The Breakfast Grille

Dato' CM Vignaesvaran, CEO of Human Resource Development Fund (HRDF) explains the role they play in the upskilling of the workforce in Malaysia. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Think City is a subsidiary of Khazanah tasked to spearhead urban regeneration in Malaysia. Executive Director, Hamdan Majeed, discusses ThinkCity's experiences from its work in Georgetown and their plans for urban renewal in Kuala Lumpur. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ahmed Tahoun, Vice President of the Arab-Malaysian Chamber of Commerce discusses AMCC's role in fostering business opportunities between Malaysia and the Middle East. Listen to the podcast to learn more about tapping into the business potential of the Arab world. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With the motion to sign and ratify the Trans Pacific Partnership agreement passed by the Dewan Rakyat, Malaysia's entry into the bloc is closer to becoming a reality. We look into TPP's machinations including whether it is a tool for American hegemony as well as how the agreement would potentially sit with other trade pacts like the RCEP (Regional Comphrehensive Economic Partnership) pushed by Chi...

Professor Gurdial Singh Nijar from the Law Faculty of Universiti Malaya and Fifa Rahman, Policy Manager at the Malaysian AIDS Council discuss their areas of concern in the Trans Pacific Partnership agreement.    Prof Gurdial argues the Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) mechanism will make it hard for governments to protect their citizens’ best interests, while Fifa explores...

Wan Saiful Wan Jan, CEO of the think-tank IDEAS and YB Wong Chen, Member of Parliament, Kelana Jaya, discuss the controversial TPP bill in terms of its economic and trade aspects but also geopolitics and the extent of America's and China's ongoing tussle on multiple fronts and geographies. The duo also discuss the practical and execution aspects of the Bill, once the discussions are wrapped. See o...

Medical tourism is big business. And Malaysia, while already a name in the market, wants to secure a bigger piece of the pie. And so the Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council (MHTC) was established to promote Malaysia as a top medical travel destination. Sherene Azli, CEO of MHTC, tells BFM what it takes to build a name as a destination for world-class healthcare.  See omnystudio.com/listener fo...

Five months and 21 days into his new Ministerial role following the July 2015 Cabinet reshuffle, Wan Junaidi has had to parry several tough environmental problems. Before the reshuffle the Minister was Deputy Home Minister and has also held the position of Deputy Speaker of Parliament. And as one of the more senior members of cabinet from Sarawak, we also tap him on the "devolution" agenda and the...

Projections from the United Nations Global Policy Model released recently showed that the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement will likely only bring minimal GDP growth to Malaysia’s economy, and lead to job losses and higher inequality. Economist Professor Jomo Kwame Sundaram discusses this, on the Breakfast Grille. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Datuk Mohd Hishamudin Yunus last year retired as a Court of Appeal judge, after 23 years on the bench. Presiding over landmark cases such as the Negri Sembilan transgender case, Datuk Hishamudin is a passionate advocate of judicial integrity and independence. Listen to the Breakfast Grille for an insider's look at what works in the Malaysian judiciary, and what doesn't. See omnystudio.com/listener...

Professor Kuan Chung-Ming, former minister of Taiwan's National Development Council discusses Taiwan's stalling economy and the potential shift in cross-straits relations with Beijing. Professor Kuan Chung-Ming was a featured speaker in a forum organised by the Jeffrey Cheah Institute on Southeast Asia (JCI), Sunway University. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When iFlix was launched in 2015, it was hailed as the Netflix of Asia. Now, with Netflix rolling out globally, we speak to iFlix Group COO on how they intend to stay ahead in the ever challenging, video-on-demand space in Asia. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Professor Amin Saikal, Professor of Political Science at the Australian National University, discusses Iran's transition from a pro-Western democracy to Islamic Republic, its spat with Saudi Arabia, the return to global oil markets and its potential contribution to the global economy. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Over the weekend a new political formation was launched with a slew of initiatives to overcome the weakness of it precursor, Pakatan Rakyat. The launch outlines seven areas which would be address including an much needed “dispute resolution” mechanism as well as a commitment to joint decisions, fostering political union and common policies. We speak about what went wrong with Pakatan R...

Flex Malaysia, previously known as Flextronics, rose to prominence in the 1990s building personal computers, mobile phones and routers for companies like Hewlett-Packard and Cisco. However, after losing market share to rivals over the years, Flextronics expanded into product design and distribution of finished goods. James Chuen,  VP of Global Account Management tells us more about how the co...

On the cusp of being Malaysia’s first Resident Ambassador to The Vatican, we speak to the veteran Sabahan politician on the country’s international reputation on religious freedom, the shift in power dynamics to the benefit of East Malaysians, and Sabah and Sarawak’s development needs. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Leo Zanolini, Chief Executive Officer, QBE Insurance Malaysia, talks about his plan to grow this small(-ish) insurer in the country by focusing on niche areas like aviation and marine insurance, as well as the thinking behind its stake sale plans from a 100% ownership currently. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

CEO of KWAP, Wan Kamaruzaman Wan Ahmad explains the sale of their London asset, the relationship KWAP has with the 1MDB linked company -SRC International, and more in this interview. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Affordability in public transportation has its genesis in creating fair contracts. If public transportation becomes too expensive, should the government act on behalf of providers or passengers. Is pleading the defence of sticking to contractual terms the only solution? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

1MDB has dramatically highlighted the extent of the long arm of the government in business and the economy. We continue with the second part of our series on the State of the Economy focusing on whether the government should be an active participant in business. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We take a look into how the government did in the past year after the ugly crash in the ringgit and the oil price. To what extent is the government to blame for our economic woes or to take credit from any positive factors? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Was this the worst year for media freedoms? Did the short-lived suspension of The Edge send a chilling effect over the still nascent practice of investigative journalism? And were all our possible heroes eclipsed by the negative stories that dominated the headlines. We speak to two veteran journalists for their insights into the media’s 2015. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informati...

Jason Brooke, the grandson of the last White Rajah, explains his family's continued work in the hornbill state of Sarawak. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Eric Cheng, Co-founder and CEO of the Malaysian car buying Carsome site, discusses being a first-time entrepreneur, raising money, expansion plans, valuations, the business model, his 'moat', his investors, his metrics and the competition. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Economic growth in most of the world may be stagnant but companies like EG Industries is getting a lot of business from increasing circuitry in household products. EG is also making strides in its transformation to an original design manufacturer (ODM) which allows for stepping into higher value added chains. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.