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Malaysians read on an almost daily basis how some country or the other has begun their vaccination programme -- Singapore, Indonesia and Myanmar, just to name some regional peers. Are we behind? And if so, is there a good reason why we should not be worried? In fact the World Health Organisation has urged governments to take time to plan their roll-out. Is this what we are looking at? Melisa Idris...

Yesterday the government announced that not only was it extending the Movement Control Order and that it would also seek to impose stricter SOPs. However no details were announced regarding the move to tighten SOPs. In this information vacuum, a coalition of more than 40 trade, business and professional associations has urged the government to lift the second MCO -- saying it would kill businesses...

Yesterday the government announced that not only was it extending the Movement Control Order and that it would also seek to impose stricter SOPs. However, no details were announced regarding the move to tighten SOPs. This comes after mixed messages from government officials on the extension as well as a warning from public health experts that lockdowns at this point in the crisis will not be effec...

In the recently released Corruption Perceptions Index 2020 by Transparency International, Malaysia's rank in the index fell to 57th position out of 180 countries. This was from 51st place in 2019. What accounts from this drop and how can this reversal in the fight against corruption be arrested?  Melisa Idris and Sharaad Kuttan speak to Muhammad Mohan, President, Transparency International Malaysi...

With the Reform Agenda halted early 2020 and Emergency Rule imposed at the start of 2021, is there much hope for improved governance in the country in the foreseeable future? Melisa Idris and Sharaad Kuttan speak to Cynthia Gabriel, Executive Director, Center to Combat Corruption and Cronyism.

From 1 June 2020 enforcement of the Corporate Liability (Section 17A) provision of the MACC Act means that businesses in Malaysia must shoulder the burden of proof that they have put in place "5-principle Guidelines on Adequate Procedures (GAP)" to prevent bribery and treat potential corruption risks within its business. But will they?  Melisa Idris and Sharaad Kuttan speak to KM Loi, President, A...

Earlier this morning Myanmar's military announced a State of Emergency for one year -- with all legislative, executive and judicial powers transferred to the top army commander.  Myanmar's Parliament was supposed to convene today -- ushering in the incumbent National League for Democracy into its second term. The November General Election saw a landslide win for it but also significant losses for...

The coup by the Myanmar military places the country in a State of Emergency for one year -- with all legislative, executive and judicial powers transferred to the top army commander. At the center of this move is top army commander General Min Aung Hlaing, who was due to step down in July this year. Is this move simply the outcome of one man’s ambition to remain in power? Melisa Idris and Sharaad...

China has responded to the coup -- saying that it hopes all sides in Myanmar can work out their differences within the constitutional and legal framework. Speculation is rife that China approves of this coup. Is that an adequate understanding of China’s role in this crisis?  Melisa Idris and Sharaad Kuttan speak to Roy Anthony Rogers, Department of International and Strategic Studies, Universiti M...

Earlier this week, the Court of Appeal quashed a Development Order by DBKL to develop Taman Rimba Kiara in Taman Tun Dr Ismail. TTDI residents had protested for more than 5 years against the proposed development, in which several blocks of high-end apartments had been approved by DBKL. Community action and legal activism led to this victory but is this the end of the journey? Melisa Idris and Shar...

What is the ethos of planning that our laws recognise and how far is actual governance from it? The judgement of the Court of Appeal that quashed a DBKL development order for a proposed high-rise project in the area highlighted issues of governance - conflicts of interests, duty to provide reasons for decisions, to adhere to plans - and in this instance, the KL Structure Plan.  Melisa Idris and Sh...

Recently Projek Wawasan Rakyat and ABIM created a platform to allow medical frontliners to express their concerns anonymously. This followed the publication of letters to the press expressing frustration and exhaustion. Is this just to be expected in the extraordinary situation that the Covid-19 pandemic presents? Melisa Idris and Sharaad Kuttan speak to Toh Puan Dr Safurah Jaafar, former director...

"Dengar Sini: Kisah Frontliners” by Projek Wawasan Rakyat and ABIM wasn’t the regular showcase of platitudes and praise for medical frontliners. Anonymous comments by medical frontliners were read out detailing less than optimal conditions. Why is there a silence - self-imposed perhaps - about these problems?  Melisa Idris and Sharaad Kuttan speak to Dr Sean Thum, Advisor, Malaysian Medics Interna...

Medical frontliners around the world have suffered inordinately either by being at risk from infection or being overworked in failing health-care systems. What have we learned about our own system - its strengths and deficiencies - and are we confident they will be addressed? Melisa Idris and Sharaad Kuttan speak to Dr Adriana Tan, Vice President of MMI Doctors, a branch of Malaysian Medics Intern...

As the government prepares for the rollout of the national vaccination programme, the question of whether to vaccinate foreign workers for free is still being debated. What will it take to ensure that all non-citizens, who officially make up 10% of the Malaysian population, will have free and equitable access to Covid-19 vaccines? Melisa Idris and Sharaad Kuttan speak to Rani Rasiah, coordinator,...

Health experts & activists have repeatedly sounded the alarm on the dire need for more health facilities in Sarawak and Sabah - which collectively cover a bigger geographical area than the peninsula and  still suffer from a smaller distribution of doctors and specialists than the peninsular; a lack of medical centres and amenities -- that in turn raise the cost in accessing health care; and po...

Has the Covid-19 pandemic unmasked the structural problems of the health care system in Sarawak, with sufferers of non-Covid-19 disease struggling to gain access to the public healthcare system. Melisa Idris and Sharaad Kuttan speak to Dr Michael Teo, Member of Parliament for Miri.

Every Malaysian child is supposed to get a Bacillus Calmette–Guérin vaccine (BCG) jan which is given to prevent tuberculosis. So why are we seeing an emergence of the disease? Aren’t all children getting it, is it not being given in a targeted way or is the vaccine, developed 100 years ago, losing its efficacy?  Melisa Idris and Sharaad Kuttan speak to Dr Helmy Haja Mydin, Consultant Respiratory P...

Exactly one year ago, Malaysia recorded its first Covid-19 case. Malaysia has since reported 689 deaths from Covid-19 and  a cumulative total of 186,849 cases. We’ve since come to learn more about the disease -- but has our approach to managing the pandemic evolved accordingly? Melisa Idris and Sharaad Kuttan speak to Prof Datuk Dr Adeeba Kamarulzaman, Professor of Medicine and Infectious Diseases...

Today marks exactly one year since Malaysia reported its first Covid-19 case. And our initial pandemic response had been highlighted as among the best in the world. But a year on, we have to take stock of where we’ve fallen behind, where the weaknesses are, and how we can do better. Melisa Idris and Sharaad Kuttan speak to healthcare administrator, Dr Khoo Yoong Khean.

The 2021 school year for Malaysia has commenced, as students & teachers adapt to online classes and home-based learning. Last year, schoolchildren nationwide had only two full months of in-class sessions -- in February and August. Later in the show we’re going to be hearing from educationists to find out the impact of this on learning outcomes and  how they will be addressed this year. And for...

As we start the academic year, some students are returning to the classroom while others continue with home-based learning. In fact, national school students had only two full months of in-class sessions -- in February and August. The ministry of education has had most of last year to prepare for the start of this academic year -- our second year into the pandemic. What have we done to address the...

The first couple of days back at school, and we hear the same issues from last year: sharing of devices; none or limited internet; unconducive learning environments; lack of interest or inability to absorb what’s being taught. Why is it that in our second year of dealing with this pandemic, we haven’t been able to adequately address these issues for our children? Melisa Idris and Sharaad Kuttan sp...

Today is Inauguration Day for Joe Biden, as he takes an oath to serve as the 46th president of the United States. But what lies beyond the inauguration spectacle are the domestic and international divisions that were made more pronounced under the Donald Trump presidency. Can these divisions be overcome by the incoming Biden Administration? Melisa Idris and Sharaad Kuttan speak to Meredith Weiss,...