INITIATE.MY

Roundtable – Canada–Malaysia Collaboration on the Development of Malaysia’s First WPS NAP
2025-07-21 08:00 - 17:00 (Asia/Shanghai)
Kuala Lumpur, 21 July 2025 – INITIATE.MY participated in the Civil Society Roundtable on Women, Peace and Security (WPS), co-organised by the High Commission of Canada and the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development (KPWKM). The dialogue convened women leaders, peace practitioners, and civil society representatives to discuss how Malaysia’s upcoming National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security (NAP WPS) can translate global commitments into local realities.

The roundtable reaffirmed that peace is more sustainable when women are meaningfully included in peace processes — a principle underscored by UN Security Council Resolution 1325. Discussions at the forum emphasised that Malaysia’s NAP must go beyond policy rhetoric by ensuring institutional commitment, civil society engagement, and mechanisms for harm prevention.

Participants examined how women’s rights advocacy, youth engagement, and peacebuilding initiatives align with WPS principles, while identifying barriers to mainstreaming gender perspectives in national security policies. Insights from Canada’s WPS Network illustrated how sustained collaboration between civil society and government can foster more inclusive policy design and monitoring.

Representing INITIATE.MY, Balqis Maesara, Project Officer, and Irdina Sorfina, Legal Intern, contributed perspectives from the Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism (PCVE) field — highlighting that women’s roles in radicalisation are often confined to that of victims or intermediaries, rather than dominant players. They stressed that to counter this, women’s empowerment must be a core strategy—by placing women in decision-making roles and highlighting women peacebuilders as visible role models..

INITIATE.MY’s policy recommendations presented at the roundtable included:

1. Institutionalise reconciliation mechanisms within PCVE frameworks, including a National Mediation Centre to document women’s testimonies and facilitate community healing.2. Provide trauma support, anti-stigma initiatives, education, and economic reintegration for women and children affected by extremism.3. Introduce systematic screening to identify trafficking victims in terrorism contexts, ensuring legal safeguards, safe shelters, and psychosocial assistance.4. Empower affected women as mediators and peacebuilding leaders to ensure their direct participation in policy formulation and implementation.5. Establish a gender-disaggregated online database to track mediation outcomes, rehabilitation success, and reconciliation progress.

These recommendations aim to ensure that Malaysia’s NAP WPS not only protects women from violence and discrimination but also positions them as key agents of peacebuilding and conflict resolution. As Malaysia prepares for the upcoming ASEAN WPS Summit, INITIATE.MY looks forward to continued collaboration with state and non-state actors to advance inclusive, trauma-informed, and gender-responsive peacebuilding in Southeast Asia.

INITIATE.MY joined the Civil Society Roundtable on Women, Peace and Security to advocate for gender-responsive, trauma-informed approaches in Malaysia’s upcoming NAP WPS.

Knowledge Hub Session 3: Data-Driven Advocacy: Storytelling
2025-06-25 08:00 - 17:00
Kuala Lumpur, 25 June 2025 – INITIATE.MY hosted the third session of the Knowledge Hub series, focusing on “Data-Driven Advocacy: Storytelling.” The session equipped civil society actors with practical skills to transform complex data into accessible, compelling narratives that enhance advocacy efforts.

Facilitators guided participants through tools and strategies that connect evidence with storytelling. They emphasised that data alone cannot shape public opinion or influence policy without thoughtful framing. Using case studies and live demonstrations, facilitators introduced visualisation tools such as Flourish, enabling participants—especially those without technical backgrounds—to create clear and persuasive charts and infographics.

Participants took part in hands-on exercises to critique and redesign data visuals. They identified and corrected misleading charts, applied design principles that prioritise clarity, simplicity, and ethical presentation. Discussions also addressed common pitfalls such as overusing pie charts and poor colour contrast.

The session also explored:

1. Public opinion surveys as a form of data collection and storytelling. Participants examined how survey design, sampling methods, and question framing shape responses and influence narratives. Careful phrasing can reveal honest perspectives on sensitive issues without triggering bias or defensiveness.

2. The growing use of machine-assisted analysis in advocacy, including media monitoring and trend detection. Facilitators cautioned against overreliance on automation, stressed the irreplaceable role of human judgment, cultural sensitivity, and emotional intelligence in crafting ethical and impactful narratives.

3. Methods for blending legal analysis, data, and personal stories. This discussion underscored how storytelling grounded in lived experience—especially when tailored to marginalised audiences—can challenge dominant narratives and shape policy discourse.

Knowledge Hub strengthens a more connected and informed civil society. In this case, data is most impactful when framed with care, grounded in context, and communicated clearly. As the digital information space grows more complex, civil society must go beyond collecting and analysing data—they must learn to tell stories that resonate.

Participants of Knowledge Hub Session 3 learned how to tell stories from data more effectively.

International Conference on Cohesive Societies (ICCS) 2025
2025-06-24 08:00 - 2025-06-26 17:00
Singapore, 24–26 June 2025 – The International Conference on Cohesive Societies (ICCS) 2025 brought together leaders, practitioners, scholars, and youth from across the globe to explore how diverse communities can forge meaningful connections and build resilience in the face of growing societal challenges.

The S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) convened this third edition of ICCS under the theme of “Cohesive Societies, Resilient Futures.” Delegates from over 30 countries—representing institutions such as the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC), ASEAN, civil society organisations, and religious communities—joined the three-day gathering to share insights and strategies.

The conference centred around three thematic pillars: 1. Unpacking Multiculturalism, 2. Navigating Uncertainty, and 3. Forging Societal Resilience.

Through high-impact plenaries, hands-on workshops, and immersive community explorations, ICCS 2025 equipped participants with practical tools to lead transformative change and strengthen social cohesion within their communities.

Hisham Muhaimi, INITIATE.MY’s Project Coordinator, represented the organisation. He participated in two key sessions at ICCS 2025.

Conflict resolution workshop: Practical mediation and communication skills to strengthen conflict-sensitive programming and grassroots engagement.Visit to the Indian Heritage Centre: Exploration of South Asian cultural contributions to Singapore’s national identity, reinforcing the importance of inclusion in fostering social cohesion.

Hisham also reconnected with Amina Rasul-Bernardo and Atty. Salma Pir Rasul, two prominent voices in peacebuilding and the prevention of violent extremism in the Philippines.

Hisham Muhaimi reconnected with leading voices in peacebuilding and PCVE in the Philippines, Amina Rasul-Bernardo and Atty. Salma Pir Rasul at ICCS 2025 in Singapore.

At ICCS 2025, INITIATE.MY engaged regional and global networks to share its initiatives and contribute to key conversations on identity, coexistence, and societal resilience. The organisation remains committed to advancing inclusive dialogue, diversity, and community cohesion through education and cross-sector collaboration—locally and globally.

SEARCCT’s International Conference 2025: Emerging Trends in Terrorism and Violent Extremism
2025-06-24 08:00 - 17:00
Kuala Lumpur, 24 June 2025 – INITIATE.MY participated in the Southeast Asia Regional Centre for Counter-Terrorism (SEARCCT) International Conference 2025 with the theme of “Emerging Trends in Terrorism and Violent Extremism”. The conference brought together counterterrorism experts, researchers, policymakers, and civil society representatives to address the evolving challenges of preventing and countering violent extremism (PCVE), focusing on the role of digital platforms and emerging technologies.

The first day of the forum featured two key sessions that explored the evolving nexus between youth, technology, and violent extremism.

First session: How radicalisation unfolds across social media, encrypted messaging apps, gaming spaces, and the dark web.

Mr. Asrul Shah Razali from the Ministry of Home Affairs, Malaysia moderated this session.

Ms. Mediha Mahmood from Communications and Multimedia Content Forum of Malaysia (CMCF) highlighted the “bystander effect” online, where silence by passive users amplifies extremist content. She cited successful counter-speech strategies, such as a German initiative that reduced hate threats by 17%.

Ms. Emma Allen from Hedayah Centre, United Arab Emirates shared findings from a study revealing that 96% of Malaysian youth are online, making them highly vulnerable to extremist narratives that blend global and local themes.

Dr. Miraji Mohamed, Swansea University and Dublin City University added an interdisciplinary lens, stressing the importance of understanding how different platforms shape radicalisation processes and recommending gender-sensitive, alternative approaches to prevention.

Second session: how artificial intelligence (AI) and immersive technologies are reshaping the terrorism landscape and preventive strategies. moderated by

Ms. Farlina Said from Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS) Malaysia, moderated this session.

Mr. Asrul Daniel Ahmad from SEARCCT described how extremists exploit generative AI to create deepfakes, emotionally resonant content, and culturally subversive propaganda, citing examples like AI-generated ISIS news modeled after Al Jazeera. He warned of AI’s potential to rapidly spread content in local languages, increasing the threat in Southeast Asia. In response, SEARCCT runs youth-focused story workshops and coding labs to build digital resilience.

Ms. Asha Hemrajani from S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Singapore highlighted digital vulnerabilities including a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks and platform manipulation, advocating for algorithmic retraining and multiple response mechanisms tailored to each platform’s dynamics.

Mr. Galen Lamphere-Englund from Extremism and Gaming Research Network (EGRN) turned the spotlight on the gaming ecosystem, identifying its highly social nature as fertile ground for radicalisation. His research found that 30% of gamers across seven countries encountered extremist content, with 22% seeing it as normal. Extremists exploit games through propaganda-laced titles, in-game chats, microtransactions, and even live-streaming attacks. Buffalo 2022 shooter’s exposure to radicalisation, for example, was through platforms like Roblox, Discord, and Twitch.

He proposed a “Prevent, Detect, React” framework including esports mentorships, gaming literacy programmes, and AI moderation to counter this radicalisation threat. The United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) is also preparing a Southeast Asian study to improve online safety in gaming spaces.

The conference highlighted the dual role of technology in extremism and PCVE, from silence-driven radicalisation to AI-enhanced propaganda and gaming vulnerabilities. Building on INITIATE.MY’s established work on online extremism, which addresses online threats and the exploitation of AI, these insights strengthen our findings.

Balqis Maesara, INITIATE.MY’s Project Officer, and Irdina Sorfina, INITIATE.MY’s Legal Intern contributed to critical conversations on digital threats and counterextremism in Southeast Asia as a civil society organisation.

Knowledge Hub Session 2: Data-Driven Advocacy: Data Gathering Methods
2025-06-18 08:00 - 17:00
Kuala Lumpur, 18 June 2025 – INITIATE.MY organised the second session of the Knowledge Hub series titled “Data-Driven Advocacy: Data Gathering Methods”. This full-day workshop built on the earlier session on tech abuse threats to enhance civil society’s capacity for evidence-based advocacy to address the threats with a focus on credible and ethical data collection methods.

Participants comprised a diverse group of practitioners from civil society organisations engaged in civil and political rights, gender justice, counter-extremism, digital rights, child protection, policy research, and data journalism. The programme offered a dynamic mix of expert-led sessions, hands-on methodology development, and peer-to-peer learning, grounded in strong regional relevance and practical application.

Facilitators shared practical strategies for accessing information, including through the freedom of information (FOI) requests, open data portals, and crowd-sourcing. They demonstrated the practical tools used in digital advocacy such as:

TikAPI (extracts public data from TikTok), Telethon (scrapes Telegram data via API), and GDELT (monitors global news and events in real time);

Tableau (creates interactive data dashboards and visual insights) for visualisation; and,

Bayanat, an open-source platform tailored for civil society data handling. They also explored HURIDOCS, a flexible system of 49 microthesauri for classifying human rights violations, widely adopted since the 1980s and adaptable to various advocacy needs.

Furthermore, participants were assigned with tasks to develop and refine their own research hypotheses through small group exercises that focused on case studies ranging from online harms, access to education and environmental impacts. They needed to identify relevant data sources, design their research approach, and receive feedback on their framing and methodology.

Through Knowledge Hub, participants enhanced their technical literacy, built greater confidence in designing methodologies and collecting data, and deepened their understanding of shared standards for credible and ethical data collection to address tech abuse threats.

Participants of Knowledge Hub Session 2 learned how to strengthen skills in credible and ethical data collection.

Dialogue Session on ‘Peaceful Generation: Youth Against Extremism’ on the National Youth Day 2025
2025-06-15 10:00 - 12:00
Kuala Lumpur, 15 June 2025 – The dialogue session ‘Peaceful Generation: Youth Against Extremism’ brought together Malaysian youth in conjunction with National Youth Day 2025, celebrated under the theme ‘Believe You Can!’ at the Human Expression Hub, Merdeka Square. The event was held in collaboration between the Ministry of Youth and Sports, the Malaysian Youth Council (MBM), and the National Youth and Sports Department being the joint organisers.

Aizat Shamsuddin, Founder and Director of INITIATE.MY, joined the panel alongside Sassi A/L Shritharan, Assistant Director at the Southeast Asia Regional Centre for Counter-Terrorism (SEARCCT), Ministry of Foreign Affairs Malaysia. Eow Shiang Yen, Executive Committee Member of the MBM, moderated the session. The session aimed to promote inclusive engagement and learning and encourage young people to become agents of peace.

The dialogue unfolded in three thematic rounds:

First round on youth training and awareness: SEARCCT shared examples of creative outreach such as futsal and e-sports. INITIATE.MY highlighted the role of its flagship programme called “Peace Lab”, including the Peace for Religious Leaders & Thinkers (PLRT) in 2024 through data-driven advocacy in strengthening resilience against extremism.

Second round on technology and AI in prevention and countering violent extremism (PCVE): SEARCCT addressed the risks of extremist ideologies spreading through digital games. INITIATE.MY emphasised the potential of AI and social media in countering online hate narratives.

Third round on holistic strategies and community inclusion: SEARCCT discussed empowering young women in line with the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda. INITIATE.MY shared its inclusive approach and how it is important to involve marginalised groups and women in peacebuilding efforts.

The National Youth Day 2025 recognises the role of key civil society organisations like INITIATE.MYs in localising Youth, Peace and Security (YPS) among youth stakeholders. This aligns with one of the core pillars of the Malaysian Action Plan on Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism (MyPCVE) which supports multi-stakeholder engagement to build resilience against radicalisation.

Panelists and participants of the ‘Peaceful Generation: Youth Against Extremism’ dialogue are united in their commitment to empowering Malaysian youth as champions of peace.

Salam Stage
2025-06-14 11:00 - 15:30 | PJ Live Arts
REGISTER HERE : https://www.eventbrite.com/e/salam-stage-tickets-1372678140269?aff=oddtdtcreator

🎟 Free entry – Limited seats!

Real stories. Bold voices. Shared struggle.

Join us at Salam Stage, a live-storytelling event Salam Stage, a TED-style live storytelling event co-organised by the Initiative to Promote Tolerance and Prevent Violence (INITIATE.MY) and the Freedom Film Network (FFN) that spotlights powerful, personal stories of courage, resilience, and hope in the face of rising extremism and shrinking civic space in Malaysia.

From confronting injustice to reclaiming dignity, these lived experiences offer an unflinching look at what it means to speak up, push back, and reimagine peace in a divided society.

Through raw narratives, creative performances, and fearless dialogue, Salam Stage invites you to listen deeply, reflect critically, and stand in solidarity.

AGENDA11:00 AMRegistration & Networking

12:00 PMOpening Remarksby Aizat Shamsuddin, Founder & Director, Initiative to Promote Tolerance and Prevent Violence (INITIATE.MY)

12:10 PMOpening Remarksby Anna Har, Director, Freedom Film Network (FFN)

12:20 PMHousekeeping Notes

12:30 PM“May 13: Race and the Legacy of Fear”by Dr. Kua Kia Soong, Social Activist & Researcher

12:50 PM“Menyingkap Cerita Bekas Tahanan Keselamatan dan Radikal”by Dr. Haezreena Begum Abdul Hamid, Criminologist & Legal Scholar

1:10 PMAudience Engagement

1:20 PMPrayer Break, Lunch Break & Networking

1:50 PM“Challenging Sacred Narrative”by Khairi Anwar & Tan Meng Kheng, Director & Producer of Mentega Terbang

2:10 PM“Keteguhan Tradisi: Ceritera dari Kelantan dan Negeri Sembilan”by Ruby Jusoh, Women’s Literature Researcher

2:30 PMAudience Engagement

2:50 PMClosing Remarksby Representative of the Embassy of the Netherlands in Malaysia [TBC]

3:00 PMGroup Photo & Conclusion

3:30 PMDispersal

🧠 Come for the stories. Leave with purpose.

🎟 Admission is free, but places are limited – book your seat now!🔗 More info: https://initiate.my📩 General enquiries: salam@initiate.my💌 For sponsorship and donations: communications@initiate.my

INITIATE’s First Live Storytelling Event: Salam Stage
2025-06-14 10:00 - 16:00
INITIATE’s First Live Storytelling Event: Salam Stage

Petaling Jaya, 14 June 2025 一 INITIATE.MY and the Freedom Film Network (FFN) successfully organised Salam Stage, a live storytelling platform that amplified diverse voices through powerful personal accounts of courage, resilience, and hope. The event was supported by the Embassy of the Netherlands in Malaysia. Over 100 participants joined the event, representing an intergenerational audience that included Gen Z and Gen Y members from civil society, student networks, the press, and diplomatic missions.

Salam Stage used storytelling to humanise complex sociopolitical and socioeconomic issues in response to rising extremism and growing polarisation. The speakers are as follows:

1. Dr. Kua Kia Soong, a researcher and activist, talked about his reflection on the trauma and political legacy of the May 13 violent riots, which he witnessed firsthand. He challenged official narratives by framing the incident as a calculated power shift by emerging elites, not spontaneous racial violence. He called for a truth and reconciliation commission, he urged Malaysians to seek truth from facts and confront history with courage.

2. Dr. Haezreena Begum, a criminologist and legal scholar, highlighted the silenced stories of former detainees. She emphasised the often overlooked humanity of former detainees, urging society not to define them by their past. She called for empathy and second chances, reminding the audience that returnees and former detainees deserve dignity, not stigma.

3. Khairi Anwar and Tan Meng Kheng, filmmakers, reflected on the backlash to their film Mentega Terbang, which explores interfaith questioning through a young girl’s journey. In their session, “Challenging Sacred Narratives”, they blended personal stories and performance to show how creative work can confront religious taboos. Their session called on audiences to defend artistic freedom, create space for honest conversations about faith, and support storytellers who dare to challenge taboo topics with courage and compassion.

4. Ruby Jusoh, a researcher, shared personal and cultural stories from Kelantan and Negeri Sembilan where she highlighted the enduring strength of women in Malay traditions. Through figures like her grandmother, Mek Zainab, and the matrilineal roles of Ibu Soko and Bundo Kanduang, she illustrated how tradition has long upheld women’s leadership, resilience, and dignity. She called on the audience to reclaim and celebrate cultural traditions that honour women’s leadership, and to challenge narratives that erase or diminish the power of women in society.

Salam Stage showcases INITIATE.MY’s public advocacy by bringing difficult issues to light through real and personal stories. It uses lived experiences and creative expression to make conversations about extremism and civic space more relatable. The event inspires people to take actions for a more just and peaceful Malaysia.

A group photo of the organising teams from INITIATE.MY and Freedom Film Network and the speakers of Salam Stage.

Briefing on Current Political Situation in Burma and Malaysia’s ASEAN Chairmanship
2025-05-27 14:00 - 17:00
27 May 2025, Kuala Lumpur – INITIATE.MY, in collaboration with Bait Al-Amanah, convened a closed-door policy briefing titled “Myanmar’s Evolving Political Landscape – Emerging Trends and 2025 Outlook.”. Aizat Shamsuddin, Founder and director of INITIATE.MY, facilitated the session, which featured Myanmar policy analyst Arkar Hein and brought together representatives from the Malaysian government, diplomatic community, think tanks, and civil society organisations.

The briefing examined major political and security shifts in Myanmar since the military coup in 2021. Over the past three years, resistance actors—including the National Unity Government (NUG), ethnic revolutionary organisations (EROs), and people’s defence forces (PDFs)—have expanded control across liberated areas. These groups are coordinating efforts to provide governance, security, and services rooted in federal democratic principles. Three emerging governance models: a top-down federalism driven by the NUG, grassroots ethnic-led systems, and autonomous regional administrations.

Discussions also highlighted:

China-brokered ceasefire in northern Shan State, which primarily aims to protect Beijing’s strategic interests along the border, lacks longer stability and risks entrenching militarised stalemates.

The junta’s planned 2025 election also drew criticism for its lack of inclusivity, absence of nationwide stability, and the continued detention of over 29,000 political prisoners.

Resistance-led governance models are gaining traction, undermining the junta’s legitimacy and reflecting a deeper societal rejection of military rule. This transformation presents long-term implications for regional policy and engagement.

On the Rohingya issue, there are signs of a generational shift towards more inclusive governance among resistance actors, though serious protection risks remain.

The junta’s exploitation of illicit economies—including scam operations and narcotics trafficking—as key revenue streams, alongside continued earnings from offshore oil and gas.

The briefing generated several forward-looking recommendations for Malaysia’s ASEAN Chairmanship in 2025:

Prioritising Myanmar-led inclusive dialogue

ensuring cross-border humanitarian assistance reaches resistance-held areas

maintaining engagement with legitimate actors such as the NUG and EROs

Malaysia’s proposals for a permanent ASEAN special envoy and its dual-track diplomacy are welcomed

INITIATE.MY views Myanmar’s crisis as emblematic of broader regional challenges where authoritarianism, state fragility, and transnational crime intersect. The organisation continues to advocate for regional responses grounded in the protection of human security in line with international human rights and humanitarian norms.

Policymakers, diplomats, geopolitical analysts, and civil society gathered for a closed-door briefing on Myanmar’s evolving political landscape and the implications for Malaysia’s ASEAN Chairmanship in 2025.

GI-TOC’s Meetings on Transnational Crime
2025-05-25 00:00 - 23:59
Putrajaya, 21–25 April 2025 – Aizat Shamsuddin, Founder and Director of INITIATE.MY, co-facilitated a series of high-level stakeholder meetings on foreign criminality in partnership with the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime (GI-TOC). GI-TOC is an international organisation that strengthens responses to organised crime through research, policy dialogue, and cross-sector engagement.

The meetings convened law enforcement agencies, government officials, legal practitioners, and civil society actors to examine the rising threat of foreign criminal actors operating transnational organised crime networks in Malaysia. Discussions focused on the strategies these actors use—including exploiting governance gaps—and evaluated the effectiveness of current countermeasures.

According to GI-TOC’s 2023 Organised Crime Index, Malaysia’s criminality score rose to 6.23, marking a 0.30-point increase from 2021. This signals a worsening organised crime environment, with increased activity across various illicit markets. Notably, the score for foreign criminal actors rose to 7.00—a 0.50-point increase—indicating their growing presence and influence.

Malaysia’s Organised Crime Rankings (2023):

38th of 193 countries globally

16th of 46 countries in Asia

6th of 11 countries in Southeast Asia

While Malaysia’s resilience score also increased slightly to 5.92 (a 0.08-point improvement from 2021), this remains insufficient to offset the expanding threats posed by organised crime.

Resilience Rankings:

40th of 193 countries globally

5th of 46 countries in Asia

2nd of 11 countries in Southeast Asia

These figures underscore a growing vulnerability to foreign criminal networks, despite moderate institutional resilience. There is an urgent need for stronger cross-border cooperation and preventive policy interventions to dismantle these illicit networks and address systemic enablers.

INITIATE.MY’s counterterrorism work intersects with issues of foreign criminality and organised crime—especially where transnational terrorist groups like Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) and Daesh collaborate with organised crime syndicates. These networks are involved in arms trafficking, financial concealment, and the trafficking of women and children, often operating across Southeast Asia and beyond.

As ASEAN Chair, Malaysia holds a critical opportunity to lead regional responses against these threats. In particular, it should prioritise emerging challenges involving cyberspace exploitation and the misuse of AI. With the Senior Officials Meeting on Transnational Crime (SOMTC) set for June 2025, Malaysia should push for regional action particularly on cyberscams and forced labour plaguing the region, and promote more agile and coordinated cooperation across Southeast Asia.

Stakeholders from law enforcement, government, civil society, and legal sectors convened in Putrajaya to examine foreign criminality in Malaysia.

Panel Discussion on Tech Abuse Threats & Accountability: How Can We Work Together?
2025-05-24 15:30 - 17:00
🌐 ASEANPeoples@ASEAN2025: Digital Rights & Internet Freedom Cluster

Join us for an engaging event exploring the state of online rights in Southeast Asia, featuring:🗣 Session B – Panel Discussion on Tech Abuse Threats & Accountability: How Can We Work Together?⚖️ Regional leaders explore how we can work together to address tech-enabled abuse and protect digital spaces.

Tehmina Kaoosji, Independent Broadcast Journalist, Partner & Communications Director, The Big Picture (TBP) Communications, Malaysia (Moderator)

Aizat Shamsuddin, Founder & Director, Initiative to Promote Tolerance and Prevent Violence (INITIATE.MY), Malaysia

Damar Juniarto, Founder, Centre for AI & Tech Innovation for Democracy (PIKAT), Indonesia

Dr. Jun-E Tan, Senior Research Associate, Khazanah Research Institute, Malaysia

Daniel Lim, Head of Public Policy Malaysia & Brunei, Meta, Singapore

Mediha Mahmood, Chief Executive Officer, Communications and Multimedia Content Forum of Malaysia, Malaysia

📅 24 May 2025 (Sat)🕒 3.30PM – 5PM MYT📍 Wisma MCA, Kuala Lumpur & Zoom🔗 Register now: http://bit.ly/4dsMcZm

#ASEAN2025 #InternetFreedom #DigitalRights #TechAccountability

Background:This panel will focus on the growing threats of tech abuse in Southeast Asia, including disinformation, doxxing, extremist content and online scams – harms that compromise the safety and rights of individuals, communities both online and offline. The discussion will highlight the role of platform policies, algorithms, and multistakeholder partnerships in countering these threats, especially as malign actors increasingly exploit online platforms and AI tools for political and illicit economic gain.

The session will:

– Examine the trends of tech abuse threats that undermine safety and rights in Southeast Asia.

– Explore the growing accountability of platforms and tech companies in addressing tech abuse threats while safeguarding digital rights and internet freedom.

– Discuss multistakeholder and practical strategies involving civil society, the private sector, and government agencies in:

– preventing and countering existing and emerging tech abuse threats

– strengthening governance around the use of technology and AI both at domestic and regional levels.

To discuss these, the panel will feature representatives from civil society, media, social media companies, and policymakers to foster an open dialogue on shared accountability. The session also aims to generate practical recommendations with participants for strengthening cross-sector partnerships across the ASEAN region.

Panel Discussion on Tech Abuse Threats and Accountability: How Can We Work Together?
2025-05-24 14:30 - 17:00
Kuala Lumpur, 24 May 2025 – The panel discussion ‘Tech Abuse Threats and Accountability: How Can We Work Together?’ brought together over 65 participants of digital rights advocates, academics, civil society leaders, and platform companies representatives from the region. This event was part of the ASEAN Peoples @ ASEAN2025 Forum. INITIATE.MY co-organised the session with EngageMedia and the Malaysian Centre for Constitutionalism and Human Rights (MCCHR) to explore the rising threats and solutions to technology abuse in Southeast Asia.

Aizat Shamsuddin, Founder of INITIATE.MY, highlighted the growing threats of online scamming and digital extremism in Southeast Asia. He noted that countries in the region serve as both hosts and victims of increasingly coordinated scams, including those using AI-generated fake content to deceive the public and bypass platform enforcement.

He referred to INITIATE.MY’s May 2024 report on far-right extremism trends during Malaysia’s 15th General Election, which exposed how far-right actors used social media to incite racial hatred and revive May 13 narratives through coded language, songs, and symbols. Aizat attributed these harms not only to weak platform moderation but also to systemic issues like gaps in the education system.

He stressed the need for better cooperation with agencies like the Royal Malaysia Police, real-time information sharing, and more effective AI content moderation—while warning against overreaching security laws that risk silencing legitimate expression. He pointed to Singapore’s FICA law as a case for reflection. Rather than defaulting to criminalisation, Aizat urged a focus on building digital resilience and literacy, especially among youth, ahead of future elections.

Damar Juniarto, Founder of the Centre for AI & Tech Innovation for Democracy (PIKAT) Indonesia, warned that the internet has strayed from its democratic roots and become dominated by tech platforms that exploit user data and undermine accountability—what he described as “technofeudalism.” In Indonesia, platforms like YouTube and Facebook have displaced traditional media, causing journalist job losses and weakening democratic safeguards.

He highlighted four key forms of digital repression in Southeast Asia: information warfare, content takedowns, digital surveillance, and online censorship. Damar stressed that authoritarian regimes and tech companies are both complicit in this growing tech abuse. To counter this, he proposed a post-Western digital rights manifesto, including cyber diplomacy, technology transfer in local languages, a Publishers’ Right Committee to support independent media, and decentralised platforms to protect civic space. He called for multi-stakeholder accountability and region-specific strategies to defend democracy in the digital age.

Dr. Jun-E Tan, Senior Research Associate at Khazanah Research Institute, highlighted the urgent need for structured monitoring and documentation of AI-related harms in Malaysia and Southeast Asia. She called for greater public awareness and research on AI safety, distinguishing it from unrealised risks or “hazards.”

Dr. Tan emphasised the value of AI incident repositories—like AIAAIC, OECD AIM, MITRE ATLAS, and AVID—that promote transparency and informed policymaking, especially in high-risk sectors. However, she noted significant challenges: vague definitions, long-term harm detection, causality issues, limited awareness, and Southeast Asia’s underrepresentation in global databases.

Despite these difficulties, she argued that documenting AI harms must be prioritised. Establishing robust incident repositories is essential for responsible and accountable AI governance in the region.

Daniel Lim, Head of Public Policy for Malaysia and Brunei at Meta, stressed the need for cross-sector collaboration to ensure a safer online environment. He urged tech platforms, civil society, and regulators to engage in constructive dialogue rather than fear new technologies.

Lim highlighted Meta’s USD 13 billion investment in online safety and its efforts to balance activist rights with content enforcement. He noted that Meta removes over 90% of harmful content and undergoes public audits to ensure transparency. He cautioned against disrupting effective systems and advocated for consultative approaches to regulation.

He cited Meta’s open-source AI model LLaMA and AI content labelling initiatives as examples of responsible innovation. Lim called for legislation that is enforceable, practical, and thoughtful. He reaffirmed Meta’s commitment to free speech while acknowledging the ongoing challenge of effective moderation.

Mediha Mahmood, CEO of the Communications and Multimedia Content Forum of Malaysia (CMCF), emphasised the importance of a collaborative, consultative approach to responsible content governance. She explained that under the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) enforces regulations while CMCF develops and maintains content standards as an industry-led body.

She noted a shift in public concerns from traditional media to complex online issues like child grooming and explicit content involving minors, which has eroded trust among stakeholders. Mediha called for stronger digital literacy as a core skill, not an add-on, and stressed the urgency of integrating ethical safeguards into laws, standards, and AI systems.

She advocated for consensus-driven governance that protects vulnerable groups—especially women and children—while respecting civil society’s role. While supporting self-regulation, she stressed that it must be backed by shared principles and balanced regulation to uphold freedom of expression.The panel concluded with a strong call for multi-stakeholder collaboration to address Southeast Asia’s most urgent digital threats and rights challenges. Panellists and participants agreed that the session aligned closely with ASEAN’s regional goals, including the ASEAN Digital Masterplan 2025 and the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration, both of which emphasise safe, inclusive, and rights-respecting digital ecosystems.

Panelists of the panel discussion were regional voices from civil society, academia, tech industry, and media policy with a common interest in safeguarding safer and rights-based digital futures for Southeast Asia.

AI Workshop for Civil Society: Understanding AI Harms and the Need for Documentation
2025-05-13 00:00 - 2025-05-15 23:59
Bali, Indonesia, 13-15 May 2025 – Hari Shankar, INITIATE.MY’s Data Scientist, participated in an intensive workshop hosted by EngageMedia. The programme was designed to equip civil society actors with the necessary tools to ensure that artificial intelligence (AI) is developed and deployed in an accountable and ethical manner. The workshop, led by award-winning journalist Karen Hao, brought together experts from civil society, academia, and government to explore the multifaceted challenges of AI governance. The workshop sessions emphasised on the foundational principles to hands-on methods for investigating and documenting AI-related harms.

First day

reinforced the idea that the challenges posed by AI are not entirely new. Instead, they are extensions of long-standing human rights concerns.

international regulatory approaches. In particular, the European Union’s risk-based AI Act was highlighted as a pioneering framework. This legislation categorises AI systems based on their potential for harm, ranging from minimal risk to applications deemed “unacceptable,” such as social scoring systems, which are completely prohibited.

the importance of grounding AI governance in established human rights principles. Participants examined frameworks such as the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, which clearly delineate the responsibilities of both governments and private companies. Under this model, states are expected to protect human rights, while businesses must exercise due diligence to avoid causing harm.

Human Rights Impact Assessments (HRIAs) as a practical and proactive tool for evaluating the effects of AI systems. These assessments help organisations critically examine their assumptions, anticipate how vulnerable communities might be affected, and identify concrete strategies to mitigate potential harms.

Second day

the real-world implications of AI, with a focus on systemic bias, the spread of misinformation, and the need for critical engagement with industry narratives. One impactful session revealed that AI systems are not inherently objective. When these systems are trained on historical data that reflects societal biases, they can perpetuate and even exacerbate those biases. Concrete examples included a recruitment tool built using OpenAI’s GPT model that showed bias against job applicants with racially distinctive names, as well as a welfare algorithm in Rotterdam that disproportionately penalised minority communities.

The role of AI in spreading misinformation and disinformation was another urgent topic, particularly in the context of preventing and countering violent extremism (PCVE). Participants examined how social media algorithms can be exploited to promote hate speech and extremist content. They also discussed the increasing threat of generative AI, which can be used to produce persuasive and misleading propaganda at scale

the “AI B.S. Detector,” encouraged participants to maintain a healthy scepticism toward overblown AI marketing claims and alarmist narratives about hypothetical, long-term threats. The general consensus was that civil society should focus its attention on the tangible, immediate harms caused by AI—such as discriminatory outcomes, breaches of privacy, and social polarisation—rather than on speculative concerns about existential risks.

The workshop also introduced several important tools and resources to support accountability efforts such as:

UNESCO’s Readiness Assessment Methodology (RAM), which is currently being implemented in over 70 countries, including Indonesia, to assess national preparedness for ethical AI deployment.

AI incident databases, such as the OECD’s AI Misuse (AIM) repository and the community-driven AI, Algorithmic and Automation Incidents and Controversies (AIAAIC) archive. These platforms serve as essential resources for documenting real-world AI failures and informing better policies and regulatory frameworks.

insights into the AI development landscapes in Indonesia and Malaysia. These regional case studies included updates on emerging national strategies and governance initiatives, such as Malaysia’s newly established National AI Office (NAIO), which reflect a growing recognition of the need for responsible innovation in the region.

The workshop strengthened INITIATE.MY’s capacity to protect marginalised communities from AI exploitation risks. Malicious actors exploit not only algorithms but also data voids, manipulated content, and weak platform design to amplify hate and violence. With enhanced understanding of AI governance and harm tracking, INITIATE.MY can effectively advocate for evidence-based, rights-respecting policy improvement.

Participants at a three-day workshop of hands-on training on ethical, rights-based approaches to AI accountability.

The Malaysian-ASEAN Youth SDG Summit 2025
2025-05-10 09:00 - 17:00
Kuala Lumpur, 10 May 2025 – INITIATE.MY participated in the Malaysian-ASEAN Youth SDG Summit 2025, a youth-driven regional gathering that united over 300 multi-stakeholder participants. The All-Party Parliamentary Group Malaysia for Sustainable Development Goals (APPGM-SDG) and its training arm MySDG Academy were the joint organisers of this summit with support from the Ministry of Youth and Sports Malaysia, Malaysian Youth Council (MBM), and the United Nations Multi-Country Office for Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei Darussalam. The summit served as a dynamic platform for dialogue, experimentation, and action around the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)—led by and for youth.

Eow Shiang Yen, INITIATE.MY’s Communications Officer highlighted INITIATE.MY’s Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) work via the latest Peace Lab for Religious Leaders and Thinkers (PLRT) in 2024. PLRT is a youth empowerment initiative in collaboration with the Malaysian Youth Diplomacy (MyDiplomacy) and MBM that tackles hate, intolerance, and radicalisation in Malaysia, and empowers the youths to counter the harms through digital content creation and advocacy.

A central highlight of the summit was the official launch of the W.A.Y. Forward Movement, an initiative by APPGM-SDG and MySDG Academy to transform youth engagement from mere participation to co-leadership in achieving the SDGs. W.A.Y.—Weaving partnerships to Accelerate SDGs with You(th)—champions intergenerational, cross-sectoral collaboration, positioning youth as architects of systemic transformation.

The summit redefined conventional formats through interactive SDG Labs, themed side activities, and a festive Utopia Night. Four SDG Labs explored Youth in Politics, Community Empowerment, Campus Advocacy, and Corporate Sustainability—creating inclusive, hands-on spaces for deep engagement.

INITIATE.MY’s presence at the summit reaffirmed its commitment to Education for Sustainable Development, and to amplify Youth, Peace and Security (YPS) agenda including youth-led peacebuilding and digital advocacy initiatives. As sustainability must be lived, felt, and co-created, INITIATE.MY looks forward to advancing collaborative efforts in alignment with SDG 4, 10, and 16, both nationally and across Southeast Asia.

INITIATE.MY highlighted its youth-led peacebuilding and digital advocacy efforts through the PLRT via a ESD poster at the Malaysian-ASEAN Youth SDG Summit 2025.

Closed-Door Workshop on “Religion and Liberal Thought in Malay Society”
2025-05-09 00:00 - 2025-05-12 23:59
Kuala Lumpur, 9–12 May 2025 – INITIATE.MY participated in the closed-door regional workshop “Religion and Liberal Thought in Malay Society,” organised by Sisters in Islam (SIS). The event brought together civil society actors, religious leaders, legal professionals, and researchers from Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore to examine liberal thought in Muslim-majority contexts and reflect on how state and religious actors securitise and misrepresent it.

Facilitators presented Islamic concepts such as maqasid (higher objectives of Islamic law), maslahah (public interest), and mubadalah (reciprocal justice) as internal ethical tools. Participants engaged with these frameworks as grounded in Islamic tradition—not external ideas, and used them to challenge exclusionary narratives. They explored how far-right and extremist actors weaponise terms like “liberalism” through emotional rhetoric, selective scripture, and institutional gatekeeping.

Participants identified how institutionalised religion across all major faiths often prioritises control over inclusion. They discussed how these dynamics shrink civic space, discourage diversity of belief, and create environments that undermine trust and resilience. In Malaysia, participants reflected on how dual legal systems (civil and Syariah) affect both Muslims and non-Muslims, and how state policies often politicise religion in ways that marginalise minority communities and reinforce identity-based divisions.

Through polling, reflection exercises, and Forum Theatre, participants examined real-world scenarios involving discrimination, moral policing, and institutional exclusion. These sessions reinforced the need for community-based approaches to PCVE that focus on root causes such as injustice, identity insecurity, and lack of civic trust rather than reactive or security-heavy responses.

Speakers from Indonesia and Singapore offered comparative insights, showing how decentralised religious authority and open public discourse create more pluralistic and inclusive societies. Participants also called on interfaith leaders to hold their own traditions accountable, challenge internal biases, and resist identity-based political agendas.

INITIATE.MY used the space to deepen the team’s understanding of how ideological control and religious politicisation fuel societal polarisation and strengthen the policy and community work in promoting resilience against extremism.

Participants of the workshop were united in challenging exclusionary narratives and strengthening community-centered approaches to justice and resilience across Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore.

UNCAC Awareness and Implementation Workshop for Civil Society in Malaysia
2025-05-08 08:00 - 17:00
Petaling Jaya, 8 May 2025 – INITIATE.MY participated in the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) Awareness and Implementation Workshop for Civil Society in Malaysia, hosted by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and Transparency International Malaysia (TI-M). The workshop gathered civil society groups, legal experts, and anti-corruption advocates to reflect on Malaysia’s progress under the UNCAC and explore ways forward.

Corruption remains a key obstacle to development and good governance in Southeast Asia. This workshop has served several purposes:

Timely space to assess Malaysia’s anti-corruption efforts, particularly in response to two UNCAC review cycles conducted in 2013 and 2017. These reviews focused on key areas such as law enforcement, preventive measures, and asset recovery, offering both insights and recommendations for reform.

The linkage between corruption and organised crime. Case studies such as the 1MDB scandal highlighted how large-scale corruption can enable crimes like money laundering. While other examples showed how organised criminal networks have facilitated terrorism financing.

Strengthening the role of civil society in UNCAC implementation, encouraging knowledge exchange, and identifying actionable strategies to address ongoing gaps.

INITIATE.MY shared reflections from its policy work on Malaysia’s National Action Plan on Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism (MyPCVE). Drawing from its 2022 policy brief “Civil Society Deserves a Seat at the Table,” INITIATE.MY documented how civil society is often sidelined in security policymaking processes. This exclusion is not unique to the security sector as similar gaps are evident in UNCAC processes, where civil society organisations are rarely included in formal reviews. Without genuine civil society engagement, transparency and reform risk falling short.

Overall, the workshop provided an opportunity to engage with civil society organisations and anti-corruption experts and deepened the organisation’s capacity in understanding international anti-corruption frameworks, and reflecting on how corruption intersects with INITIATE.MY’s work to prevent extremism and terrorism. This includes the patronage and financing aspects; the terrorist financing to sanctioned groups such as IS and the misappropriation of charity funds under the guise of humanitarian and religious causes such as AMAN Palestin and GISB Holdings cases in 2024.

Civil society representatives, legal experts, and anti-corruption advocates in Malaysia gathered at the UNCAC Awareness and Implementation Workshop, reaffirming their commitment to transparency, accountability, and inclusive governance.

INITIATE.MY’s Self-Care and Well-Being Session
2025-04-30 09:00 - 16:00
Kuala Lumpur, 30 April 2025 – INITIATE.MY organised a Self-Care and Well-Being Session facilitated by a clinical psychologist Dr. Vizla Kumaresan as part of the organisation’s ongoing commitment to its team’s mental health and well-being with a backdrop of challenging advocacy and research environments.

Dr. Vizla guided participants through discussions and exercises on managing stress and burnout, achieving work-life balance, setting personal boundaries, and using coping strategies for anxiety and depression. She also introduced self-care practices and mindfulness techniques. Participants gained practical tools to strengthen emotional resilience and manage the pressures of their advocacy and research work more sustainably. INITIATE.MY also provided mental health guides, videos, and mindfulness tools to support participants beyond the session.

Dr. Vizla addressed the often-overlooked psychological toll of working on emotionally intense topics. She explained how such work can trigger physical and emotional reactions and offered healthy ways to respond. She also covered how to engage with distressing data, navigate sensitive topics, involve men in mental health conversations, and maintain well-being while confronting personal biases—especially when researching far-right

This session marked a major step forward in normalising mental health conversations within the organisation. It reinforced the organisation’s commitment to creating psychologically safe workspaces as part of its 2025 professional development roadmap.

INITIATE.MY team came together to prioritise mental health and self-care.

Workshop on Empowering Communities in Asia to Use ALDOUS Generative AI for PCVE
2025-04-25 09:00 - 17:00
Kuala Lumpur, 25 April 2025 – INITIATE.MY participated in the Generative AI for Counter-Terrorism Workshop focused on the theme “Empowering Communities in Asia to Use ALDOUS Generative AI for Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism (PCVE).”

The workshop, hosted by Mythos Labs and Meta with Southeast Asian Regional Centre for Counter-Terrorism (SEARCCT) as the strategic partner, aimed to equip law enforcement and civil society practitioners with the knowledge and tools to utilise ALDOUS, an advanced AI-powered solution, to support counter-terrorism efforts.

Participants from Asia Pacific gathered to explore how generative AI and large language models (LLMs) can enhance the fight against terrorism and violent extremism. The workshop provided a platform for sharing strategies and practical applications of AI in counterterrorism work.

The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Malaysia, H.E. Datuk Mohamad Bin Alamin, officiated the event. Datin Paduka Nur Ashikin Mohd Taib, Director of the Southeast Asia Regional Centre for Counter-Terrorism (SEARCCT) delivered a keynote speech and shared valuable insights on the growing role of AI in addressing violent extremism.

Mythos Labs introduced Aldous as a tool that enables practitioners to detect threats earlier, combat radicalisation at scale, and improve response readiness. The team also showcased two specialised chatbots powered by Aldous:

Alethia, which supports deradicalisation and rehabilitation by engaging with radicalised individuals and former terrorist fighters (FTFs) to help reintegrate them into society.

Protheus, which simulates conversations with radicalised individuals to test counter-narratives and train officers in effective engagement techniques.

INITIATE.MY is further keen to learn and contribute on how these AI tools can be adapted to regional and local contexts to support the implementation of the Malaysian Action Plan on Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism (MyPCVE). By participating in this workshop, it complements INITIATE.MY’s capacity in integrating AI into community-based counterterrorism efforts.

INITIATE.MY team participated in the AI for Counter-Terrorism Workshop, hosted by Mythos Labs and Meta, exploring the use of ALDOUS generative AI to support P/CVE efforts across Asia-Pacific.

Future Action Summit 2025
2025-04-25 00:00 - 2025-04-28 23:59
Kuala Lumpur, 25–28 April 2025 – Future Action Summit (FAS) 2025 brought together over 120 passionate youth from around the world in Kuala Lumpur. Echo Change led the event in partnership with the Initiative to Promote Tolerance and Prevent Violence (INITIATE.MY) and Kenan Foundation Asia. Over four days, young leaders collaborated, exchanged bold ideas, and built actionable solutions to advance the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The summit featured interactive workshops, panel discussions, cultural showcases, and networking sessions. Participants tackled pressing global issues—such as youth empowerment, peace and security (SDG 16), and climate leadership—and explored strategies to overcome resource limitations and systemic inequality. Their contributions generated momentum toward the 2030 SDG agenda.

INITIATE.MY actively shaped the summit’s impact. Representing the organisation, Hisham Muhaimi led two key sessions. In a fireside chat with Paula Porras and Sahlim Charles, he explored how youth can drive SDG 16 through peacebuilding and institutional reform. In a panel with Philip Gassert and Elisa Shafiqah, he examined practical strategies, shared lessons learned, and proposed solutions to fast-track SDG progress. These sessions connected youth perspectives with expert insights and reaffirmed INITIATE.MY’s commitment to SDG 4.7 (Education for Sustainable Development), SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities), and SDG 16.

FAS 2025 activated the Quadruple Helix model by bringing together youth, government, academia, civil society, and the private sector. The summit catalysed new SDG initiatives and strengthened global networks. INITIATE.MY helped drive this momentum by facilitating partnerships and co-creating innovative responses to global challenges.

Through education, advocacy, and collaboration, INITIATE.MY continues to lead efforts that advance sustainable development goals. The organisation remains committed to building a more inclusive, just, and resilient future by 2030.

Over 130 global youth participants united at FAS 2025 in Kuala Lumpur, led by Echo Change with INITIATE.MY and Kenan Foundation.

2nd National Action Plan Women Peace Security Academy Workshop
2025-04-09 00:00 - 2025-04-11 23:59
Jakarta, Indonesia, 9-11 April 2025 – The ASEAN Institute for Peace and Reconciliation (ASEAN-IPR) and UN Women Indonesia jointly organised the 2nd National Action Plan (NAP) Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) Academy Workshop, themed “Strengthening the Implementation and ASEAN Regional Plan of Action on WPS at the National Level.” The Governments of Canada, the Republic of Korea, and the United Kingdom supported the workshop.

This is part of the ASEAN-wide initiative in empowering women for sustainable peace, prevention of violence, and promoting social cohesion in ASEAN. It brought together government focal points and civil society representatives from Indonesia, Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam, with approximately six participants from each country.

Over three days, the workshop facilitated capacity-building, peer learning, and strategic dialogue aimed at improving the development and implementation of national-level WPS, while also aligning these efforts with the ASEAN-level WPS.

Eow Shiang Yen, Communications Officer of INITIATE.MY participated in this workshop with Malaysian delegates representing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development, Malaysian Armed Forces, and Sisters in Islam (SIS) or known as SIS Forum.

Throughout the sessions, participants:

enhanced their skills and institutional capacities to design, monitor, and evaluate NAPs more effectively.

exchanged good practices and lessons learned from their respective national contexts and explored the use of ASEAN’s WPS Localisation Toolkit and Guidelines as a means to adapt regional goals to local realities.

discussed ways to strengthen coordination mechanisms, promote institutional accountability, and ensure that civil society organisations play a central role in national and local WPS implementation.

discussed lessons learned from over two decades of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325, and strategies for integrating emerging challenges such as climate change, cybersecurity, and violent extremism into the WPS framework.

The workshop highlighted the need to localise WPS commitments by adapting them to specific political, cultural, and institutional contexts within each ASEAN Member State. Localisation is not a mere administrative task but a transformative process that enhances legitimacy, relevance, and impact on the ground. There was a sharing session on case studies in Indonesia, the Philippines, Timor-Leste, Thailand, and Cambodia, highlighting inclusive coordination models and the value of grassroots engagement in advancing gender-responsive peacebuilding.

Notably, the workshop coincided with Malaysia’s forthcoming milestone, as the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development moves toward the official launch of the country’s first National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security in September 2025. INITIATE.MY views this development as an opportunity to fully translate Malaysia’s commitment to the regional WPS framework into the national WPS.

Participants of the 2nd NAP-WPS Academy Workshop in Jakarta, Indonesia representing ASEAN Member States, civil society, and international partners gathered to strengthen regional collaboration and localisation of the WPS agenda.

MCCHR’s Buku Beyond Bars
2025-03-25 00:00 - 23:59
Kuala Lumpur, 25 March 2025 – INITIATE.MY participated in the Buku Beyond Bars roundtable discussion held at the Malaysian Centre for Constitutionalism and Human Rights (MCCHR) office. The discussion focused on prison rehabilitation programmes and the challenges former inmates face in reintegrating into society.

As part of MCCHR’s campaign, the event aimed to expand prison library collections and promote rehabilitation opportunities within the prison system. Participants came from diverse backgrounds, including NGO professionals, medical students, and other key stakeholders committed to improving reintegration support and advancing prison reform efforts.

The discussion highlighted several pressing issues in prison rehabilitation, particularly the limited skills and support prisoners receive upon release. Participants stressed that rehabilitation must include not only educational support, but also stronger psychosocial assistance. They recommended expanding and improving the implementation of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), noting that current programmes are often inaccessible or lack depth.

A key concern raised was the shortage of essential resources, including trained personnel, educational materials, mental health services, and vocational training facilities in both adult prisons and youth correctional centres. To address these gaps, participants proposed developing tailored rehabilitation programmes and actively involving prison wardens in their delivery.

The discussion also focused on reintegration challenges, particularly the psychological effects of incarceration. Long-term inmates often experience institutionalisation, becoming so dependent on the rigid structure of prison life that they struggle to adapt upon release. This is compounded by societal stigma, which hinders their ability to rebuild family ties, reintegrate into the community, and secure employment—factors that increase the risk of recidivism. Participants cited the “Norwegian prison system as a successful model, highlighting its emphasis on rehabilitation and significantly lower reoffending rates.

Hisham Muhaimi contributed insights on the lack of effective rehabilitation programmes for former security detainees (FSD) detained under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act (SOSMA), Prevention of Crime Act (POCA), and Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA). Although general rehabilitation efforts exist, there are currently no targeted programmes designed to address the specific needs of these individuals. Participants also discussed the government’s reluctance to collaborate with NGOs, often citing limited resources, which further complicates efforts to fill this gap.

The event concluded with a call for tailored rehabilitation that prioritises skills, social reintegration, and vocational training to reduce recidivism and support comprehensive reintegration.

Participants at MCCHR’s Buku Beyond Bars’ roundtable discussion.

RightsCon 2025’s Shareback Session
2025-03-25 00:00 - 23:59
Kuala Lumpur, 25 March 2025 – As a follow-up to the summit, INITIATE.MY participated in a shareback session hosted by the event sponsor, Luminate Foundation. The session brought together Malaysian participants of RightsCon 2025, including Architects of Diversity (AoD), Freedom Film Network, Sinar Project, and the Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ). During the session, participants reflected on key learnings from the summit, identified overlapping areas of interest, and explored possibilities for future collaboration.

Before, INITIATE.MY participated in RightsCon 2025, held from 24 to 27 February 2025 in Taipei, Taiwan, and organised by Access Now. As the world’s leading summit on human rights in the digital age, RightsCon brings together business leaders, policymakers, legal experts, government officials, technologists, academics, journalists, and human rights advocates to tackle urgent challenges at the intersection of human rights and technology.

This year’s summit featured a dynamic mix of fireside chats, workshops, strategic roundtables, private meetings, and an interactive exhibition space. Key focus areas included artificial intelligence, freedom of expression, surveillance, content moderation, and data protection. INITIATE.MY joined the event remotely and attended selected online sessions, focusing on issues related to Southeast Asia, civic space, and grassroots digital security.

Hisham Muhaimi, representing INITIATE.MY during the shareback session, highlighted the value of exploring the wide range of digital security practices and tools showcased at RightsCon. These included the Secure Drop Workstation, a secure platform enabling whistleblowers and journalists to exchange sensitive documents safely; the digisec.wiki, a living resource that compiles practical digital safety guides for activists and civil society groups; and Pari AI, a tool designed to detect and monitor online hate speech, particularly on social media platforms.

Learning how other groups have integrated these technologies into their work inspired INITIATE.MY to consider how similar efforts could be piloted or adapted locally, especially to monitor election-related digital abuse, hate speech, and extremism.

These tools are directly relevant to INITIATE.MY’s work in countering online harassment, disinformation, and digital hate speech—issues that disproportionately affect marginalised communities, women, and human rights defenders in Malaysia. Tools like Pari AI provide practical solutions for organisations to track and respond to harmful narratives in real time, enabling more strategic and data-driven advocacy.

Localising these tools and frameworks within INITIATE.MY’s digital safety and literacy programmes could significantly strengthen the capacity of activists, journalists, and community organisations to detect risks early, respond effectively, and advocate for platform accountability in a rapidly evolving digital landscape.

Moving forward, INITIATE.MY aims to apply these RightsCon insights to develop impactful local programming, push for community-informed policy frameworks, and contribute to broader regional discussions on human rights in the digital age.

RightsCon 2025 offered interactive sessions on AI, digital rights, surveillance, content moderation, and data protection.

Knowledge Hub’s First Session on Mapping the Landscape of Tech Abuse in Malaysia
2025-03-21 00:00 - 23:59
Kuala Lumpur, 21 March 2025 – INITIATE.MY held the first session of its Knowledge Hub project, titled “Mapping the Landscape of Tech Abuse in Malaysia,” to address rising technology-facilitated abuse. First launched during the Luminate Foundation Convening in November 2024, the Knowledge Hub is a collaborative initiative led by 15 expert practitioners from Malaysian civil society organisations (CSOs). It aims to strengthen CSO capacity to understand and respond to digital threats through collaborative learning and evidence-based approaches.

The first session brought together 20 participants from diverse CSOs working in civil and political rights, counter-extremism, gender advocacy, and child protection. It aimed to build collective understanding of tech abuse and map emerging digital threats that endanger both civil society work and broader at-risk communities in Malaysia.

During the session, participants discussed several things:

The role of state and corporate actors in manipulating public opinion and repressing civil society through online platforms. This includes mining personal data to deliver targeted political propaganda aimed at influencing electoral outcomes. They also use pseudo-news portals and private chat channels to conduct doxxing campaigns against civil society organisations and human rights defenders. These actions have had real-life consequences, undermining both civic participation and democratic space.

The tactics and spread of radicalising narratives online, particularly those rooted in ethnoreligious supremacy and anti-minority ideologies. Participants examined how actors use social media and generative AI to increase reach and simulate organic engagement. These narratives have contributed to offline consequences, including violence. Many of these messages evade platform enforcement due to their indirect or coded language, raising concerns about the effectiveness of both AI and human content moderation.

The rise of anti-rights and anti-gender narratives, fuelled by the global surge of far-right politics and disinformation strategies that are now being localised in Malaysia. Participants noted how these narratives promote prejudice and restrict rights, especially targeting women and LGBTQ+ communities.

The growing threat of online child sexual exploitation and abuse (OCSEA), including grooming through digital platforms. Participants highlighted the gaps in legal protections and policy frameworks, stressing the urgent need to centre children’s safety in both digital governance and law reform efforts.

In breakout discussions, participants proposed tools to monitor and document tech abuse threats, recommending Bayanat and HURIDOCS for data collection and classification, and Newsgraphy for visual storytelling. They identified urgent threats such as coordinated disinformation campaigns, AI-generated sexual abuse content, and the spread of dangerous narratives across digital platforms.

The Knowledge Hub will continue to build on these efforts through upcoming sessions, an online repository, a policy paper, and a practical toolkit. The next session will focus on data-driven advocacy, offering hands-on skills in real-time monitoring, OSINT techniques, data collection, and ethical practices for evidence-based advocacy.

The Knowledge Hub ‘s CSO partners participated in the first session.

INITIATE.MY’s Buka Puasa
2025-03-10 00:00 - 23:59
Kuala Lumpur, 10 March 2025 – INITIATE.MY hosted a Buka Puasa gathering during the final days of Ramadan in Kuala Lumpur, bringing together its Board of Experts, along with partners from the diplomatic community, international organisations, and government and law enforcement agencies. The event provided an opportunity for guests to reconnect, network, and exchange ideas, particularly on issues related to security and human rights. Guests enjoyed a variety of traditional Malay delicacies, offering an authentic Ramadan dining experience.

In his remarks, Aizat Shamsuddin, Founder and Director of INITIATE.MY, expressed gratitude for the continued support and collaboration from partners. He stressed that such partnerships are vital in the shared mission of democratising the security sector, particularly in the field of preventing and countering violent extremism (PCVE). He also highlighted INITIATE.MY’s commitment to fostering multi-stakeholder collaboration by bridging civil society with other sectors, and uniting diverse expertise across ethnic, religious, and gender lines.

Aizat thanked the guests for their support of the organisation to advance democratising the security sector.

INITIATE.MY’S Courtesy Visit to Yayasan MySDG
2025-02-20 00:00 - 23:59
Kuala Lumpur, 20 February 2025 – INITIATE.MY paid a courtesy visit to Yayasan MySDG, a foundation established under the Ministry of Finance to support Malaysia’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) agenda through collaborative partnerships and strategic initiatives.

Yayasan MySDG was represented by Anita Ahmad, Chief Executive Officer, Anjulie Razak, Strategy & Partnerships Manager, and Nor Hafizan bin Ahmad Kalana, Associate. INITIATE.MY was represented by Aizat Shamsuddin, Founder, Qiana Falisha Aufiya Jessica, Project Officer and Eow Shiang Yen, Communications Officer.

The meeting served as a platform for both organisations to exchange ideas on advancing SDG efforts, particularly in the areas of social inclusion, peacebuilding, and human rights—core focus areas for INITIATE.MY.

INITIATE.MY shared its previous and ongoing initiatives, including work on preventing and countering violent extremism (PCVE), providing aftercare assistance for Former Security Detainees, and advocating for digital rights in Malaysia. In turn, Anita Ahmad outlined Yayasan MySDG’s focus on empowering underprivileged communities and reducing inequalities.

Both parties recognised the importance of integrating civil society’s grassroots perspectives into efforts to build holistic and sustainable solutions. They also exchanged insights on key SDG goals—SDG 16 (Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions) and SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities).

This courtesy visit helped both organisations gain a deeper understanding of each other’s work and priorities. Moving forward, INITIATE.MY and Yayasan MySDG expressed their commitment to sharing networks, exchanging information, and collaborating to advance the SDG 16 and SDG 10 agenda.

INITIATE.MY had a productive exchange with Yayasan MySDG and gained clearer insight into the foundation’s work and priorities.

Architects of Diversity’s End of Year Dinner
2024-12-12 18:00 - 22:00
Putrajaya, 12 December 2024 – INITIATE.MY attended the End-of-Year Dinner hosted by Architects of Diversity (AOD), an organisation that shares overlapping goals with INITIATE.MY in youth empowerment, capacity building, and digital rights. The End of Year Dinner brought together AOD’s staff, alumni, partners, and friends to celebrate AOD’s collective achievements, reflect on AOD’s journey, and envision the future of a more inclusive Malaysia.

In his opening speech, Jason Wee, Executive Director of AOD, commended the dedication and passion of everyone who has contributed to AOD’s mission over the past year. He highlighted AOD’s inclusive strategies for fostering an appreciation of diversity in various settings, involving stakeholders from a range of backgrounds.

The dinner also featured remarks from two distinguished guests: YB Syahredzan bin Johan, Member of Parliament for Bangi, and YB Michelle Ng Mei Sze, State Assemblyperson for Subang Jaya. YB Syahredzan shared personal stories of growth while serving one of Malaysia’s most populous and diverse constituencies, emphasising the importance of breaking barriers and fostering understanding through daily social interactions. The event concluded with “Paint the Future,” a collaborative activity where attendees envisioned and illustrated the Malaysia they aspire to live in.

INITIATE.MY is committed to strengthening its partnership with AOD, particularly as part of the Luminate Foundation’s civil society network. Together, these organisations aim to promote the responsible use of technology and foster social cohesion.. Collaboration among civil society organisations is essential to addressing Malaysia’s pressing social challenges and building a more inclusive future.

INITIATE.MY team took the opportunity to reconnect with one another and engage with the AOD community.

Workshop on Human Rights-Compliant Approaches to Countering the Financing of Terrorism
2024-11-19 00:00 - 2024-11-21 23:59
Cebu, The Philippines, 19 – 21 November 2024 – INITIATE.MY participated in a three-day workshop on “Human Rights-Compliant Approaches to Countering the Financing of Terrorism and Risk-Based Implementation of FATF Recommendation 8.” Organised by the International Institute for Justice and Rule of Law (IIJ), the workshop convened representatives from government bodies, law enforcement agencies, and civil society organisations across Southeast Asia (Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos) and the United States, focusing on counter-terrorist financing (CTF) and broader counterterrorism efforts, including preventing and countering violent extremism.

The workshop featured expert contributions from organisations such as the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED), and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). These organisations shared insights on international legal frameworks for mitigating the risks of terrorist financing within the non-profit sector. Discussions centred on implementing Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Recommendation 8, which seeks to address the misuse of non-profit organisations (NPOs) for terrorist financing while acknowledging their essential societal roles. Participants explored strategies to identify high-risk NPOs and apply proportionate, risk-based oversight measures that uphold human rights, promote gender inclusion, and foster cooperation between governments and NPOs.

Falisha Aufiya, Project Officer at INITIATE.MY, explored Malaysia’s challenges in countering terrorist financing through a presentation titled “Improving Multistakeholder Cooperation Between Government, Corporate, and Civil Society Actors on Countering Terrorist Financing (CTF).” She outlined Malaysia’s challenges in combating terrorist financing, highlighting issues such as porous borders, the misuse of financial technologies, and vulnerabilities in NPOs and informal cash transfer systems. Falisha also discussed the reintegration barriers faced by former security detainees charged under anti-terrorism laws, including stigma, financial restrictions, and fractured family relationships. She emphasised the need for a comprehensive approach that combines risk-based oversight, financial inclusivity, and a tailored rehabilitation programme to reduce recidivism and enhance stakeholder collaboration.

Please find her full speech attached.

The workshop provided a platform for stakeholders from various nations to exchange perspectives on countering terrorist financing and to develop locally tailored solutions. It reinforced the importance of adopting human rights-compliant, risk-based approaches to address these complex challenges effectively.

A collaborative group of professionals and civil society from the United Nations, the United States, and ASEAN committed to implementing human rights-compliant approaches in counter-terrorist financing.

Study Visit to Kajang Men’s Prison
2024-11-14 00:00 - 23:59
Kajang, Selangor, 14 November 2024 – The Initiative to Promote Tolerance and Prevent Violence (INITIATE.MY) participated in a study visit to Kajang Men’s Prison. Organised by Dr. Haezreena Begum, a Board of Expert Member at INITIATE.MY and Deputy Dean at the Faculty of Law, University of Malaya, the visit marked INITIATE.MY’s second engagement with the prison community, following a December 2023 visit to Kajang Women’s Prison.

The visit offered valuable insights into the daily lives of male inmates, their routines, and the facilities within the prison, including dormitories, the clinic, and the canteen. The prison enforces strict rules to foster discipline and encourage behavioural improvement.

During a briefing, a prison officer explained Malaysia’s gradual shift from a punitive to a correctional prison system. This reform focuses on discipline, spiritual activities, and vocational training, such as woodworking, cooking, and bread baking, with the bread being used to feed the prison community. However, challenges such as mental health issues, peer influences, and contraband smuggling persist and require targeted actions for more effective rehabilitation. The officer also emphasised that prison life must remain distinct from life outside to maintain order and discipline.

One remarkable success story shared during the visit involved an inmate detained under Tahanan Limpah Sultan (TLS) since 2001, at the age of 14. After spending over 20 years in prison, he expressed profound remorse for his past crime. During his incarceration, he earned a PhD in Business Administration, highlighting the prison department’s dedication to supporting inmates committed to self-improvement. In December 2024, he was granted a royal pardon by the Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, during the Sultan’s birthday celebration. This pardon offered him a second chance to reintegrate into society and rebuild his life.

INITIATE.MY commends Kajang Men’s Prison for its progressive correctional practices that prioritise rehabilitation over punishment. Other prisons in Malaysia should adopt similar approaches to enhance inmate rehabilitation and reintegration. To strengthen these efforts, the Ministry of Home Affairs, independent experts, and civil society organisations must invest in research to identify areas for reform and develop a comprehensive reintegration programme for former inmates, as INITIATE.MY has long advocated for ex-security prisoners.

INITIATE.MY team, along with students and lecturers from Universiti Malaya and officers from Kajang Men’s Prison, concluded the study visit with a group photo in front of the main gate of Kajang Prison.

Aftercare Assistance for Former Security Detainees and Their Family Members
2024-10-25 00:00 - 2024-11-05 23:59
Malaysia, 25 October – 5 November 2024 – INITIATE.MY, in collaboration with the Royal Malaysia Police’s Special Branch Counterterrorism Department (E8), has launched an aftercare assistance programme to support former security detainees (FSDs) and their families in reintegrating into society. Civil society organisations (CSOs) like INITIATE.MY play a vital role in bridging the gap between former detainees and the resources needed to rebuild their lives. These efforts aim to provide second chances, reduce recidivism, and foster social cohesion.

Reintegration for FSDs comes with significant challenges. Community stigma often isolates them, making it difficult to secure stable employment or access essential services. Many FSDs and their families also face financial instability, limited opportunities for skill development, and mental health struggles from their detention experience. These barriers hinder their ability to reintegrate as contributing members of society. For more information, INITIATE.MY has published a policy brief titled “Opportunities

A key aspect of the aftercare programme is providing socioeconomic support to FSDs and their families. So far, INITIATE.MY has assisted two families with food baskets, cash donations, and a sewing machine to help generate income. Special thanks go to Dr. Haezreena Begum Abdul Hamid, Deputy Dean of Higher Degree at the Faculty of Law, University of Malaya, and Hisham Muhaimi, INITIATE.MY Project Coordinator for facilitating the connection and coordinating the handover of donations.

The partnership between INITIATE.MY and the Special Branch Counterterrorism Department demonstrates the importance of collaboration in countering extremism and supporting reintegration, aligning with the objectives of the Malaysian Action Plan on Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism (MyPCVE).

To support our aftercare assistance programme, please fill out this form. We will reach out to you and we welcome all forms of donations.

Dr. Haezreena Begum was delivering donation items with the two beneficiaries of INITIATE.MY’s aftercare assistance programme, supported by the Royal Malaysia Police’s Special Branch Counterterrorism Department (E8).

Hisham Muhaimi was delivering donation items with the beneficiary of INITIATE.MY’s aftercare assistance programme.

INITIATE.MY’s Courtesy Visits to The Star and Sin Chew Daily
2024-10-23 00:00 - 23:59
Selangor, 23 October 2024 – INITIATE.MY conducted courtesy visits to The Star and Sin Chew Daily to explore potential collaborations in raising awareness on extremism, religious freedom, and tolerance.

At The Star, discussions focused on how the media can partner with INITIATE.MY to address growing concerns over far-right extremism and online hate speech. Hariati Azizan and The Star’s editorial team highlighted their role in moderating narratives and stressed the importance of responsible reporting on sensitive issues like extremism. Hisham Muhaimi, Project Coordinator at INITIATE.MY, shared the organisation’s latest research findings on far-right extremism, emphasising the growing influence of online platforms in spreading divisive content.

The visit to Sin Chew Daily centred on the media’s role in shaping public understanding of these critical issues within Malaysia’s diverse societal landscape. Kuik Cheng Kang from Sin Chew Daily reaffirmed the publication’s commitment to highlighting positive stories of interfaith and intercultural collaboration. He invited INITIATE.MY to contribute research and insights that could support their efforts to foster an inclusive and harmonious society.

Both media outlets expressed strong interest in using their platforms to amplify INITIATE.MY’s advocacy work. Discussions included utilising INITIATE.MY’s databases and reports to guide nuanced and balanced reporting on complex issues. INITIATE.MY emphasised the importance of engaging media outlets in multiple languages to reach diverse readerships and raise broader awareness. The organisation also recognised media as key stakeholders in its capacity-building initiatives, contributing to a whole-of-society approach to countering extremism and promoting religious freedom and tolerance.

INITIATE.MY team posed for a group photo with Hariati Azizan, Deputy Editor of Sunday Star, Ivy Soon, Deputy Executive Editor of StarLifestyle, and Vicky Ooi, Deputy Executive Editor of StarMetro and StarChrono from The Star Media Group.

INITIATE.MY team took a group photo with Kuik Cheng Kang, MCIL Group Editor-in-Chief (Malaysia) and Editor-in-Chief, Allen Hwn Yaul Len, Deputy Executive Editor-in-Chief (News/Features/Cross-Media Collaboration), and Lee Jia Hui, Reporter at Sin Chew Daily. (Photo © Sin Chew Daily).
