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New Naratif
@newnaratif.bsky.social
88 followers 3 following 140 posts
New Naratif is a movement to democratise democracy in Southeast Asia.

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What happens when soldiers, police, and politicians rewrite the law?

Whose freedoms are protected—and whose are pushed aside?
Power, Protest, and the Press: Indonesia’s Legal Reckoning Thursday, 15 May 2025 6:30–8:00pm WIB Sign up at newnaratif.com/event/mfn-idn Amnesty International Indonesia Media Freedom Network Amnesty International Indonesia is a branch of the global human rights movement Amnesty International. Established in 2017, it works to promote and protect human rights in Indonesia through campaigns, advocacy, research, and education.
May 9, 2025 at 11:02 AM
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How did Singapore’s economic model create Singapore’s current cost of living crisis? PJ Thum explains!

Watch Season 2 Episode 4: Singapore’s Cost of Living Crisis on our Discusses channel here:
Enjoy the videos and music that you love, upload original content and share it all with friends, family and the world on YouTube.
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May 9, 2025 at 10:02 AM
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If people cannot speak freely without fear of government oppression, they cannot participate in their country’s governance.
Freedom of expression is one of the most important principles in upholding a proper democracy. But how do we ensure that this freedom is rightfully respected by all parties within society? A government cannot be representative if people cannot or do not speak up, organise, or act freely, as their voices would not be heard.
May 8, 2025 at 11:03 AM
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Ever wondered how Singapore’s economic model keeps raising GDP while also making the cost of living worse for Singaporeans? New Naratif and the NeoKeleLims explain.

Watch here:
Enjoy the videos and music that you love, upload original content and share it all with friends, family and the world on YouTube.
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April 30, 2025 at 11:12 AM
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Four bowls stand before Lisa the Clairvoyant Malayan Sun Dog. But only one will become Singapore's Next Top Government.

In 2020, Lisa successfully predicted the result of the Singapore General Elections. Who will she predict to win in 2025?

Watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbDm4mdZtYA
April 28, 2025 at 11:02 AM
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“Storytelling is already challenging as it is, but it becomes more challenging when you realize that stories continue as you document and write them

Our stories are not just to be photographed or to be read; these are lives we are living with consequently, [...] ...
Meet Geela Garcia, author of “Struggle, Resilience, Solidarity: A Gaza-Filipino Cookbook” Geela is a freelance photographer, journalist, and lens-based artist. What is the story behind your piece, and what compelled you to tell that story? Through this work, we hope to share very human stories of home, displacement, and migration, while also discussing how starvation is being used as a weapon of war in Palestine. To prepare food is to care, nourish a person, and sustain relationships. It is a way to help us understand complex questions about the world through the lens of food production, ingredients, and the people behind what we eat.
April 24, 2025 at 11:20 AM
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Through trials and tribulations, Singapore’s greatest love story perseveres. ❤️

The Show with PJ Thum is back for another season – just in time to warm up for Singapore’s upcoming General Elections.
April 24, 2025 at 10:03 AM
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Surprise! A new episode of The Show with PJ Thum is out now! 😉

Watch Season 2 Episode 3: The Goh Keng Swee Dilemma on our Discusses channel here:
Enjoy the videos and music that you love, upload original content and share it all with friends, family and the world on YouTube.
www.youtube.com
April 23, 2025 at 12:03 PM
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Through a collection of recipes by Josephine Abuhannieh, a Palestinian refugee family tells their story of survival in the Philippines and how they have maintained a connection to their homeland through food.
Struggle, Resilience, Solidarity: A Gaza-Filipino Cookbook Concept and Photographs by Geela Garcia Recipes by Josephine Abuhannieh New Naratif x BEBESEA To rest under the shade of an olive tree and to share the warmth of a meal should be a right, not a privilege. Yet under Israeli occupation, Palestinians are denied the right to rest, gather, and even eat.
April 23, 2025 at 11:02 AM
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Step right up, fellow Singaporeans! Join us for Voices of Ordinary Singaporeans, the launch event of New Naratif’s upcoming book, “We Singaporeans are very Concerned: The Citizens’ Agenda 2025” with @pjthum and Friends!
Voices of Ordinary Singaporeans We Singaporeans are very Concerned: The Citizens’ Agenda 2025 Book Launch with PJ Thum and Friends Friday, 25 April, 7:00pm - 10:00pm SGT Redrum, The Projector at Golden Mile Tower Get event tickets here: bit.ly/VoOSt Join PJ Thum alongside our panel of advocates and experts as we unpack some of Singapore’s most pressing issues, during the launch of the much-awaited We Singaporeans are very Concerned: The Citizens’ Agenda 2025 Book!
April 17, 2025 at 11:02 AM
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In 2024, we ran The Citizens’ Agenda survey in Singapore based on this question: 

"In your opinion, what issues do you consider important to Singapore and think that the candidates in the upcoming General Election should talk about as they compete for your vote?"
We Singaporeans are very Concerned: The Citizens’ Agenda 2025 Singaporeans have spoken. Now is the time to listen to one another. The collective concerns of Singaporeans matter – and we have compiled them into one book. Introducing: WE SINGAPOREANS ARE VERY CONCERNED THE CITIZENS’ AGENDA 2025 Based on the explainer series and award-winning program by New Naratif.
April 10, 2025 at 11:02 AM
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“As an immigrant kid of parents who left their homeland to give me a better life, I find myself interconnected with the struggles of distressed migrants who also fight for themselves and their families to have a better life."
Meet Francis Catedral, producer of “Rumah Ketigaku (My Third Home)” Francis is a documentary filmmaker with works around migrant domestic worker-led organizations in the Philippines and Indonesia. What is the story behind your piece and what compelled you to tell that story? What drew me to documenting Bethune House, a migrants' shelter in Hong Kong, is the sense of purpose and courageousness I saw in the migrants despite the overwhelming odds they faced. As they relate to one another and others who have been through similar struggles, they begin to see that they are not alone. People are transformed when they experience care and empowerment.
March 28, 2025 at 12:02 PM
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Checks and balances prevent the concentration of power in any one person or group, and protect citizens from being abused, oppressed, or otherwise taken advantage of.
Power can be dangerous if it’s concentrated, with no other forces to balance it out. How do we ensure the power that our governments hold does not go unchecked? Checks and balances are an arrangement in a democratic system where power is distributed among separate and distinct responsibilities. Such mechanisms can include: - Different branches of government - Independent state institutions (anti-corruption watchdogs, minority rights councils, elections commissions) - Non-state actors (the media, non-governmental organisations [NGOs], and other civil society actors)
March 27, 2025 at 11:02 AM
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Facing the heartbreak of separation from her family and the challenges of a labor dispute, an Indonesian domestic worker finds solace and solidarity in a migrant shelter.

A house is not a home by design, yet Bethune House ultimately became her third home.
March 26, 2025 at 11:03 AM
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“These are the stories of the victims of mass deportations that continue to this day, especially capturing the conditions of children.

[They] recount several interrelated episodes surrounding the arrest of children and their parents as undocumented migrant workers in Sabah..."
Meet Alim Mursid, author of “Drawings of Struggle and Hope” Born and raised on the island of Nunukan, North Kalimantan, Indonesia, Alim has always been aware of Nunukan's role as a transit point for migrant workers and deported children from various parts of Indonesia to Sabah. What is the story behind your piece and what compelled you to tell that story? Since 2021, we have been accompanying the deportation and repatriation of migrant workers and their families from Sabah to Nunukan. After seeing their first-hand conditions after deportation, we began to write several reports about the situations inside the immigration detention depots, including the inhumane treatment they experienced during their detention.
March 25, 2025 at 11:02 AM
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As elected officials, governments are responsible for fulfilling their promises and maintaining a healthy, thriving democracy.
As citizens, we are the ultimate watchdog for democracy. How do we hold our governments accountable and ensure transparency for the sake of the people? The basic tenet of transparency is openness — one that requires the decisions and actions of those who hold power over the public to be open to public scrutiny. With that openness, the people are incentivised to demand responsibility from those in power or funded by the public purse. This is what it means to hold a government accountable.
March 20, 2025 at 11:02 AM
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Singapore!

We’ll be seeing you this Saturday, 22nd March 2025, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. SGT, for our Lokakarya Rakyat workshop!
Lokakarya Rakyat Singapore How to Get There: 195 Pearl’s Hill Terrace MRT to Chinatown Station (DT19 / NE4), exit via Exit C and walk 5 mins MRT to Outram Park Station (EW16 / NE3 / TE17), exit via Exit 3, Exit 4 or Exit 8 and walk 10 mins Bus to Chinatown Stn Exit C (Stop ID: 05013), and walk 5 mins via People’s Park Complex for bus routes 2, 12, 12e, 33, 61, 63, 80, 143, 197, 961, 961M, 970 Bus to Opp State Ct (Stop ID: 06171), and walk 4 mins for bus routes 51, 143, 174, 174e, 186
March 20, 2025 at 10:03 AM
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Seven drawings by children in Immigration Detention Depots illustrate the harsh reality of families torn apart by forceful deportations in Nunukan, Kalimantan.

These artworks emerge from a safe space where deported children find expression through art and storytelling.
Drawings of Struggle and Hope A visual essay by Alim Mursid New Naratif x BEBESEA What happens when home lies only in memories and fragments? Through drawings, undocumented children of Nunukan, Kalimantan, weave together the meaning of home, freedom, and dreams.
March 19, 2025 at 11:02 AM
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It’s time to meet your speaker, Kokila Annamalai, for our Lokakarya Rakyat: Singapore workshop this Saturday! ✨

If you’re deeply passionate about bread and butter issues in SG, and want to know how to make the changes you want a reality, we want you to join our workshop!
Meet your speaker for… Lokakarya Rakyat Singapore Kokila Annamalai is a community organiser and advocate deeply involved in supporting families of death row inmates in Singapore. A core member of the Transformative Justice Collective (TJC), she also organises workers and low-income tenants with Workers Make Possible. Kokila combines over a decade of experience in community development, arts, and education to address systemic injustices and foster dialogue on abolition and human rights.
March 19, 2025 at 10:02 AM
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“I received numerous complaints as an organizer for the migrant domestic workers in Malaysia. We are committed to advocating for the notion that freedom of association is one of the potential solutions to mitigate these issues.

Domestic laborers are resilient; however, we require assistance.”
Meet Nasrikah, writer of “Behind Closed Doors” Nasrikah has been an Indonesian migrant worker in Malaysia for more than twenty years. She is currently the founder and coordinator for the Indonesian Migrant Domestic Workers Association (PERTIMIG). My job background is frequently marginalized by grand narratives, as I am a migrant domestic worker. My existence should be recognized in the same way as that of other workers who also contribute to the national economy. I have encountered numerous forms of exploitation and discrimination, and this situation persists for the majority of migrant domestic workers. Therefore, I am compelled to urge the international community to demonstrate respect for our work.
March 12, 2025 at 11:02 AM
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Friends in Singapore, if you relate to anything (or everything) we’ve listed out in the post, listen up! 🇸🇬

We want you to take part in our Lokakarya Rakyat workshop and share your big ideas on the kinds of communities you want to see in Singapore!
Our fellow Singaporeans… Have you ever felt that you and your community lack ample space to make decisions for yourselves? We’re pretty sure that you have noticed issues like - the rising cost of living, - housing becoming unaffordable for ordinary Singaporeans, - local communities becoming more apathetic with each other… Don’t you feel like there should be something you can do?
March 11, 2025 at 11:02 AM
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Migrant domestic workers in Malaysia face systemic vulnerabilities due to the absence of legal protections.

Nasrikah reflects on her lived experiences and the broader struggles of migrant domestic work in Malaysia, a line of work that remains unrecognised as formal employment.
Behind Closed Doors: The Struggles and Hopes of Migrant Domestic Workers An article by Nasrikah New Naratif x BEBESEA Amidst grueling workloads and an isolated life – loneliness and longing become their constant. This is the story of migrant domestic workers in Malaysia, far from the warm embrace of home.
March 5, 2025 at 11:03 AM
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Often cast as an unachievable ideal, we argue that human rights are, simply, the basic goals of a government:

(1) dignity and respect for all,
(2) freedom from fear, and
(3) freedom from hunger.
All Southeast Asian countries accept the universality of human rights principles. But why do our governments still fall short in protecting and upholding them? Human rights are often conceived as theoretical moral imperatives. Although some rights are vilified as being inapplicable to real-life situations or deemed as foreign impositions, every single regional government has also repeatedly pledged to uphold human rights.
February 27, 2025 at 11:31 AM
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Singapore, are you ready to get democratic with us? 🇸🇬✊

If you’re deeply passionate about bread and butter issues in Singapore, and want to know how to make the changes you want for you and your community a reality, we want you at our Lokakarya Rakyat: Singapore workshop!
Lokakarya Rakyat Singapore #1 Saturday, 22 March, 10:00am - 2:00pm SGT Unit #03-27, 3rd Floor, 195 Pearl’s Hill Terrace Free entry! Open to youths aged 18-35! Tickets are limited! Register to join at bit.ly/LKR2025SG1 Have you noticed that… The LTA increased MRT fares around the same time the system was plagued by service disruptions? HDB flats are resold at high prices which leads to public housing being unattainable for ordinary Singaporeans? It’s difficult to connect with other Singaporeans due to the daily struggles we face?
February 27, 2025 at 10:02 AM
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“My poem tells the story of a letter written by a political exile and sent to loved ones who are imprisoned inside the country.

This poem is a letter sent from outside of the line to those who are still inside the line.”
Meet May Myat Zaw, writer of “430 Kilometers” May is a writer with works that highlight the Burmese military junta's involvement in the political system. What is the story behind your piece, and what compelled you to tell that story? Since the Burmese military coup in 2021, many people have been torn from their families, friends, and colleagues. This has divided them into those who fled to the border and those who were imprisoned. People living at the border areas are facing oppression in many ways, while political prisoners inside the country are getting tortured silently.
February 26, 2025 at 11:03 AM