Kami Orang Sini Juga #8: Does China’s Soft Power Influence Local Chinese Identity & Politics?

Dr Chee Soon Juan is one of Singapore’s most prominent opposition politicians and has served as secretary-general of the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) since 1993. Despite not having a seat in Parliament, Chee has spent decades advocating greater political pluralism, civil liberties, democratic reform, and stronger social welfare policies in Singapore. Like most in Singapore who choose to actively battle the PAP in the political arena, Dr Chee’s journey has been an uphill one, marked by legal troubles, arrests and prison time. In this episode, we speak to Dr Chee on the realities of being part of the opposition in Singapore and the challenges the country faces despite years of good governance by the ruling PAP. We also talk about his new book, Unbroken: The Power of Resilience. Image Credit: Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) FacebookSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Saul Takahashi is a Japanese human rights lawyer and academic known for his work on Palestine, international human rights law, and Islamophobia research. He served as Deputy Head of Office of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Occupied Palestine from March 2009 to May 2014. He’s currently a Non-resident Fellow at the Hashim Sani Centre for Palestine Studies, University Malaya. In this episode, we speak to Saul about his personal journey, what he learned about the limits of the United Nations while working there, what he witnessed while living and working in Palestine, post-war Japan and more. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kami Orang Sini Juga is a mini-series in collaboration with IMAN Research. This series explores how young Malaysian Indians and Chinese understand identity, belonging, and their place in Malaysia today. It builds on IMAN’s earlier project, Orang Kita, which focused on Malay Muslim youth.In the 8th and final episode, we explore the rise of China as a global powerhouse and whether its soft power is shaping the identity and political views of young, local Chinese. We also interrogate whether its soft power is any different from how Hong Kong and Taiwan captured the imagination of Malaysian-Chinese back in the 80s-2000s, or how the English-speaking community is often shaped by American pop culture and politics.We speak to Liew Liang Hong, Researcher, IMAN Research. Listen to the rest of the episodes of the series here.And if you missed it, we previously covered IMAN’s Orang Kita project on Malay-Muslim youth. Here is the list of episodes - The Malays Are More Politically Diverse Than You ThinkDoes the MADANI Branding Capture the Imagination of Young Malays?Farmlands & Financial Hubs: How Land Use Shapes Voting Patterns in MalaysiaWhat Do Malay Youths Want?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kami Orang Sini Juga is a mini-series in collaboration with IMAN Research. This series explores how young Malaysian Indians and Chinese understand identity, belonging, and their place in Malaysia today. It builds on IMAN’s earlier project, Orang Kita, which focused on Malay Muslim youth.In the seventh episode, we unpack a bit of the history of one of the most well-organised far-right organisations in the world, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), and explore whether it has spread its wings to Malaysia. We also talk about actor-turned politician Vijay (who recently won the Tamil Nadu elections and became its chief minister) and how he is capturing the political imagination of the diaspora community in ways others can't. In this episode, we are once again joined by Shalini Muniapan, who is a researcher at IMAN Research. Listen to the rest of the episodes of the series here.And if you missed it, we previously covered IMAN’s Orang Kita project on Malay-Muslim youth. Here is the list of episodes - The Malays Are More Politically Diverse Than You ThinkDoes the MADANI Branding Capture the Imagination of Young Malays?Farmlands & Financial Hubs: How Land Use Shapes Voting Patterns in MalaysiaWhat Do Malay Youths Want?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kami Orang Sini Juga is a mini-series in collaboration with IMAN Research. This series explores how young Malaysian Indians and Chinese understand identity, belonging, and their place in Malaysia today. It builds on IMAN’s earlier project, Orang Kita, which focused on Malay Muslim youth.In the sixth episode, we explore the key priorities of Malaysian-Chinese youth, including infrastructure and social harmony. We speak to Liew Liang Hong, Researcher, IMAN Research. Listen to the rest of the episodes of the series here.And if you missed it, we previously covered IMAN’s Orang Kita project on Malay-Muslim youth. Here is the list of episodes - The Malays Are More Politically Diverse Than You ThinkDoes the MADANI Branding Capture the Imagination of Young Malays?Farmlands & Financial Hubs: How Land Use Shapes Voting Patterns in MalaysiaWhat Do Malay Youths Want?Image Credit: ShutterstockSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kami Orang Sini Juga is a mini-series in collaboration with IMAN Research. This series explores how young Malaysian Indians and Chinese understand identity, belonging, and their place in Malaysia today. It builds on IMAN’s earlier project, Orang Kita, which focused on Malay Muslim youth.In the fifth episode, we unpack why young Malaysian Indians feel disconnected from politics in the country, how they feel about race based political parties and what meaningful political re-engagement could look like. Listen to rest of the episodes of the series here.And if you missed it, we previously covered IMAN’s Orang Kita project on Malay-Muslim youth. Here is the list of episodes - The Malays Are More Politically Diverse Than You ThinkDoes the MADANI Branding Capture the Imagination of Young Malays?Farmlands & Financial Hubs: How Land Use Shapes Voting Patterns in MalaysiaWhat Do Malay Youths Want?Image Credit: ShutterstockSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kami Orang Sini Juga is a mini-series in collaboration with IMAN Research. This series explores how young Malaysian Indians and Chinese understand identity, belonging, and their place in Malaysia today. It builds on IMAN’s earlier project, Orang Kita, which focused on Malay Muslim youth.In the fourth episode, we unpack how young Malaysian Chinese relate to politics of the country, as well as their yearning for community third spaces. Listen to rest of the episodes of the series here.And if you missed it, we previously covered IMAN’s Orang Kita project on Malay-Muslim youth. Here is the list of episodes - The Malays Are More Politically Diverse Than You ThinkDoes the MADANI Branding Capture the Imagination of Young Malays?Farmlands & Financial Hubs: How Land Use Shapes Voting Patterns in MalaysiaWhat Do Malay Youths Want?Image Credit: ShutterstockSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kami Orang Sini Juga is a mini-series in collaboration with IMAN Research. This series explores how young Malaysian Indians and Chinese understand identity, belonging, and their place in Malaysia today. It builds on IMAN’s earlier project, Orang Kita, which focused on Malay Muslim youth.In the third episode, we unpack if Malaysian-Indians feel shortchanged by the education system, with Shaleen Surendra, Researcher at IMAN Research. Listen to Episode 1 & 2 of the series here.And if you missed it, we previously covered IMAN’s Orang Kita project on Malay-Muslim youth. Here is the list of episodes - The Malays Are More Politically Diverse Than You ThinkDoes the MADANI Branding Capture the Imagination of Young Malays?Farmlands & Financial Hubs: How Land Use Shapes Voting Patterns in MalaysiaWhat Do Malay Youths Want?Image Credit: ShutterstockSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kami Orang Sini Juga is a new mini-series in collaboration with IMAN Research. This series explores how young Malaysian Indians and Chinese understand identity, belonging, and their place in Malaysia today. It builds on IMAN’s earlier project, Orang Kita, which focused on Malay Muslim youth.In the second episode, we explore what it means to be Malaysian-Chinese today — not just as an ethnic category, but as a lived identity shaped by history, language, class, geography, religion, politics, and global culture.We unpack this with Violet Lee, Researcher, IMAN Research. Listen to Episode 1 of the series here.And if you missed it, we previously covered IMAN’s Orang Kita project on Malay-Muslim youth. Here is the list of episodes - The Malays Are More Politically Diverse Than You ThinkDoes the MADANI Branding Capture the Imagination of Young Malays?Farmlands & Financial Hubs: How Land Use Shapes Voting Patterns in MalaysiaWhat Do Malay Youths Want?Image Credit: ShutterstockSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kami Orang Sini Juga is a new mini-series in collaboration with IMAN Research. This series explores how young Malaysian Indians and Chinese understand identity, belonging, and their place in Malaysia today. It builds on IMAN’s earlier project, Orang Kita, which focused on Malay Muslim youth.In this first episode, we provide an overview of the diversity within the Malaysian Indian community and how language and class shape how Indians relate to one another and to other communities. In this episode, we speak to Shaleen Surendra, Researcher, IMAN Research. And if you missed it, we previously covered IMAN’s Orang Kita project on Malay-Muslim youth. Here is the list of episodes - The Malays Are More Politically Diverse Than You ThinkDoes the MADANI Branding Capture the Imagination of Young Malays?Farmlands & Financial Hubs: How Land Use Shapes Voting Patterns in MalaysiaWhat Do Malay Youths Want?Image Credit: ShutterstockSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.