Water, Power, and Labour: A Conversation with Charles Santiago

Iskandar Fareez is from the Democratic Action Party (DAP), currently serving as the National Vice Chief of DAPSY, which is their youth wing. He’s also served as a Special Functions Officer to two Deputy Ministers, namely the Ministry of Plantation and Commodities and Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security. Originally from Shah Alam, Iskandar's political journey began while studying in Australia, where he was involved in student activism and connected with progressive Malaysian leaders who inspired him to enter politics. He's passionate about social justice, youth empowerment, and building a more inclusive, multiracial Malaysia. So, in this episode, I'm gonna speak to Iskandar Fareez about his journey in politics and what it's like pushing for change from within the system.Image Credit: Iskandar Fareez's X accountSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Starting 1st of July, Malaysia’s expanded Sales and Service Tax (SST) framework will kick in. Under this expansion, luxury and discretionary items like watches, yachts, and antique artworks will now be taxed at rates of 5% or 10%, while services such as private wellness treatments, construction, fee-based financial services, private schools, among others, will face a 6–8% service tax.There was also a lot of discussion and backlash about imported fruits getting taxed. While that broadly still applies, the government did announce today that imported oranges and apples will be exempted.The government says these new taxes are essential to fund public projects like new hospitals, especially in light of Malaysia’s low tax-to-GDP ratio (currently at 11-12%).But is this the best path forward? Is it aligned with the Prime Minister’s rhetoric on taxing the wealthy (or “mahakaya”)?We speak to Gandipan Nantha Gopalan, Central Committee Member, Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM). We discuss what works and what doesn’t about the SST, as well as alternative tax models that could be implemented, which will genuinely target the richest people in society, instead of middle class/upper middle class consumers.Image Credit: ShutterstockSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Temple Tracks: Labour, Piety and Railway Construction in Asia is a fascinating new book by Vineeta Sinha, a professor of Sociology and Anthropology at the National University of Singapore. It explores how Indian migrant workers, brought to colonial Malaya and Singapore to build and maintain the railway system, were not just labourers laying down tracks — they were also community-builders and religion-makers.In this episode, we speak to the author about the intersection of railways, migrant labour, and Hindu temples and how it resulted in interesting parallels and divergences in political thought between the South Indians, specifically the Tamils in Tamil Nadu and those in Malaya/Singapore.Image Credit: NUS FASS/Berghahn BooksSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sevan Doraisamy is a veteran Malaysian human rights defender and activist who’s been fighting the good fight for more than 25 years. He also served as the Executive Director of SUARAM, one of the country’s leading human rights organisations for 10 years, before deciding to step aside this year. Over the years, he’s been at the forefront of numerous human rights campaigns, from pushing to abolish ISA (which was eventually done in 2012), to advocating for police accountability and championing freedom of expression. He has faced consequences for his activism, including being detained by authorities numerous times.In this episode, we speak to Sevan about his years of activism, how much Malaysia has progressed on the human rights front, where we’ve stagnated and the tasks that lie ahead for the next generation of activists.Image Credit: SUARAM's FacebookSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Since the 2018 and 2022 elections, there has been renewed national focus on East Malaysia and the long-standing promises of MA63. But often, much of that focus has been on Sarawak — its political stability, development push, and dominant state government. Meanwhile, Sabah’s story is equally complex, shaped by decades of political shifts, unresolved questions of autonomy, persistent development gaps, and the long shadow of the alleged Project IC. As Sabah heads towards elections in 2025, many of these issues are once again front and center. In this episode, we unpack the past, present, and perhaps even future of Sabah politics, with Ariff Adi Putera Anwar, Research Associate, Institute for Development Studies.Image Credit: Wikimedia / Creative CommonsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Protests have spread all across America in solidarity with migrant workers and against US President Donald Trump’s immigration raids.Last Tuesday, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) made the most arrests in a single day in its history, detaining more than 2,200 people. Even tourists were reportedly questioned and some were temporarily detained. Then on Friday, the federal agency arrested more than a hundred undocumented immigrants in workplace raids. This triggered spontaneous protests near those sites and in front of downtown federal buildings, especially in Los Angeles, California. Protesters accuse the Trump administration of targeting ordinary workers simply trying to make ends meet.Trump deployed 700 Marines and 4,000 National Guard troops without California’s consent, citing national security and calling these protests an “insurrection.” In videos circulating on social media, we see authorities using brute force, rubber bullets, and tear gas against protesters and journalists. As of now, close to 400 people have been arrested due to the protests, and that number is rising rapidly. But this has only brought more people onto the streets, now all over the country. Thousands of people are taking to the streets in New York, Atlanta, Austin, Seattle, San Francisco and more.So, what is the significance of this moment?We speak to Prof Peter Beattie, Political Economist & Political Psychologist at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

By November 2025, Kerala is set to become India’s first state to entirely eradicate extreme poverty. One of the key reasons is the highly successful Extreme Poverty Eradication Project that the state government embarked on. But the interesting thing about Kerala is that while this specific project is fairly new, the state has been the benchmark in the country for development and social wellbeing for decades. The South Indian state has the highest literacy rate in the country, the highest literacy rate among women in the country, its infant mortality rate is on par with the most developed countries, it was the best state in India at managing the Covid-19 pandemic, it has the world’s first solar-powered airport, an incredible sustainable eco-tourism landscape, and the list goes on and on. The question: how did they do it? What can we learn from them? In this episode, we speak to Atul Chandra, Researcher, Tricontinental Research Institute. He also recently penned an article for the People’s Dispatch describing Kerala’s efforts in eradicating extreme poverty.Image Credit: Wikimedia / Creative CommonsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Charles Santiago is a human rights activist, a member of the DAP, former MP for Klang, and a two-time chairman of Malaysia’s National Water Services Commission (SPAN). He first held the SPAN chairmanship from November 2018 until his removal in April 2020 (after Langkah Sheraton), and was reappointed in March 2023, serving until March 2025. Beyond these roles, Santiago serves as the co-chair of ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR), where he has been a vocal advocate against systemic labour exploitation and debt bondage in the region, among other issues. In this episode, we speak to Charles Santiago about his tenure at SPAN, the politics of water and labour rights violations in the region. Image Credit: Charles Santiago, SPANSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sarawak’s Sovereign Wealth Fund was launched in 2022, to “to safeguard and invest the State's funds for the future generations of Sarawak.”But what exactly is a sovereign wealth fund? How does it work? And if it’s a useful tool or institution, would a state like Selangor—Malaysia’s most populous state with the highest GDP — benefit from one too? We speak to Geoffrey Williams, who’s an economist.Image Credit: ShutterstockSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Over the past couple of decades, far-right parties and leaders have moved from the fringes to the forefront of global politics. Figures like Donald Trump, Marine Le Pen, Giorgia Meloni, and Narendra Modi or parties like the AFD, who were once seen as outliers or shrugged off altogether, now command mass followings, win elections or come close to winning, and shape global political discourse in a big way. They are now in concretely the mainstream. Their rhetoric may differ across borders, but many share common strategies: scapegoating marginalised groups, exploiting economic anxiety, and leveraging democratic institutions to erode them from within. We see similar trends in Malaysia too. The question is how did we get here?The last time we spoke to German political scientist, Dr Frederik Holst, Associate Professor, Albukhary International University (AIU),  we discussed Germany’s right-wing movement specifically. Today, we are once again joined by Dr Frederik to have an in-depth conversation about global far-right movements. In Part 2 we discuss the weaknesses of the left and if left-wing populism is the antidote to right-wing populism. Image Credit: ShutterstockSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.