Talkback

On BFM we cover mental health quite a bit, especially on Health & Living, but today, the Evening Edition will be taking the mantle for a day to talk about the importance of mental health, especially that of children. Reports of bullying and drug abuse in school are all happening against a backdrop of other problems that are affecting children today. Cases of anxiety, emotional and behavioural...

Going off to university is a big deal for both kids and their parents, filled with plenty of tough decisions to make. There appears to be more acknowledgement these days, that a child’s interests and abilities need to be taken into account when making these decisions, but how far should parents let it go, before stepping in? Should parents step in at all? Today on Talkback, we're asking you,...

About a week ago, The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) released the results of a report that looks at how well a country prepares its younger generations for an ever-changing future economy. It found that Singapore was the highest ranked in Asia and an overall fifth across 35 economies. As for Malaysia, we weren’t on the list...So the question is, what does this actually mean for young Mala...

A couple of days ago, the Federal Territories Ministry announced a surprise decision to ban all roadside food stalls in KL by 2020, citing health issues and traffic congestion as the reasons. This means that all existing roadside hawkers will need to relocate their business or begin operating from food trucks. The decision garnered mixed reactions from the public - some lauded it, while others fea...

This evening on Talkback, we’re going to be discussing the refugee situation - more specifically, the current Rohingya refugee crisis. Mainstream media has highlighted their plight, albeit sporadically.. but over the years, that’s changed quite a bit. Just last week, the discussion went ‘mainstream’ when a protest outside the Myanmar embassy turned ugly. About 155 demonstra...

We’ve all just come off a really long weekend, and it’s not yet over. In September alone, we have 6 public holidays, including replacement days. In total, we have 15 official public holidays every year. To put that in context, globally, we rank number 5 on the list of countries with the most public holidays. After the announcement of the extra September 4th holiday during the SEA Games...

Three Malaysian students did us 'proud' recently when they behaved disgustingly while staying at a guesthouse in Osaka recently. The video of them arguing and being extremely rude to a staff member went viral, and sent netizens into a tizzy after it was revealed that these students defecated in the shower! So, on Talkback this evening, we're asking you to take a long hard look at your own travelin...

A report during a TN50 forum revealed that the youth are starting to flock to new villages outside the cities due to the rising costs of living in KL and lack of opportunities. In search of a better life, young Malaysians are moving into these new villages by choice. Today on Talkback, we’d like to know what you think your prospects are (or would be) outside of KL? Our lines will be open. Se...

Yesterday, Education Minister Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid said that starting early next year, students across the country will be allowed to bring certain electronic gadgets to class. However, he also said that mobile phones would not be allowed, as students were to concentrate on studying and not chatting with their friends. Today, on Talkback, we're going to be discussing the role of electronic de...

This evening, we’re going to be talking about youth and politics. So, in recent years, we’ve seen a huge uptick in interest, in the role that young people play in politics. Political parties here are making big efforts to engage with the youth through forums like TN50. But it would appear, that young Malaysians, may not be as empowered or as savvy as their counterparts in the developed...

In the news today, it was reported that there was a 30% drop in the number of patients going to private hospitals. The report outlined cost as one of the main factors as to why patients turn to public hospitals. But there are people who still opt for private health care even when it burns a hole in their pockets. What's the perception people have on public vs private health care? So, on Talkback T...

Yesterday, the results to a survey conducted by the Integrity Institute of Malaysia (IIM) on student’s perception of corruption was released. It revealed that more than a third of their surveyed public university students believed that graft is morally acceptable and doesn’t constitute as a crime. About a fifth of the respondents consider nepotism as a permissible act, and that almost...

This month marks the 20th anniversary of the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis (AFC). What happened in Malaysia was pretty dramatic. We were going through both economic and political turmoil at the same time. And it wasn't hard just for our country, but of our livelihoods and the prospects of our kids. But 20 years on we’ve survived and somewhat rebounded. So we want to hear what happened in those...

Yesterday, we highlighted a story about how the former MaGIC CEO, Cheryl Yeoh, was sexually assaulted by a prominent Silicon Valley venture capitalist and CEO of 500 Startups, Dave McClure, 3 years ago. Sexual harassment at the workplace is a continuing problem. And depending on the circumstances, consent, for some people, can be confusing. So today on Talkback, we’d like to you to share you...

Bullying has unfortunately been a long standing issue in our country, but it took the tragic deaths of T. Nhaveen and Zulfarhan Osman for the Malaysian public to stop and examine the causes behind the deeply-rooted culture of bullying in schools. What compels an individual or group to commit such brutalities against a fellow human being? How did the glorification of violence become accepted among...

Father’s Day is coming up this weekend, and with that in mind, we thought we’d talk about the results of a study recently done by vacation rental company HomeAway. What the survey found was that Malaysian fathers are seldom celebrated during Father’s Day. They don't receive gifts often and sometimes, the occasion isn't even celebrated. That's in stark contrast with Mother's Day....

Yesterday, in a bid to kick off its Hari Raya campaign, Watsons Malaysia released an extremely controversial 15-minute short film called ‘Legenda Cun Raya’. The video spread like wildfire, igniting huge controversy and a barrage of comments all over the internet disgracing the film for promoting blackface and racism. So, this evening we want to know: Is it important to have fair skin?...

#2kerja - some of us do it out of necessity. Some of us do it because we can, and additional income does more good than harm at the end of the day. The increasing cost of living has often been cited as the main reason this is happening. Not to mention economists' forecast of our shrinking urban middle class and a further depreciating ringgit. But this, of course, takes its toll on those who have 2...

Malaysians were asked whether they would support a proposal for a single-stream education system as opposed to the current vernacular schooling system that we have now. The polls suggested an almost fair split between both sides of the fence - with 47.4% of them opposing it and 41.4% supporting the idea. There are arguments that vernacular schools can unintentionally cause segregation of race, min...

So, we’ve just gone past Teacher’s Day, a day that’s very much a token of appreciation for the vital contributions that teachers make to education and development. A couple of days ago, there was an article in FMT, quoting Zakaria Kasa of the National Professors Council who talked about Singapore, and how Singaporean parents often have to play an important role in their kid&rsquo...

Earlier this week, we covered a story about how retired senior citizens in China, are clamouring to go back to university. Looking at projections for Malaysia, we’re headed for an increase, to about 33.3 million by 2020, with the aged population (people 60 years and above) projected at just under 10% of that. We’re going to have 3.26 million senior citizens in our midst, come 2020. So...

It was reported this week that there are at least 1 in 20 runaway-maid cases here in Malaysia. The reasons vary from employer abuse to being misled by their agency and also the yearning for freedom. The Malaysian Maid Employers’ Association have said that more effort should be made to overcome the problem of runaway maids. And one of the suggestions is to treat domestic maids like family, bu...

The death of Mohammad Thaqif Amin who was physically abused at his school has left the nation in shock and anger. Everyone has been saying that it should not have happened. But it did. And the events leading up to his unfortunate demise exposed a cry for help that was ignored, and a system without checks and balances. Who should take responsibility over his death? Who should be taking care of the...

A couple of days ago, Sports and Youth Minister Khairy Jamaluddin spoke about how young Malaysians preferred citizens of the country to be known as ‘Bangsa Malaysia’. He found a recurring narrative spoken by youths from 20 dialogues held nationwide on the TN50 Programme. It seemed that most young Malaysians ‘wanted the wall that separated the races in the country to be demolished...

A couple of days ago, SPAD released proposed guidelines for the reclassification of taxi services in Malaysia. The objective, is to revamp the industry, leveling the playing field amongst taxi drivers and their ride-sharing counterparts. So this evening, we’re trying to assess where we are, in terms of the whole taxi/ridesharing ecosystem. On Talkback Thursday today, we’d like you to t...