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Democratising Democracy in Southeast Asia
![[TEST] On the State of Education in Malaysia and What it Means for the Country’s Economy #2](https://newnaratif-staging.ue1.developbb.dev/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/NDT-header-scaled-1-1200x675.jpg)
[TEST] On the State of Education in Malaysia and What it Means for the Country’s Economy #2
On the State of Education in Malaysia and What it Means for the Country’s Economy Authors: Ngee Derk TiongIllustration: ¯_(ツ)_/¯ In New Naratif’s The Citizens’ Agenda 2022 survey in Malaysia, Jobs and Wages are the country’s number two concern after Cost of Living, while Education ranks fifth. This article explores the relationship between Malaysia’s education system and…
Highlights
On the State of Education in Malaysia and What it Means for the Country’s Economy
On the State of Education in Malaysia and What it Means for the Country’s Economy Authors: Ngee Derk TiongIllustration: ¯_(ツ)_/¯ In New Naratif’s The Citizens’ Agenda 2022 survey in Malaysia, Jobs and Wages are the country’s number two concern after Cost of Living, while Education ranks fifth. This article explores the relationship between Malaysia’s education system and…
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Queerphobia in Indonesia’s Newsrooms
In this episode, Bonnibel Rambatan and Widia Primastika will talk about the queerphobia media ecosystem in Indonesia, policies that forbid publishing news on LGBTQIA+, and where do journalist queer peoples stand.
Explainer: Managing the Cost of Living in Malaysia
New Naratif’s The Citizens’ Agenda Malaysia 2022 found that the cost of living in Malaysia is the most pressing issue for the country’s citizens. How should Malaysia manage this issue? What should the people in Malaysia demand from their government?
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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latest
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…
ON REFUGEES AND MIGRATION
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…
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 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…
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…
ON media freedom
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…
Research as Activism
In this episode, Bonnibel Rambatan and Wai Liang Tham we’ll be talking about Research as Activism. But essentially, rather than simply applying a theoretical framework, this approach platforms marginalised voices,…
community corner
/ba.ca/ with NN: Growing Together, A Discussion on Collective Care Event Recap
New Naratif’s team and our community gathered to discuss why it’s important to foster communal support, build and take care of communities, and nurture our individual selves inside a collective…
Democracy Classroom by New Naratif: ‘The Philippines’ Dangerous Dependence on the Exploitation of its People’ Event Recap
For this installment of New Naratif’s Democracy Classroom, our community engaged in a discussion with Teo S. Marasigan, the author of The Philippines’ Dangerous Dependence on the Exploitation of its…
/ba.ca/ with New Naratif: The Philippines’ Exploitation of Overseas Filipino Workers Event Recap
For the fourth instalment of /ba·ca/ with New Naratif, our community heard from and discussed with researcher and activist, Teo S. Marasigan, and Migrante International Chairperson, Joanna Concepcion, about Overseas…
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
The Principles of Democracy
In this episode, Bonnibel Rambatan and PJ Thum will be talking about New Naratif’s upcoming Principles of Democracy project and what it takes to build a democracy.
Managing the Cost of Living in Malaysia
In this episode, Bonnibel Rambatan and Greg Lopez will discuss the top three issues, cost of living, employment and wages, and the economy, along with how the Malaysian government may address them through inclusive economic growth and all-inclusive social protection.
Videos
Features
Child Marriage in Indonesia is Illegal. But Why is it Still Prevalent?
Despite the existence of government regulations and legislation, child marriage in Indonesia remains a serious issue. While it is normally framed as religious or cultural, a key driving factor is poverty, including a lack of access to education and information and the parents’ desperation to escape the cycle of destitution.
Beyond the Binary: Two Bissu Defend their Roots in Sulawesi
The concept of queer and non-binary identities has long been a part of Indonesian culture, including the Bugis culture in Sulawesi, where the Bissu, who embody all genders, play a significant role in society, despite facing discrimination from various conservative groups. Yuyun and Eka are very few Bissu who are still fighting for this tradition.
See all features in other languages:
Bahasa Indonesia | Bahasa Melayu | 中文 | ဗမာစာ | Tiếng Việt
COMICS
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.
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.
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.
See all comics in other languages:
Bahasa Indonesia | Bahasa Melayu | 中文 | ဗမာစာ | Tiếng Việt
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