Talkback

Satire is often what the public turns to when dealing with tragedy and other national issues and there have definitely been many of late. However, even satire as an outlet may be put to an end, with a recent announcement by the MCMC warning the public not to spread any form of speculation or mockery regarding the 1MDB fiasco through social media. Today we asked you- do you think political humour a...

A side dish of negativity seems to have accompanied all our local stories that have been making headlines these past 2 weeks. Among them corruption scandals, strict dress codes and school directives that were deemed insensitive. But the outcome has been encouraging, with mistakes made being acknowledged and addressed publicly. Today we asked you: Is there hope for a silver lining amidst the negati...

Last week, it was reported that Putrajaya will not criminalise marital rape - a decision that hasn't gone down well with politicians, lawyers and NGOs. They maintain that sex without consent is rape, even within the confines of marriage. This evening we're asking you: Should marital rape be criminalised? Our lines will be open. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There's been a lot of talk about dress codes of late, on both social as well as mainstream media, started off when a woman wearing a short skirt was denied service at the RTD office. While dress codes are a common practice here in Malaysia, when it comes to public spaces and services, they're rarely ever enforced. We asked you today: Should dress codes be imposed in public spaces? See omnystudio.c...

Vision 2020 is upon us, and the country is doing its best to ensure that we achieve the status of a developed nation in 5 years time. But some have cast doubts over our progress, saying that there is much more to be done beyond the next 5 years in order for us to achieve a 'developed nation' status. We asked you today: What is your reality of Vision 2020? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy in...

The call by Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Rohani Abdul Karim, for Malaysians to make more babies garnered very interesting responses from the public. It was reported that collectively, people have come out to say "Show us the money and we'll show you the babies", a jibe at the escalating cost of living causing Malaysians to tighten their belts in more ways than one. T...

Our discussion this evening explored the role that movies play in our society, our tolerance levels for scandalous story lines and how pop culture contributes to the social narrative. In trying to ascertain where we stand as a society, w e asked you today: Should films that portray negative issues in positive light be banned? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the 30th of April, Nur Fitri Azmeer Nordin, a Malaysian MARA sponsored scholar was arrested and convicted by a London court for being in possession of images and videos of child pornography. Upon his conviction, MARA suspended funding and announced the cancellation of Nur Fitri's scholarship. But the council has since said that it will offer him a “second chance” and allow him to st...

On April 29, the  death sentences of eight convicted drug traffickers were carried out. Social media exploded with divided opinions on whether Indonesian president Joko Widodo made the right decision in refusing to grant clemency to two Australian citizens – Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, who were ringleaders of a smuggling ring arrested back in 2005,  known as the Bali 9.&...

 Until the detention of 17 people, including two who had recently returned from Syria for plotting terror acts in the nation's capital, the threat of terrorism seemed far away for the average Malaysian. The  introduction of the Prevention of Terrorism Act, passed in Parliament a few weeks ago, along with the strengthening of the Sedition Act is meant to make us feel safer - do you? &nbsp...

Primary school headteachers in the UK have warned parents who allow their children to play video games such as Call Of Duty and Grand Theft Auto that they will be reported to police and social services for neglect. The concerned group says that levels of violence and sexual content of these games were in line with local authority policy and concerns. Do you think these violent games have affe...

On this episode of Talkback we asked: Have you changed your purchase habits to brace for the impending GST? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the 24th March 2015, the world was informed of yet another tragedy in aviation, this time the focus was on a Germanwings plane that crashed into a mountainside in the French Alps. With what appears to be a series of unfortunate events, we'd like to ascertain where you stand by way of air travel, budget or otherwise, we asked our listeners whether their travel patterns or habits were affected. &...

 It was reported today that taxi fares are expected to go up 25 sen per 200 meters, as opposed to 10 sen per 115 meters before. This comes at a time when the taxi argument in Malaysia is an on-going one, with taxi drivers frustrated at earning so little and customers upset with their terrible service. We asked you on Talkback Thursday: if you  could rate our taxi services from 1 to 10, w...

In March 2015, it was reported that it isn't a crime to cane children in a 'light manner'. The Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development says there are no plans to criminalise the caning of children as long as the act does not leave any physical or mental trauma. How does one define 'light caning'? And how do we know 'light caning' won't leave any mental trauma? We opened our lines to th...

One out of two Malaysians want veteran politicians from both sides of the divide to give up their positions of power and make way for younger leaders, says a survey by independent pollster Merdeka Centre. Do you think so? Is this part and parcel of moving with the times in order to stay relevant? We asked our callers if veteran politicians should step down to make way for younger leaders.  Se...

The Immigration Dept recently (2015) announced that they will be including appointment-based services as part of improving their efficiency. And credit must be given to government agencies for trying to improve on overall service. So how would you rate our public services? What experiences have you had dealing with various government departments? We opened our lines to our listeners to hear what t...

A recently conducted survey asked 1,000 Koreans if they'd like to be reborn in their country and the results were pretty depressing. Apparently, only 3 out of every 10 people wanted to be reborn in Korea, with most of them saying it was due to overworking. With the same question in mind, we tweaked it a little and asked Malaysians if they'd like to be reborn in Malaysia.  See omnystudio.com/l...

In February 2015, a UK newspaper reported about how 2 year-olds should be playing and not be in school, after evidence suggested that it may poorly align the development needs of young children that contravenes their underlying human nature. The idea may sound absurd to Asian parents who are used to lining up extra classes on top of nursery school hours for their toddlers. But is it so bad to hold...

A recent report in The Star Online highlighted the plight of a 75-year old man suffering from cancer, which raised questions about the moral and ethical practice of euthanasia and what it means in the Malaysian context. We asked, "should a person have the right to terminate his/her own life in the face of intolerable suffering?" See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Malaysian cuisine is a subject that most Malaysians feel passionate about. As our cuisine appears to play such a pivotal role in Malaysian society, should we be doing more to promote and protect it? Last Friday, a demonstration was held in front of the Malaysian Embassy in Jakarta requesting Malaysia to retract a claim of ownership over the ‘popiah’. Some feel that this incident has be...

In a recent report released by international research firm McKinsey Global Institute (MGI), Malaysia has failed to rein in household debt that started ballooning since the 2007 global financial crisis and may expose the country to crisis should the credit bubble burst. Just how are Malaysians sustaining their lifestyles? What are you spending most on? Do you spend more than you earn?  See omn...

Britain voted on Tuesday to become the first country to allow a "three-parent" IVF technique which doctors say will prevent some inherited incurable diseases but which critics see as a step towards creating designer babies. The designer-babies debate has been an intense one, with many opposed to the idea, saying it is akin to playing God and purely unethical. But if it can help eradicate diseases...

Around this time last year, we entered 2014 with caution amidst reports of fuel and sugar subsidy cuts and possible increases in toll rates, public transport fares and so on. This year, we've entered a volatile 2015 with oil prices hitting an all-time low and the Ringgit labeled as Asia's worst performing currency. We asked on Talkback Thursday if the falling ringgit and oil prices had taken a tol...

Borneo charted new territories for themselves now that Sabah has joined Sarawak in binning the “lain-lain” race category on government documents and generic forms. The decision came after the Sabah state government deliberated on the matter and decided that the column should now be replaced with a blank space to allow applicants to identify their respective ethnicities. Just to refresh...