The World Programme for Human Rights Education (2005 -ongoing)

In Malaysia, the use of new media in the political sphere is increasing especially after the tenth General Election. In terms of age group, youths are the highest group using this new media. However, how do these youths use the new media for political purposes? Therefore, this article aims to analyse the use of new media for political activities among youth in Selangor. In particular, this article examines political activity through new media, the level of media consumption for political activity, and the relationship between demographic factors and the use of new media for political activity. Using the survey as a method of data collection, 200 respondents aged between 18-40 years were randomly selected in Selangor to answer the questionnaire. The data were analyzed using SPSS software (Statistic Packages for Social Science) version 22.0. In general, the study has found that the respondents used online newspapers to obtain news and political information. Further analysis has found that the Malay youths in Selangor had the highest use of new media and there is a significant relationship between the use of new media and residential areas. This article describes the impact of the use of new media on political participation, in which youths are involved in political activities through new forms. This article also suggests that more research need to be done in the future on the role that new media plays in Malaysian politics as a whole.

This article examined the consequences of linking health as a regional security issue. Securitisation Theory (hereinafter ST) is an innovative approach to understand how Non-Traditional Security (from now on NTS) is deemed as a posing threat to a referent object. Prioritising NTS issue as a security threat enables the issue to receive a higher degree of importance from policymakers, thereby gathering the resources needed in dealing with the threat. However, addressing NTS issues also bring negative implications; it can divert attention from more concerning issues. This article, therefore, investigated the consequences of securitising health issues at the Southeast Asian level. This was done through triangulating academic materials, ASEAN’s official statements, and semi-structured elite interviews on Southeast Asian health policy discourses between 1967 and 2010. This study argues that while there are some disadvantages to regional efforts in constructing pandemic disease as a regional security threat, the advantages of such a move outweighs the drawbacks, particularly in terms of establishing regional health mechanisms.