Advocates for plantation workers have submitted a draft bill to the government, calling for mandatory housing provisions by plantation companies. The Plantation Community Support Committee, after years of stalled progress, delivered the memorandum alongside their proposed law to key officials and five state governments, renewing calls to protect workers from displacement when land is redeveloped. We speak to Karthiges Rajamanickam, Coordinator of the Plantation Community Support Committee about this.

Other stories we covered:

• Rafizi Ramli’s son attacked: Rafizi Ramli’s 12-year-old son was attacked with a syringe in a mall car park, an incident Rafizi believes was politically motivated. His wife later received threatening messages, escalating fears of intimidation linked to whistleblower revelations. We speak to Dr Anjanna Kukreja, Infectious Diseases Physician, Universiti Malaya Medical Centre on syringe safety, and Aliran’s Anil Netto on whether Malaysia is facing a deeper culture of political violence.
• UN Plastics Treaty Negotiations: UN negotiations for a global plastics treaty have hit crisis mode. With just hours left in Geneva, countries and civil society are rejecting the latest draft, accusing it of caving to fossil fuel interests and abandoning key commitments like cutting plastic production. We speak to Arpita Bhagat the Plastic Policy Officer for Asia Pacific from the NGO GAIA, who’s on the ground, to unpack what’s at stake and what needs to happen to salvage the treaty.
• Government mulls Unexplained Wealth Order: Malaysia’s still weighing the Unexplained Wealth Order, a legal tool that forces individuals to justify suspicious assets or risk seizure. Calls for such a system have been building for months, with former Klang MP Charles Santiago urging its adoption to hold elites accountable. We speak to Charles about why the UWO matters, and whether it risks being misused.
• Cafes are not your personal office!: South Korea’s “cagongjok” culture, where cafes double as makeshift offices, is facing pushback, with Starbucks Korea drawing the line, banning desktop setups and partitions that hog space and power. While laptops and phones are still welcome, the move reflects growing frustration over long-stay customers who order once and linger. We get into it.

Image Credit: Shutterstock

Produced by: Lim Sue Ann, Alia Zefri, Juliet Jacobs, Sneha Harikannan, Sudais Ferhard

Presented by: Lee Chwi Lynn, Sharaad Kuttan, Susan Tam

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Categories:  politics,  controversies,  the workplace,  culture,  Law/Activism,  international,  government,  environment,  corruption

Tags:  south korea,  starbucks,  unexplained wealth,  millionaires,  united nations,  plastic,  rafizi ramli,  attack,  plantation workers,  housing,