Redefining Success

Dr Noraishah Mydin Abdul Aziz was a lecturer in University Malaya, under the Department of Parasitology. Today, she’s the only candidate representing the OKU community running for GE15, and she’s doing so under the Pakatan Harapan banner. She joins us on the show today to talk about her disability (Spina Bifida), her years in education, and why she decided to give frontline politics a go. Image Cr...

Criminal lawyers often get asked "You spend your days defending bad guys. How do you sleep at night?" But what is it that criminal lawyers actually do? On this episode of Redefining Success, we're joined by Goh Cia Yee, who's a criminal lawyer.  Image Credit: Goh Cia Yee See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kularetnam is the programme manager at Yayasan Tunku Abdul Rahman, an NGO that focuses on helping bright Malaysians, from less fortunate backgrounds to climb up through education scholarships and more. Prior to this, Kula was also a teacher at a school and teaching assistant at a university. Safe to say, he's incredibly passionate about education. He joins us on the show today to talk about what e...

Michael Cheang is the assistant editor of The Star’s Lifestyle section. He has been a writer and pop-culture commentator for about 20 years and also has a column called Tipsy Turvy where he writes about alcoholic drinks. He joins us on the show today to share his passion for writing and what it takes to sustain yourself as a writer in Malaysia.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informa...

As a conservationist, Natasha Zulaikha has engaged in various projects since embarking on this journey in 2016. She has worked with MyHutan and Reef Stakes and is now a PHD candidate with the Management and Ecology of Malaysian Elephants (MEME). She joins us on the show today to share what exactly a conservationist does, the challenges she faces and more.  See omnystudio.com/listener for priv...

Sheril Bustaman is a documentary filmmaker, writer and mother of three. On this episode, Sheril joins us to talk about why she dropped out of college to pursue filmmaking, how she ensures stability while pursuing an unpredictable career path and the challenges she faces as a woman in the industry.  Image credit: Facebook / Sheril A. Bustaman See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information...

Ivan Lim is the founder of and a teacher at NextGen Academy, an online school (focused on math and add maths) centred around the philosophy that every student can unlock their highest potential. Besides that, Ivan also runs a snack business (Hou Sek Gourmet Snacks) and previously ran a cafe. He joins us on the show to discuss what “highest potential” means and the lessons he’s learned from unsucce...

In 2019, Nadiah Hamzah released her first feature film, Motif, which was screened in theatres and international film festival circuits and garnered mixed to positive reviews. Nadiah is also the co-founder of Wayangworks, a commercial production house. She joins us on the show today to discuss her idea of success and the challenges she has faced as a female filmmaker in Malaysia. Image credit: Face...

YB Kasthuri Patto is a member of the DAP and has been serving the Batu Kawan constituency as an MP since 2013. She's also the only Indian woman in Parliament. She joins us on the show to share why she chose to become a politician, what it feels like to be the only Indian woman elected as an MP, and more.  Image credit: Flickr / Stortinget See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

At one point in her career, Bihzhu, just like many other musicians, measured success by awards and accolades. But over the years and especially after an incident at an awards show, her perspective changed. She joins us on the show today to share why she thinks singing is her spiritual calling and how challenging it is to sustain a career as a musician in Malaysia.  See omnystudio.com/listener...

Sevan Doraisamy is the Executive Director of SUARAM and has been an activist for more than two decades. On this episode, he joins to share his perspective of success and striking a balance between the need to make money and doing a job that doesn’t centre around making money.  Image credit: Twitter / @DoraisamySevan See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Megan Chng was always told by doctors that dancing can be damaging to one’s body and that injuries are inevitable. One not-so-fine-day, she sprained her ankle, badly. She was advised not to dance anymore or risk aggravating her injuries. As a theatre practitioner, that was naturally disheartening to hear. Yet, Megan has kept dancing and performing since. And she’s done so, without picking up any s...

Samuel Lim is a film critic and a teacher. On today's episode, he shares with us how films have shaped his life, what propelled him to teach primary school kids and how there is no success without kindness. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tanvi Shah is the first Indian woman to win a Grammy award. She received the award in 2010 for ‘Best Song Written For Motion Picture’, for writing the Spanish lyrics of the song ‘Jai Ho’, a track from Slumdog Millionaire. Apart from that, she’s lent her voice to a truckload of monumental Indian films over the past two decades or so. She joins us on the show today to discuss her journey and how she...

Grace lives and breathes music. Not only is she the keyboardist for the funky indie jazz band, FAZZ, but she's also a multi-instrumentalist and a music teacher too. On this episode, she joins us to share why music means so much to her and how it ties to her idea of success. Source: FB Cho HeeWon See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lau Chak Onn, the founder of Cilisos.my , MYMP and Watakala, believes that if you buy into the idea that success is luxury hotels, sports cars and the likes, you're setting yourself up for failure and a life of misery. So, what is Chak's definition of success? And what motivates him? He joins us on the show to discuss. Image credit: Facebook / Lau Chak Onn See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy i...

Dr Eugene Tee has been in academia, particularly in the field of psychology, for more than a decade now. He believes that success is living a life that harmonises his inner and outer self. But what exactly does that mean? Dr Eugene joins us on the show today to discuss success, his passion for academia, overcoming challenges and more. Image credit: @eugene_tee/Twitter See omnystudio.com/listener f...

Growing up, Vanizha Vasanthanathan was obsessed with fashion shows like American Next Top Model. But, she always wondered why none of the supermodels she saw on screen looked like her. So, one can imagine what she felt like strutting up and down the runways of Milan Fashion Week, as a dark-skinned Malaysian Indian girl. She joins us on the show today to share her journey, what drives her and how s...

Jason Wee is the co-founder of the non-profit, Architects of Diversity. He joins us on the show today to discuss what the word success means to him and if money is factored into the way he measures growth. Image credit: Jason Wee/LinkedIn See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dr Surinderpal Kaur loves language. She has dedicated her life to it and is now the Dean for the faculty of Languages and Linguistics at University Malaya. On this episode, she joins us to share what language means to her and why she’s averse to the word “success.” Image credit: Faculty of Languages and Linguistics, Universiti Malaya See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Suzanne Mooney is the founder of the Lost Food Project, a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to rescuing ‘lost’ food and giving it to those who need it most. In this episode, she shares what success means to her and ponders about why society values wealth accumulation over pushing to build an equitable and sustainable world. Image credit: The Lost Food Project See omnystudio.com/listener for pr...

To Phung Yi Jun, success is not something that can be quantified with a metric, but rather, is intrincsicly tied to her values. Despite working in the corporate sector, she doesn't look at her career as mundane and dry, but something that is fulfilling and adds value to herself and others. She joins us on the show today to discuss. Image credit: Phung Yi Jun/LinkedIn See omnystudio.com/listener fo...

Jared Lim is a singer/songwriter for the indie island pop band, Jumero. Not only that, he’s also a mural artist with a unique style. He joins us on the show today to talk about how he made art a career and if it’s a sustainable path to tread on in Malaysia. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Gajen Nad is a comedian. He started performing stand-up comedy back in 2012, while working as an IT consultant in a huge corporation. Interestingly enough, he actually really enjoyed his job. But something made him leave his job in 2018 to pursue comedy full time. He joins us on the show today to share why he left his corporate job, his definition of success and what it takes to make stand-up come...

Nalini Elumalai is a fearless human rights defender. To her success isn’t about her own personal growth, but about the collective growth of society or nation. In this episode, she joins us to discuss her unique outlook on growth and success and shares what drives her to keep doing what she’s doing. Image credit: Twitter - Nalini Elumalai See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.