Talkback

SPM students sitting for their examination this year now have an additional criteria to fulfill - a pass for their History paper. The subject has joined a list of compulsory subject passes for SPM, which includes Bahasa Melayu and later on in 2016, English.  We asked on Talkback Tuesday what subjects you thought should be made compulsory passes for SPM?     See omnystudio.com/listen...

Of the many concerns amongst parents these days, high up on the list would be child care and education. With parents not being able to give up their jobs to stay at home, or not have enough support systems, many are forced to rely on child care centres, but that poses problems. Talkback Thursday asked: Are you happy with the current state of child care centres out there? This Talkback Thursda...

 The Mapping Social Cohesion Survey 2013 by the Scanlon Foundation reported that Malaysian immigrants face the most racial abuse in Australia. But is it any different here?  Today on Talkback Tuesday, The Evening Edition asked: Are we any better at treating foreign immigrants here in Malaysia?  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s that time of the year when we find out how our country is doing economically, what we’ll need to brace ourselves for and of course, if we’re getting any goodies. With Budget 2014 set to be announced on 25th October 2013, The Evening Edition found out from listeners what their Budget 2014 wishlists were.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

During the 2013 celebration of the blessed Aidiladha, some parents voiced their anger and concern over the ceremonial incident of cow slaughtering within school grounds. Non-muslim students who inadvertently witnessed the event were either traumatised or were in shock. But it was the parents that were even in more shock when they found out because they weren’t notified by the school beforeha...

Whenever our discourse is clouded in controversy, the inimitable knee jerk from many a moderate Malaysian is to question whether or not there remains any space for them in such an intolerant environment. In today's Talkback, we asked Malaysians about the value of citizenship - what it means to them, and what they're willing to sacrifice. We asked: Would you be willing to give up your citizenship f...

The purpose of the 1Malaysia Support For Housewives Programme is to create employment opportunities and provide assistance to housewives, single mothers, women with disabilities and those who are the heads of families. The programme helps them by providing an alternative to supplement their families’ income without compromising their roles as housewives. As of September, three military camps...

Today on The Evening Edition, we took a look at the Auditor General’s report from the everyman’s point of view. We asked what you, an everyday Malaysian, can do to address the Auditor General's report? What checks and balances would you like to see put in place? How could we help to curtail the wastage and ensure it stops happening? What would instil a greater sense of confidence to th...

Is rising the price of cigarettes enough of a deterrent to stop people smoking? Would you say that the price rise is too much; or not enough? Will it stop people from lighting up in the first place? And should we be looking at other alternatives? The Evening Edition covered the recent cigarrette hike and its impact on smokers this Talkback Tuesday. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informati...

The fuel hike that has us paying RM2.10 per litre for RON95 is something that we’re adjusting to, although when the news first hit, many of us worried over how it’ll hurt our pockets. So imagine, if you will, how things would be like in the future when fuel prices are higher and we’d end up paying, say RM5 per litre. Will our reaction be ten times worse than it is now? Perhaps th...

The Badminton Association of Malaysia is not a happy house with the latest news of Rashid Sidek’s resignation as coach last week. Just 3 years ago, his older brother Misbun Sidek, coach of our number one player Lee Chong Wei, left in a huff as well with no reason from BAM for his departure. Chong Wei lamented the departures of both his coaches, citing problems within BAM’s management....

Over the weekend, our Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak announced that new strategies will be put in place to empower the bumiputera economy. The Prime Minister himself will be heading this soon-to-be-set-up Bumiputera Economic Council (MEB) which will replace the previous Bumiputera Agenda Action Council. In an article in The Star published last Saturday, there will be five main strategie...

This Saturday, Malaysia will be celebrating its 56th National Day. It’s been 56 years since our first Prime Minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman proclaimed Merdeka 7 times amidst thousands in Stadium Merdeka. In his speech, he declares that “Malaya steps forward to take her rightful place as a free and independent partner in the great community of Nations”. The struggle back then that we...

“Endless Possibilities”. That’s Malaysia’s new slogan that is set to be officially launched this September 17th, a day after Malaysia Day on the 16th. Said to complement the 1Malaysia concept, our Prime Minister had said that is part of Malaysia’s national branding. Adding to that is the announcement by the Communications and Multimedia Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Shabe...

As we pick up pace to keep up with being a developed society, many glaring issues and communities that need help are hastily left behind. One of them is the disabled and special needs community. 2012 stats have shown that out of 29.33 million Malaysians, a total of 19.56 millions fall under the working aged group. And in 2012, the GDP stood at RM751,471 million - that’s RM38k GDP per able-bo...

The social media realm was red-hot with activity yesterday when The Star published an article titled “No Benefit in Being Fat”. In it, it says that fat people are lazy, have a low social standing, and just can't be trusted. Tee Lin Say, the writer, has since been berated on Facebook for her stupidity mostly, and her insensitivity. Today on The Evening Edition, we ask if there is any tr...

Malaysians love their films. Rarely are our cinemas void of moviegoers, and often, you find you have to compete with what feels like the whole country, when it comes to booking tickets online for a new release. The thing is, that scenario is usually for Hollywood blockbusters and international films; it’s rarely the case when it comes to our locally made films. A great example would be how M...

The rate of women labour participation is a problem not only unique to Malaysia, but the world over. Many countries have recognised that the participation of women in the workforce can boost its economic growth and yet, overlooked labour laws like maternity leave, and demands such as long working hours, have been the reasons why women leave the workforce permanently. Companies are beginning to pra...

The Evening Edition, in collaboration with Influence 360, presents The Real Deal, a show where we will be looking into both BN's and PR's manifestos within these categories: Economy, Education, Corruption and Crime. To kick things off, we'll be exploring the Economy side of both manifestos; the BR1M initiative in particular, this Talkback evening.  In Budget 2012, the government announced giv...

Accompanying the recent price hike in cigarettes is a proposed amendment to the Control of Tobaccos Products Regulations - another step the government is taking to try and reduce smoking and related non-communicable diseases. While these steps are necessary in helping curb smoking, what about accessible initiatives to help smokers quit the habit? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information...

Kuala Lumpur aims to be among the top liveable cities in the world by 2020 and that is evident  in both ongoing and upcoming projects, all with the aim of sprucing up the city’s infrastructure, connectivity and services. There is much to be done to improve KL’s public transportation and overall infrastructure, which the Economic Transformation Programme has acknowledged. One of th...

The government has been encouraging the growth of international schools in Malaysia, which have been increasing each year. Education, one of the National Key Economic Areas under the Economic Transfer Programme, has listed scaling of international schools as one of its Entry Point Projects. To date there are 91 international schools currently in operation, with a marked increase of students over t...

A browse through your Facebook posts of late will show many Malaysians posting about how they’re being bombarded by constant cold-calling, SMS-es, online banners, TV and radio commercials and billboards, this hectic season. The most recent in this spate of events is how a political party’s commercial played on one of the local radio stations today, resulting in a huge backlash on the r...

The issue of brain drain is one that plagues countries the world over, and Malaysia is no exception. A 2011 study by the World Bank has shown that the brain drain in Malaysia represents about a third of the total Malaysian-born migrant population, which is estimated at around 1 million. With Malaysians leaving, the talent pool is drying up at rapid pace, possibly affecting our economic growth too....

Times Higher Education, the world’s most authoritative source of information about higher education, has today published in its magazine, the Asia University Rankings 2013. University of Tokyo in Japan came out tops followed by the National University of Singapore and the University of Hong Kong. Other countries represented include China, Republic of Korea, Turkey, Israel, Thailand, Saudi Ar...