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The government has a new warning system, touted to predict future Covid-19 hotspots. The Hotspots Identification for Dynamic Engagement system, or better known as HIDE, will -- as the government claims -- allow it to take pre-emptive action so that certain premises or areas can avoid turning into Covid-19 clusters. But what’s gone wrong in its implements that it has one of its main stakeholders up...

While the incompetence of India’s central government has been well reported, Prime Minister Modi presides over decades of healthcare under-investment and the deepest structural inequalities. What hope is there in the short term of remedying the situation and bringing the pandemic under control? Melisa Idris and Sharaad Kuttan speak to Professor Sanjeev Krishna, Professor of Molecular Parasitology...

Just two months ago, on the 8th of March, India's health minister was quoted as saying that India was in the "endgame of the pandemic". But in the past few weeks, India's Covid caseload has risen sharply -- in fact, India accounted for 46% of the new Covid-19 cases recorded worldwide last week, and one in four of deaths globally. So, how did India get from relative calm to its new crisis? Melisa I...

Does Liew Chin Tong’s win settle the debate once and for all about the two divergent tendencies within DAP - one that leans towards its Chinese demographic base, and the other towards its stated multiracial commitments. And how will the party have to change substantively to address the changing shape of Malaysian society? Melisa Idris and Sharaad Kuttan speak to political scientist Wong Chin Huat.

Liew Chin Tong retained his position as Johor DAP chief for the fourth straight term at the state party elections last weekend, with Kulai MP Teo Nie Ching as his deputy. The contest captured headlines as a battle between two divergent tendencies in a party, one leaning towards its Chinese demographic base and the other towards its stated multiracial commitments. But does Chin Tong’s win settle th...

Nationwide School Walkout Day aligns itself with the #Make School A Safer Place movement, and calls for teachers & students to be absent from school, both online and  offline, for either one whole school day or one class period. The Majlis Belia Negara (Malaysian Youth Council) has put out a statement disagreeing with the walkout. We ask them why? Melisa Idris and Sharaad Kuttan speak to ‘Atiq...

How have schools and teachers responded to the #MakeSchoolASaferPlace movement - with regard to the rape comments and period spot-checks - and is there a culture of silence or not reporting misconduct in schools? Melisa Idris and Sharaad Kuttan speak to Harry Tan is the Secretary-General of the National Union of the Teaching Profession for Peninsular Malaysia (NUTP).

In light of the recent accounts of rape culture, sexual harassment, and period spot checks in schools, an alliance of NGOs, youths, parents and teachers, have organised a nationwide School Walkout Day. Slated for the 6th and 7th of May, the National School Walkout Day is to demand for comprehensive action from authorities, and to stand in solidarity with the victims. But it get the intended respon...

Last Sunday saw an overwhelming response to the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine registration opt-in system, when all 268,000 vaccination slots were taken up in about three hours. Yet this number represents a small percentage of the millions of adults who live in the capital and surrounding state of Selangor. Are we in danger of reading too much into Sunday’s exercise? Melisa Idris and Sharaad Kuttan...

Last Sunday saw an overwhelming response to the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine registration opt-in system, when all 268,000 vaccination slots were taken up in about three hours. The process was a unique opportunity to test public responsiveness to a parallel vaccine rollout. What was discovered about this state-based, vaccine-specific, opt-in system? Melisa Idris and Sharaad Kuttan speak to independ...

Today we mark World Press Freedom Day, a day of particular importance to working journalists like ourselves but also to the wider public, especially those who see a connection between a free press and good governance. Tonight we take stock on how the media has fared over the last year and where it might be headed in the near future.  This year’s theme for World Press Freedom Day is “Information as...

This year’s theme for World Press Freedom Day is “Information as a Public Good”, which underlines the indisputable importance of having access to accurate and comprehensive information, including government data. When we talk about access to government data, we often cite the Right to Information. And the fact that Malaysia is one of the few countries that does not have Right to Information legisl...

Our guest writes that “the Sabah digital public offer positive signs that Malaysian society can compartmentalise their politics to unite and work together for the betterment of their own society.” We ask him what he means by this. Melisa Idris and Sharaad Kuttan speak to Benjamin YH Loh co-edited the book “Sabah From The Ground”, and also co-wrote the chapter, ‘Don’t Jump, Time to Work’: Political...

Tonight we speak to the editors of a recent book on Sabah’s election last year -- what happened, and why, as well as the broader implications of the outcome for Sabah and Malaysian politics. The introduction of the book notes that explanations of Sabah politics often focus on ethnic and state nationalism. We ask what’s limiting about this approach? Melisa Idris and Sharaad Kuttan speak to Bridget...

Sabahans pride themselves for not sharing Malaya’s politics of racial and religious supremacy yet “anti-immigrant” rhetoric is commonplace. And how is it related to the fact that Sabah society consists of “layered, diverse and complex ethnic narratives.” Melisa Idris and Sharaad Kuttan speak to Vilashini Somiah is an anthropologist and a Senior Lecturer at the Gender Studies Programme at Universit...

The Merdeka Center poll carried out amongst Peninsula Malaysia voters was between 31st March and 12th April, found Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s approval rating to be at 67%. This solid popularity rating seems to be at odds with the #KerajaanGagal hashtag that was trending on social media more than a week ago. What explains the apparent gap between the results of the survey & sentiment on...

Data analytics firm INVOKE recently released a survey titled: 'Uncharted Territories' which was commissioned by Malay Mail. The INVOKE survey found that a little over half of the survey respondents (51%) are not sure who’d they’d vote for if a general election is called soon. That’s a 14% spike in the number of fence sitters. What is behind the rise in uncertainty among voters? Melisa Idris and Sh...

Last Sunday 17-year-old Ain Husniza Saiful Nizam posted a video in which she voiced concerns about her male teacher’s comments on rape. Is this incident simply a reflection of already existing gender inequality, misogyny and patriarchal norms and practices in society? And where are schools in the politics of social change? Melisa Idris and Sharaad Kuttan speak to Betty Yeoh, Founding Member, All W...

Last Sunday 17-year-old Ain Husniza Saiful Nizam posted a video in which she voiced concerns about her male teacher’s comments on rape. Official responses to the revelation have been equally contentious, a mixture of denial or victim blaming? What do we need to know about school governance structures and leadership to push start necessary reform? Melisa Idris and Sharaad Kuttan speak to Bernard Ow...

Last Sunday 17-year-old Ain Husniza Saiful Nizam posted a video in which she voiced concerns about her male teacher’s comments on rape. The teacher told the boys in the  physical & health education class Ain was in that if they were to commit rape, they should target those above 18. Ain’s video in exposing his comments was accompanied by the hashtag #MakeSchoolsASaferPlace, and has triggered a...

Seven activists were detained last Saturday, after demonstrating against the extension of the enhanced MCO in Kampung Muhibbah Raya in Tawau, Sabah. They claim that people there lacked food among others. Is there something in the design and management of these public health measures that hurts those who are most vulnerable? Melisa Idris and Sharaad Kuttan speak to Datuk Christina Liew, Tawau MP an...

Seven activists were detained last Saturday, after demonstrating against the extension of the enhanced MCO in Kampung Muhibbah Raya in Tawau, Sabah. They claim that people there lacked food among others. So who is responsible for the people and communities who have been placed in Emergency Movement Control Orders, one of the most restrictive forms of public health interventions? Melisa Idris and S...

Seven activists were detained last Saturday, after demonstrating against the extension of the enhanced MCO in Kampung Muhibbah Raya in Tawau, Sabah. This after mounting frustrations over villagers’ claims they were not given proper assistance and had lost income. Who failed the residents of Kampung Muhibbah Raya and how do we ensure marginalised communities don’t become collateral damage in the fi...

The Center to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4 Center) recently launched a report titled “Foundations and Donations: Political Financing, Corruption, and the Pursuit of Power”, explores political funding through donations to foundations in Malaysian politics. The report explores the various methods in which politicians’ exerted control over foundations -- or yayasan -- and raises questions about...

The Center to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4 Center) recently launched a report titled “Foundations and Donations: Political Financing, Corruption, and the Pursuit of Power”, explores political funding through donations to foundations in Malaysian politics. Can the institutional reform process the all pervasive practice of using foundations to funnel political donations. Melisa Idris and Shara...