Evening Edition

In the fifth and final episode of Understanding Refugees, we talk about community events and their values. Back in March, Refuge for The Refugees teamed up with the Myanmar Ethnic Women Refugee Organisation (MEWRO) and LOOOP, a local curated second-hand store, to set up a free shopping experience for refugee women. We talk about why experiences like this is important for the community. Image Credi...

The National Education Savings Scheme, or SSPN, was first introduced in 2004, to help parents save up for their children's education, and reduce student debt. Ahmad Dasuki Abdul Majid, Chief Executive of PTPTN spoke to us about how this scheme has helped students, and the impact it's had on Malaysian education. For more info, visit www.ptptn.gov.my for details. See omnystudio.com/listener for priv...

The world has been transfixed throughout the ongoing search for the Titan submersible, which went missing with 5 people on board, on an expedition to the wreck of the Titanic. But it's also been compared to the relative lack of coverage (and lack of resources expended) to assist when an overcrowded fishing trawler in Greece capsized, a tragedy that has resulted in the deaths of more than 300 Pakis...

In the fourth episode of Understanding Refugees, we want to get behind the rhetoric, headlines and politics surrounding the community, and hear a personal story to understand the experience of living as a refugee. So we speak to Sharifah Shakirah, founder of Rohingya Women Development Network Malaysia, who spent two decades here in Malaysia, before resettling in the US. We cover her journey, how s...

The issue of how much interns should be paid is back in the headlines, thanks to a round of discussions in Parliament, the PM himself recently saying that he agreed interns should be paid fairly, and interns themselves speaking up. In today's show, we look at the conversation online surrounding this, including whether it should start with a minimum wage, as well as people weighing in with how much...

In our third episode of Understanding Refugees, we talk about a solution to one of the problems that most directly affects the refugee community - the ability to earn a living legally, considering we don't have a framework that allows for employment. One way around this is through micro-entrepreneurship, which is where Talenpac comes in, offering a 5 month training workshop to help refugees gain t...

After a 26 year partnership, Malaysian Airlines is parting ways with Brahim's Food Services at the end of June. There are, predictably, a lot of reactions to this on Twitter., including memories, critiques... and some celebration. We get into all of it, and extend that into a conversation about whether airplane food is ever actually good. Image Credit: 123rf.com See omnystudio.com/listener for pri...

In the second episode of our weeklong series, Understanding Refugees, we're focusing on the legal rights that refugees have within Malaysia - especially since they can't legally access education or employment - and how we need to do better. Image Credit: 123rf.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Following closely on the closing of Book Depository, Borders Malaysia recently announced that it would be shutting its doors as well, with the branch in Bangsar Village 2 shuttering on July 31st. On Twitter, people are taking the opportunity to share their fondest memories of Borders Malaysia, but also having a larger conversation about the future of physical bookstores (and the importance of cont...

The refugee crisis continues to worsen, and has been increasingly politicised over the years - but where did it all start? And what can we learn from the past, in terms of how we can do better? We explore all this from both a global and regional perspective with Aslam Abd Jalil, a researcher of refugee policy. Image Credit: 123rf.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kuantan MP Wan Razali Wan Nor has come under fire for saying that nurses' uniforms are too tight and not syariah-compliant. This took place in parliament during the debate on the Health White Paper. So, we look at some of the responses online and discuss whether it really matters what a nurse's uniform looks like. Image Credit: 123rf.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Malaysia is now on the Tier 2 Watch List in this year’s edition of the US State Department’s Trafficking in Persons Report. We discuss what this climb means and what it will it take for us to improve our ranking in the coming year. Image Credit: 123rf.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The last sitting of parliament (at least for now) involved some political patronage in online gambling, Covid-19 vaccine wastages from people not taking second boosters. There were also some exciting discussions about how El Nino might be causing black dots in our durians, as well as fireworks becoming part of our culture and tradition. Image Credit: Pinterest See omnystudio.com/listener for priva...

Former Prime Minister, Dato' Sri Najib Razak is back in the spotlight once again, after former Law Minister, Zaid Ibrahim posted a tweet urging Prime Minister Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim to release Najib from prison. Zaid's justification being that in the bigger scheme of things, RM42 million is "just small change." We discussed the reactions this has garnered, and heard thoughts from our listeners. I...

In today's sitting, the MPs talked about MACC’s independence and autonomy, and whether there is information from investigations being deliberately leaked. They also discussed progress updates on the new aerotrains at KLIA and Dato' Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi visiting Dato' Sri Najib Razak in Kajang Prison. Image Credit: Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The argument for and against gender norms have raged on for decades, and this digital era is no exception to it. On Twitter, we dive headfirst into a debate on whether women should continue to work, after marriage. Image Credit: Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Prime Minister Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim took center stage today during the PM's Question Time, in which several issues were brought up, including calls for the PM to be referred to disciplinary action over allegedly misleading the Dewan (which was rebuffed by the PM himself). Anwar also unpacked some concerns regarding the maritime border treaties signed between Malaysia and Indonesia. They also di...

A Twitter user's post of her RM30 plate of nasi lemak has gone viral. In it, she makes an argument for why she would rather spend that amount on a local dish, rather than other more popular foreign dishes like pasta carbonara or seafood aglio olio. This spurred a conversation on how we value our food, especially local dishes. Image Credit: Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy infor...

Today, the MPs talked about measures the Ministry of Health is taking to promote health literacy among Malaysians and using films to encourage and promote themes of unity. They also discussed what the Ministry of Education is doing to support and prevent students from dropping out of school due to poverty. Image Credit: Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bentong MP, Young Syefura Othman has urged for local councils to update their dog catching procedures, following two incident involving a scuffle between the Bentong Municipal Council and a resident, which led to the latter's death, when he fell into a drain during the altercation. So we discuss this issue, and what it would mean for local councils to revise their methods of catching strays. Image...

A video of a stand-up comedian, Jocelyn Chia, has gone viral on social media for her jokes about the MH370 incident. Reactions from people have consisted of mostly anger and disappointment at her remarks and even led to Singapore’s High Commissioner, Vanu Gopala Menon, issuing a public apology on behalf of Jocelyn. So, how far can Singaporeans go when making fun of Malaysians? And are there lines...

In today's session, the controversial and much talked about LCS issue was brought up, following an additional 2.1 billion being allocated under a new agreement. The Dewan also received a visit from the Orang Asli tribe in Cameron Highlands, which saw Dewan Speaker Datuk Ramli Mohd Nor taking off his parliamentary hat and don the tempok. We also looked into the rejected appeal for amendments to cod...

In today's session, the MPs discussed updates on the Malaysia My Second Home programme, and the reason for stricter requirements for foreigners to be eligible (the answer: the discovery of spies applying for the program). They also talked about the possibility of making Bak Kut Teh our national heritage dish, and we, of course, heard from our listeners on what they think about this. Image Credit:...

In conjunction with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong's 64th birthday celebration, several individuals, including veteran politician Lim Kit Siang, was awarded the 'Tan Sri' title. So, we look at the conversations and some of the criticisms people have been saying on Twitter about the newly minted Tan Sri. Image Credit: Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On today's Dewan Rakyat sitting, the MPs discussed several issues, including some heated ones. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim addressed what action will be taken against Kedah Menteri Besar Dato Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor for his claim that “Penang belongs to Kedah” and also touched on approaches to strengthen the value of the Ringgit. There was also the decision to debate the Auditor-Ge...