Dr Serina Rahman is Visiting Fellow at the Malaysia Studies Programme and the Regional Economics Studies Programme at ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute.
A conservation scientist and environmental anthropologist, she is fascinated with all facets of Malaysia’s rural outskirts. Her varied publications are all tributaries of this interest, ranging from rural politics to poverty and livelihoods to socioeconomic values of coastal habitats and the Islamic radicalisation of rural women. She was awarded the Iskandar Malaysia Social Hero Award 2014 (for Environmental Protection – Individual), and is the Malaysian Ambassador for Citizen Science Asia. She is also Adjunct Assistant Professor at the Department of Southeast Asian Studies at NUS.
The reopening of the Singapore-Malaysia land border on 1 April 2022 will bring crucial relief to the Malaysian economy, but potential confusion about travel requirements may mar this widely anticipated event.
With its victory in the Johor State elections, Barisan Nasional has won two state elections at a trot in four months. The run-up to election day was somewhat subdued, but the stakes are high, as the coalition rues its chances in the coming general elections.
Parti Warisan from the state of Sabah is seeking a foothold in peninsular Malaysia. It remains to be seen whether it will grab the imagination of the electorate.
The White Flag Movement underscores how Malaysians will go the extra mile to help each other out, at a time when there is growing unhappiness over the government’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic.
