Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Mekong Review @mekongreview.com · 4d

We're compiling our mailing list for the next issue on 13 October—if you'd like your subscription to start with the November 2025 issue, remember to subscribe to Mekong Review before this weekend! (And remember our discount code!)

mekongreview.com/sub...

3

Mekong Review @mekongreview.com · 23d

Dina Zaman brings a lot from her past to Malayland, but she’s also firm in looking forward and seeking the humanness in Malaysia’s obsession for categories and othering.

Read more: mekongreview.com/mal...

Subscribe: mekongreview.com/sub...

Dina Zaman’s Malayland emerged from the pandemic, motivated by questions about what makes Malays tick in the twenty-first century—what drives their politics, beliefs, desires and fears. Across seven chapters, she takes us
through the interviews and interactions she’s had,
either personally or through IMAN Research, the think-tank she founded. Her range is impressive: from the rural to the urban, from different social, political and academic backgrounds. Although her book is readable and familiar, quite “come close and let me share with you, okay?”, it’s packed with information, research and academic rigour.

What makes the work even more potent is that
she puts herself under the spotlight too. Malayland is as much a personal quest for identity as it is a community’s. Another important thread is the role of Islam—how it has helped Malays, whether it has made them progress or regress, if it’s a thing to celebrate or fear. As Dina discovers, it really depends who you ask. Everyone has their own unique experience and approach, but everything becomes hazy when you look at things collectively.

1

Mekong Review @mekongreview.com · 25d

We're turning 10 soon! To celebrate, we're sharing a discount code, valid until the end of November. If you want your subscription to start with the November 2025 issue (our 10th anniversary issue!), remember to subscribe by 10 October, before we compile our mailing list!

mekongreview.com/sub...

1 2 4

Mekong Review @mekongreview.com · 28d

Thank you for reading!

1

Reposted by Mekong Review

Luke Buckmaster @luke-buckmaster.bsky.social · 29d

Just read the very good article about scam compounds in Myanmar. Lots of interesting stuff in this edition.

Mekong Review @mekongreview.com · Aug 1

It’s August, which means a new issue of Mekong Review 🥳

In this issue: young K-pop stans in Myanmar join resistance efforts, the contestation of Indonesia’s history, an interview with Saigon Soul Revival… and more!

Order online: ko-fi.com/s/a3e8a4c60d

1 5 3

Mekong Review @mekongreview.com · Sep 10

“Protests in Nepal have revealed the extent of young people’s frustration with the lack of opportunity in the Himalayan nation, as they spiraled into a broader challenge to the government.”

apnews.com/article/nepa...

Anger over corruption and nepotism fuel Nepal’s deadly protests over social media ban

Nepal’s government has faced violent protests over a ban on popular social media platforms, leading to police use of deadly force and the resignation of the prime minister.

apnews.com

5 12

Mekong Review @mekongreview.com · Sep 10

Nepal’s prime minister has resigned, and the parliament building was set on fire amid anti-corruption protests

www.bbc.com/news/live/c7...

Nepal's parliament set on fire after PM resigns over anti-corruption protests

A social media ban that aimed to stifle an anti-corruption movement sparked unrest leaving at least 22 dead since Monday.

www.bbc.com

1 3 9

Reposted by Mekong Review

Caitlin McCaffrie @caitlinmccaffrie.bsky.social · Sep 9

“Even when there’s no reason to believe things will improve, we can’t help but cling to this diminishing hope"

Poignant piece from @mono24.bsky.social in @mekongreview.com on Cambodia's golden age of journalism, feat. Mech Dara, Kann Vicheika and Phuong Vantha:

mekongreview.com/memories-of-...

Memories of a golden age - Mekong Review

In the face of funding cuts and growing oppression, Cambodian reporters cling on to hope through memories of a golden age of journalism

mekongreview.com

6 12

Mekong Review @mekongreview.com · Sep 10

A rare comic on Mekong Review! This comic by Juliette Yu-Ming Lizeray was produced as part of our partnership with RMIT University's nonfiction/lab, responding to the prompt 'hope in the everyday'.

Read it here: mekongreview.com/fli...

Subscribe: mekongreview.com/sub...

1 5 9

Mekong Review @mekongreview.com · Sep 4

Sad news 😔

www.crikey.com.au/2025/09/04/m...

Literary journal Meanjin to close after 85 years of publishing

Meanjin, a mainstay of Australia's cultural landscape and the nation's second-oldest literary publication, is shuttering after Melbourne University Publishing decided to cease financial support.

www.crikey.com.au

8 5

Mekong Review @mekongreview.com · Sep 3

In the face of funding cuts and growing oppression, Cambodian reporters cling on to hope through memories of a golden age of journalism.

Read more: mekongreview.com/mem...

Subscribe: mekongreview.com/sub...

Memories of a golden age

By Sokummono Khan

As conversations grow heavy, many journalists turn to their “golden age”—a mental refuge. Mech Dara recalls the competition and urgency between the Cambodia Daily and the Phnom Penh Post. Sovann Sreypich, who began her journalism career in earnest at CamboJA in late 2021, feels she “wasn’t born early enough” to witness a golden age but remembers what it used to be like: “I saw people consuming news like drinking bottled water—they had choices and they read and listened with pride… but during my time, covering court cases and social activism has become less confrontational compared to the older generation. I didn’t witness the boldness and raw courage when journalism felt powerful.”

The idea of a golden age allows us to tell a story, even if it’s just to ourselves.

For me, talking about them means searching for ‘Trey Visay’—a compass—to reclaim meaningful values and understand where we want to go. While it may not be historically precise, it carries emotional truth. If we want to do the right thing, to preserve a vestige of hope, we need to follow Trey Visay, pointing us to a golden age that we must believe could come again.

1

Mekong Review @mekongreview.com · Aug 31

Half an hour to closing time and this is all we’ve got left at the booth 🥰🥰🥰

2

Reposted by Mekong Review

Kirsten Han 韩俐颖 @kirstenhan.com · Aug 31

I love introducing people to Mekong Review and I especially love seeing people buy the magazine (or, even better, subscriptions) so drop by lyf Farrer Park today before 8pm if you’re in Singapore!

Mekong Review @mekongreview.com · Aug 31

Here at lyf Farrer Park running a booth in support of the launch of Mynah Magazine’s latest issue!

If you’re in Singapore, drop by before 8pm to pick up a copy of our magazine or get access to an event-exclusive discount for subscriptions!

1 5 7

Mekong Review @mekongreview.com · Aug 31

Here at lyf Farrer Park running a booth in support of the launch of Mynah Magazine’s latest issue!

If you’re in Singapore, drop by before 8pm to pick up a copy of our magazine or get access to an event-exclusive discount for subscriptions!

1 2 8

Reposted by Mekong Review

Sophie Beach @sophiebeach.bsky.social · Aug 31

The world may be falling apart but I just sat 50 feet from Yo-Yo Ma and Angelique Kidjo as they performed songs from all over the world including Once in a Lifetime by the Talking Heads 😍

Cellist Yo-Yo Ma and singer Angelique Kidjo perform on stage in colorful attire

1 4 24

Mekong Review @mekongreview.com · Aug 29

😔😔😔

Anthony Morris @morrbeat.bsky.social · Aug 29

Just heard that one of the few remaining Australia-wide mainstream outlets for arts reviews (specifically film, books, television and music) will be dumping their review pages from next month. Can't say I'm surprised (there's been pressure to axe them for a long time), but it'll still be a huge loss

1

Mekong Review @mekongreview.com · Aug 27

In a world that often overlooks the power of young people online, fan communities have emerged as an unseen engine of revolution in Myanmar.

Read more: mekongreview.com/the...

Subscribe: mekongreview.com/sub...

1

Reposted by Mekong Review

Kirsten Han 韩俐颖 @kirstenhan.com · Aug 24

In a moment of inspiration I hauled out all the copies of @mekongreview.com at home and did a new inventory, which means our online store is now fully updated: ko-fi.com/mekongreview...

Visit Mekong Review's Shop!

I've opened a shop. Come take a look!

ko-fi.com

3 4

Reposted by Mekong Review

Save VOA @savevoa.bsky.social · Aug 11

On: @mekongreview.com:
This August will mark 70 years of VOA Khmer. But in March, the Service stopped its broadcast. The gutting of USAGM, which funds VOA, has brought many projects to a screeching halt.

Memories of a golden age - Mekong Review

In the face of funding cuts and growing oppression, Cambodian reporters cling on to hope through memories of a golden age of journalism

mekongreview.com

2 5

Reposted by Mekong Review

Paul French @chinarhyming.bsky.social · Aug 13

Fascinating piece on K-Pop fans among resistance fighters in Myanmar from @mekongreview.com

mekongreview.com/the-power-of...

The power of fandom - Mekong Review

In a world that often overlooks the power of young people online, fan communities have emerged as an unseen engine of revolution in Myanmar

mekongreview.com

6 4

Reposted by Mekong Review

Los Angeles Review of Books @lareviewofbooks.bsky.social · Aug 18

“How does a communist guerilla in one of the Cold War’s forgotten battlefields regain his footing at the end of history?” Darren Wan reviews "Delicious Hunger" by Hai Fan and "State of Emergency" by Jeremy Tiang. https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/emergency-unending/

9 12

Mekong Review @mekongreview.com · Aug 20

"...the moment darker aspects of its past are discussed, Indonesia retreats like a wounded animal into a world of myopia and amnesia."

Read more: mekongreview.com/in-...

Subscribe: mekongreview.com/sub...

In the company of ghosts
by Leong Kar Yen

Like any young postcolonial nation, Indonesia has spent much of its existence as a sovereign state trying to carve an image it can show the world in all its power and glory. But the moment darker aspects of its past are discussed, Indonesia retreats like a wounded animal into a world of myopia and amnesia.

In the Southeast Asian context, notions of ‘reconciliation’ and ‘coming to terms’ are often tantamount to forgetting. It’s as if each successive administration hopes that the perpetrators of state violence will grow old, die and disappear without anyone noticing. It’s so much more convenient this way: the state will not only be able to evade responsibility but also leave the door open to reviving old scapegoats or finding new ones. I suppose that’s why they seem happy to keep the wandering spirits exactly where they are, ready to be weaponised for political expedience.

1

Mekong Review @mekongreview.com · Aug 1

It’s August, which means a new issue of Mekong Review 🥳

In this issue: young K-pop stans in Myanmar join resistance efforts, the contestation of Indonesia’s history, an interview with Saigon Soul Revival… and more!

Order online: ko-fi.com/s/a3e8a4c60d

1 7

Mekong Review @mekongreview.com · Jul 23

Did the man who inspired a character in Joseph Conrad’s novels leave behind a fortune in a Swiss bank?

Read more: mekongreview.com/str...

Subscribe: mekongreview.com/sub...

Stranger than (Conradian) fiction
by Oliver Raw

A significant presence in Joseph Conrad’s work was Syed Abdullah Al Jufri, Mohsin’s eldest son, who managed the family’s trading operations in Berau and the neighbouring Bulungan Regency. He appears in Conrad’s Lingard Trilogy as Syed Abdulla bin Selim—a pious Muslim, ruthless businessman and son of “the great Mohammedan trader of the Straits” who seeks to take over Lingard’s trade monopoly. “Owner of ships, he was often on board one or another of them. In every port he had a household—his own or that of a relation—to hail his advent… In every port there were rich and influential men eager to see him,” Conrad writes.

The real-life Abdullah led a peripatetic life, traveling through Bombay, Calcutta, the Persian Gulf and the Suez Canal before taking over his family’s far-reaching business interests. Today, he has direct descendants living in Borneo, Java, Sumatra, Malaysia and Singapore.

1

Mekong Review @mekongreview.com · Jul 16

Kornel Chang, a diasporic Korean historian and author, paints a picture of a post-Second World War Korea searching for a singular vision of what independence looks like.

Read more: mekongreview.com/sha...

Subscribe: mekongreview.com/sub...

Shades of the same colour
by Taeyeon Song

In A Fractured Liberation: Korea Under US Occupation, diasporic Korean historian and author Kornel Chang paints a picture of a post-Second World War Korea, finally free of Japanese colonial rule, searching for a singular vision of what independence looks like. Although anything seemed possible for a brief period in time, the ongoing rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union led not only to the indefinite division of the Korean peninsula into a “North” and “South” but also to the shattering of dreams of democracy and freedom for Korean people themselves.

For the Korean diaspora (which includes both Chang and myself), the mirror of US history does not reflect back to us the image of John Wayne riding over a hill on his horse to save the day, but rather a bewildering portrait of racism, displacement, sadness and urgency—a portrait without faces like ours. Chang is an associate professor of history at Rutgers University-Newark, with a research focus on US–East Asia relations. His academic background comes through exceedingly clearly in a narrative that’s well-researched, compelling and unapologetic in its addressing of uncomfortable truths. Chang skillfully illustrates the ways in which the US government weaponised Korean people against themselves to further propel the US’s Cold War anti-Communist aspirations while, at the same time, horrifyingly employing Japanese colonial techniques of governance to weaponise the southern portion of the Korean peninsula as its own Eastern Hemisphere chess piece.

1 1