Talkback

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...

According to the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), Japan and Singapore are likely to have the oldest population by 2030. And in Malaysia, it is estimated that by 2020, 3.4 million Malaysians will be over the age of 65 - that accounts for 10% of the population. Is Malaysia ready for an ageing population? Is the country equipped with aged care infrastructure? Will our...

Kuala Lumpur has proven over the years to be an exciting entertainment hub in the choices of international acts and events brought in. We’ve had comedian Russell Peters, Australian-based event Future Music Festival - second year in a row in KL this 2013, Jennifer Lopez and even a Star Trek Exhibition - something that would have most likely ended up in Singapore. Event organisers and MyCEB or...

The Sun Daily reported yesterday that a 15-minute video showing the ongoing crisis in Lahad Datu, Sabah will be shown to national service trainees to instill patriotism in them. We're asking the question: is this a healthy way to instill patriotism? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The New Education Blueprint 2013 - 2025 will have two dedicated modules; one for parents and one for school. This initiative  is in efforts to increase parents’ participation in school-based activities for their children, as revealed by the Education Minister Tan Sri Muhiyiddin Yassin just this Monday.  The initiative is said to involve the interest and future of more than 5.4 mill...

With GE13 looming upon us, we’ve seen a number of Malaysians getting vocal about what concerns them. NGOs are formed, and popping like mushrooms, to champion their individual causes. But what about the average Malaysian? Don’t we have everyday concerns too that we’d like addressed? For example, will potholes and uneven roads ever get fixed? Can we expect public parks to come with...

Last week, at a parenting seminar (held to curb LGBT tendencies) Deputy Education Minister Datuk Dr Puad Zarkashi called on parents to recognize the ‘early signs’ of LGBTs to be able to prevent their children from practising the LGBT lifestyle. He had said that LGBT is an illness that can be treated and that "intervention by teachers and parents, followed by counselling, can help them...

Though public caning was banned in schools by the government in 2004, caning can still be carried out by the headmaster and discipline teacher under the Education Regulations (School Discipline) 1959. Today, a number of parents have requested that this method of disciplining be completely banned. But there are still some of those who believe otherwise. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy infor...

In the aftermath of the “Listen, Listen, Listen” video, Sharifah Zohra Jabeen issued a press statement forgiving KS Bavani and the “irresponsible parties that intentionally modified the situation creating a catastrophe”. She also apologized to the Malaysian public and to UUM in the statement.  What do you make of that?  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy info...

Of late, more and more people are turning to social media sites like Facebook and Twitter to post their grievances and garner attention towards their cause.  Over the New Year holidays, Facebook has been abuzz about the story of a 14 years old boy who molested a grown woman. The story was up on the Star online at 9:18pm on 1st Jan 2013, but has since been taken down for reasons unknown. The i...

We open the lines to hear your thoughts on the "Do the Dappan" online Deepavali ad by Petronas. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A first look at Budget 2013.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It is that time of the year again! BFM day! Not our anniversary but Budget For Malaysia Day. As a precursor to the actual unveiling of the budget for 2013 tomorrow, we are doing a special Talkback Thursday to do TWO things today: One – look back and review the big items in Budget 2012 Two – asking YOU what you would like to see in Budget 2013. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy in...

The Star online reported MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek  has called on shoppers to boycott shopping malls that failed to provide adequate safety features to protect its customers. He says that the police cannot be everywhere all the time,” and that it is the responsibility of the shopping malls to strengthen their security features. While no one would argue that people should...

The Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri Dr S Subramaniam has lamented at the competitivr job market which is reportedly driving people to resort of using fake degrees to secure jobs. He also said thta the present tight job market favoured qualifications instead of skills.  Today, we ask you: which is more important in the job market? Qualifications or skills?  See omnystudio.com/listener...

A special commission to study the transformation of the civil service said unpaid summonses amounted to millions of ringgit. As reported in The Star , a special commission to study the transformation of the civil service have submitted a proposal to the government that recommends that motorists and motorcyclists who commit traffic offences will have to settle their summonses on the spot or have th...

On Tuesday, Rafizi Ramli the PKR strategy director said Pakatan Rakyat (PR) will offer a complete revamp of the National Automotive Policy (NAP), including slashing hefty excise duties and reducing the triple-tax burden imposed on cars here, should it come to power in the next general election. The offer to voters will effectively boost the disposable incomes of Malaysians and reduce household deb...

Tolerance - what does it mean? It’s not a difficult word but have we considered what it really means? It means being patient with, being open-minded with things or ideas and concepts that are different from our own, or even with things and ideas that we absolutely do not agree with. In the case of a nation, being tolerant means allowing the right of something that one does not approve or agr...

The Olympic games of 2012 will begin in 10 days’ time. Malaysia's 30-strong athletes contingent will be headed to the London Olympics. At the last Olympics, we were really close with our beloved Datuk Lee Chong Wei who got a Silver medal, beaten by China’s Lin Dan. What are our chances this year? Will Datuk Lee Chong Wei win a gold medal? He has a good chance and we all wish him the be...

Birds do it, bees do it and even politicians do it. In between arguments about corruption, employment, economy, and education, it seems every so often, the subject of the sex lives of lour politicians inevitably comes into the picture. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Just yesterday, MP of Batu Gajah (Ms) Fong Po Kuan claimed that women’s fears about their safety contradicted the statistics on crime reduction under the National Key Result Areas. This claim attracted a barrage of responses from other MPs  in the Dewan Rakyat with retorts saying that the fear for women’s safety was based on perception and did not reflect the views of the majority...