of Singapore, his activism, his fraudulent conviction and the PAP government's attempted abuse of the National Service Act, his subsequent flight and exile from Singapore, all the people who helped him along the way, and his reflections on Singapore’s politics and political activism today.
In August 2018, Febriana Firdaus (via skype) and Thum Ping Tjin sat down with Benny Wenda to interview him about his life, his people's struggle for freedom, the Free West Papua Movement, and his hopes for the future.
A recording of a conversation between sociologist and author of This Is What Inequality Looks Like, Teo You Yenn, and New Naratif's Editor-in-Chief, Kirsten Han, about their writing process, and what it's like to do the work they do in Singapore.
Adam Bemma speaks to a Thai democracy and human rights activist about his arrest under the country’s lese majeste law and Victoria Milko looks at the difficulties of reporting on the Rohingya crisis in Myanmar and Bangladesh.
Dr PJ Thum discusses Singapore's economic model, in particular the impact of state and foreign capital, and domestic political competition, on economic strategy. Through this, he explains political, social, and economic control in Singapore, unpacks common myths and misunderstandings surrounding the country, and offers lessons for a post-Brexit Britain.
In Singapore, young people have stepped up to take action, whether it's pressuring their university to reform its sexual harassment policies, or take part in organising the country's first ever climate rally. What is the the role of youth activism in society? What is the state of student activism in Singapore?
Victoria Milko visits refugee camps on the Myanmar-Bangladesh border around the two-year anniversary of an exodus of Rohingya from Myanmar, Kelly Anissa speaks to Malaysian students protesting against their university's involvement in a problematic event, and Kirsten Han reflects on the state of dissent and activism in Singapore.
Laura McDowell and Teodosia Dos Reis join domestic workers in Timor Leste as they march for their rights, Adam Bemma talks to political groups in Thailand trying to decentralise politics from the capital of Bangkok, Quinn Libson interviews researchers highlighting Facebook’s struggles with the Khmer language, and James Rose reflects on the weaponisation of the word “Rohingya” in Myanmar.
In 2016, 22-year-old Febri made a decision to move to Syria and live under Islamic State, better known as ISIS. In the final of a special two-part series for New Naratif, Deputy Editor Aisyah Llewellyn talks to Febri about reuniting with his family, the reality of life in Raqqa, and their journey home again.
In 2016, 22-year-old Febri made a decision to move to Syria and live under Islamic State, better known as ISIS. In the first of a special two-part series for New Naratif, Deputy Editor Aisyah Llewellyn reports on Febri's journey to Syria and the reasons why some Indonesian families made the decision to join the so-called Caliphate.
What is "Operation Coldstore"––the 1963 arrest and detention without trial of over 112 opposition politicians, trade unionists, and political activists on grounds of a communist conspiracy––for its role in Malayan history, how it has shaped Singapore's governance, and why it matters to the ruling party. The lecture then examines the current political economy of control in Singapore and what these controversies reveal about the nature of People's Action Party governance today.
This week, Victoria Milko takes a look at how providers are bringing healthcare to the Naga Self-Administered Zone, Adam Bemma speaks to Hasan Al-Akraa, a refugee in Malaysia who uses social media to provide support to fellow asylum seekers, Mark Tilly talks to Hanna Guy of sustainable clothing label Dorsu Cambodia about conditions in the garment industry, and Kirsten Han argues that the lack of information about the death penalty in Singapore affects accountability and debate.
