Talkback

Once upon a time, social media was just a place where you could share pictures and stories with your friends, but it's now grown to become much more than that. Sometimes it can feel like we're all being swept away in a tide of information, and we know we're not the only ones doomscrolling the night away. But despite all that, social media remains to be the place to find connection and purpose. So...

National Unity Minister Datuk Aaron Ago Dagang believes museums can foster unity among Malaysians, calling them custodians of the country’s common heritage. While we can perhaps agree that learning more about one's shared history can make us feel united, do Malaysians actually care about museums enough to go visit one? What makes a museum enjoyable and interesting? We discuss all of this, with our...

Ahead of the Merdeka celebrations this weekend, we look at the sites and experiences that makes Malaysia uniquely Malaysian. We ask how much of Malaysia have you explored? Do you have a Malaysian bucket list, and what would you like to experience? Image Credit: Pok Rie, Pexels See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

British content creator and founder of HelpBnk Simon Squibb has gained fame through his TikTok videos where he helps people realise their entrepreneurial dreams by supporting their dreams of starting their own business. According to his website, his mission is to help 10 million people start a business of their own. This got us thinking about whether everyone would be interested in owning a busine...

The recent death of the world's oldest person Maria Branyas Morera at the age of 117, has got all of us thinking about the idea of living a long life, versus living a good life (even if it's not as long as Maria!). So we ask the ultimate question: Are you here for a good time, or a long time? And how do you ensure a life worth living? Image Credit: Tristan Le, Pexels See omnystudio.com/listener fo...

A recent viral tweet highlighted the successful revamp of Pasar Seni, which has not only modernized the space but also significantly boosted its popularity among both locals and tourists. This got us thinking: what other local spots could benefit from a similar facelift? We discuss this, and also hear from our well-travelled listeners about the places beyond our borders that we can learn from in t...

If you've been on social media, you would have seen our Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh being slammed for posting a picture with Thai shuttler Kunlavut Vitidsarn, who defeated our national shuttler Lee Zii Jia. Japanese cyclist Shinji Nakano’s social media was flooded with comments from Malaysians after a collision between him and National men’s cyclist Shah Firdaus Sahrom in the keirin fina...

One of our listeners, Alex, has brought our attention to the importance of a plant-based diet, but is the grass greener on the other side? In Malaysia, the community of vegans and vegetarians remains small, even as it's become more popular around the world. The meat of the matter today is that there are a plethora of reasons why someone would choose this diet and lifestyle, from personal convictio...

A recent report by The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) discussed the hidden cost of sickness in the United Kingdom, saying that employees working through illness rather than taking leave is costing its economy billions of pounds every year. So this got us wondering, about the idea of working even when one is sick, and why so many of us fall victim to it. We first hear some insight from...

An article from The Guardian highlights the idea of a phone-free childhood, after parents raise concerns over their children owning one at a young age. But the thing with technology now is that children as young as 9 years old might need one anyway, just to not get left behind. This is a stark difference if we compare the ages people used to own phones decades ago. So we explore this question with...

The participation of a Dutch beach volleyball player, Steven van de Velde, in the French Olympics has raised controversy, in light of his past conviction for raping a 12-year-old girl. The official stance from the Dutch team has been that he's changed his ways and redeemed himself as an athlete, however audiences think otherwise and have booed him him during the warmup and pre-match introductions....

A post by @moneywithkatie speaks about the need for people to have community in order to not only create bonds, but also to save money! So we explore the notion of having community, and whether there's a need to rely on it. Image Credit: Sinseeho, Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Penang Island City Council is pushing for a ban on foreign cooks in all hawker stalls, food courts and coffee shops next year. This ban was initially implemented in 2016, but only covered hawker centres and food courts belonging to the city council. So we unpack whether people who cook food define it's authenticity, and ask our listeners what they feel about foreigners making Malaysian food. I...

A video has caught the Malaysian public's attention, of a man and woman arguing on the train, over the man's presence in the woman's coach. According to him, he was there to accompany his wife and daughters. So this got us thinking about women-only spaces, and the purpose it serves. Image Credit: ShamAn77, Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A Pew Research Center survey on free speech in East Asian and South East Asian countries asked whether people should be allowed to publicly speak their opinions, even if they upset other people. Countries like Thailand, South Korea and Vietnam were found to be pretty open about this, whereas Malaysia lands somewhere in the middle. So this got us wondering: Is harmony more important than confrontat...

According to a report by the British health journal The Lancet, Malaysians have been ranked the most obese nation in Asia. Now that is hardly surprising considering our fat and sugar rich diets and sedentary lifestyles, so the Health Ministry plans to combat this by proposing that we close 24-hour eateries at midnight. But is that a fair move? On Talkback Thursday, we're asking: Will early closure...

Yesterday, the Insolvency Department revealed that the bulk of Malaysians between the 25 - 44 age group are bankrupt. There are several factors that contribute to this worrying trend but the one that takes the cake is the need for couples to get themselves into debt before their marriage by having lavishly expensive weddings. Which is why we're asking you today: Would you borrow money to finance y...

A survey was recently conducted, titled “What Worries Malaysia”, and the results showed that Malaysians' top three concerns were about immigration control, governance, as well as unemployment. So tonight on Talkback, we're opening the question up to you: As a Malaysian, what worries you most? Is it the cost of living? The state of our education? All of the above? Our lines will be open...

Recently, the recruitment firm Robert Walters predicted that there will be an increase in salary next year across many key sectors, such as finance and IT. They said that the business environment in Malaysia is “expected to thrive” in 2018, and that salary increase can go up to 20-25%. But is that necessarily good news for us? On Talkback today, we're asking you, will money solve all o...

A few weeks ago, the MOH revealed that over 100,000 of those in Form 4 were facing mental health issues. In the nationwide survey, the biggest contributors of stress for this teenage demographic group were personal or family problems. Adding to that is the stress that comes with sitting for their SPM examination the following year. Together with clinical psychologist Paul Jambunathan in the house,...

The DBP (Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka) is thinking of imposing fines (of up to RM1,000) for the incorrect use of Bahasa Malaysia. This is in an effort to uphold the sovereignty of Bahasa Malaysia. We're asking today if you think Bahasa Malaysia should be protected. Our lines will be open. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A company in the UK recently launched a productivity tool called WorkSmart, which allows employers to take pictures of employees at work through their webcams every 10 minutes or so. It's also able to monitor other sorts of data, like the type of apps in use, and even the number of keystrokes, which apparently, can indicate how productive you are at work. Now it's pretty common practice for employ...

A week ago, a massive data breach was reported by the online forum Lowyat.net. The report claimed that personal data of millions of Malaysians was up for sale online. The data was taken from various sources such as; online recruitment portals, medical associations, as well as over 50 million records of customer data from various telcos. The information reportedly included customer names, billing a...

Just a couple of days ago, the MOH put out a call to all healthcare practitioners, requesting for them to make more of an effort to talk to patients and their families. It's a reminder for healthcare practitioners to be more empathetic...but there’s also the situation where doctors see their roles as more functional... prioritizing the physical, rather than the emotional. So today, what we&r...

A recent survey in the UK revealed that two-thirds of school children wouldn't mind if social media had never been invented. Those surveyed indicated that social media had negatively impacted their emotional well-being; they've been exposed to online abuse, some recognised their dangerous addiction to social media, and some have suffered self-confidence issues in trying to keep up with the Joneses...