Democracy

Afraid of the Light: Unmasking the Discourse on Irregular Migration and Its Implications for Migration Governance in ASEAN

This paper attempts to investigate the issue of irregular migration in the ASEAN region. The space and attention given to a burgeoning reality of irregular migration is yet to be given its due space at national policy-level and regional discussions. The primary objective of the paper is to function as a baseline study for future advocacy on protection of the rights of undocumented migrants in the region. Primarily, it focuses on the governance of migration, or the lack thereof, by contextualising the current status of irregular migrants in major destination countries of the ASEAN region, being Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore.

By Migrant Forum in Asia

“The civil union bill misses the target” says Thailand’s first transgender MP

Interview

Isaan Record, long-term partner of Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung Southeast Asia Office, interviewed Tanwarin Sukkhapisit on the factors that are influencing a sea-change in Thai society’s attitudes towards gender equality, focusing on a long discussed civil union bill. This bill would allow LGBT+ to enter a marriage-like partnership which is awaiting a final decision from Thailand’s yet-to-be-decided government.

By The Isaan Record

The 2019 Philippine Elections: Consolidating Power in an Eroding Democracy

Article

The outcome of the 2019 midterm elections in the Philippines displayed the domineering political influence of President Rodrigo Duterte, a crowded-out opposition, and the limits of his promise for genuine and meaningful socio-political change.

By Aries Arugay

Jokowi’s Triumph in the 2019 Presidential Election and the Future of Binary Politics

Article

On 17 April 2019, Indonesia held the world’s largest, and arguably most complicated, one-day election involved presidential, legislative (national and local), and senate elections – done simultaneously. Voters’ attention, however, was largely on the presidential election, which led to a turnout of 81%, the highest in Indonesia’s electoral history in the post-reform era.

By Deasy Simandjuntak

On Freedom of Expression and Civil Liberties in Singapore

Article

Jolovan Wham is getting very familiar with the inside of police stations and courtrooms. The Singaporean activist currently has multiple cases pending against him, ranging from investigations up to convictions and sentencing. His offences, alleged or otherwise, include organising illegal assemblies, vandalism, refusing to sign statements to the police, and scandalising the judiciary. He is, according the Singapore Police Force, to be described as “recalcitrant”.

By Kirsten Han

Between a Rock and a Hard Place: Women, Power, and Change in Southeast Asia

Report

A vital part of this report of the current context in Southeast Asia involves showing the ways that ordinary people, activists, human rights defenders, and social movements are organizing to protect their communities from destruction and injustice, even in extremely precarious and dangerous situations. Some of the most vocal and active participants in progressive movements for change and transformation are women from the most affected communities in the region.