The Breakfast Grille

Amidst mounting alarm that the world's democracies may be swinging more to the side of populism, today on the Breakfast Grille we speak to Yascha Mounk, Political Scientist and Author of the book, "The People Vs. Democracy: Why Our Freedom Is in Danger and How to Save It" about his research, populist leaders, as well as the future of democracy. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informat...

Google for Startups is a programme launched in 2011 to give a leg-up to budding entrepreneurs. Roshan speaks to Michael Kim, the APAC Partnerships Manager, for Google’s perspective on the secret sauce of successful businesses. They explore the startup scene in Asia Pacific, the Next Big Thing, and what Malaysia is missing. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An obstetrician and gynaecologist by discipline, as well as the founder of Mercy Malaysia, Tan Sri Dr. Jemilah Mahmood, is now the Under Secretary General for Partnerships at the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, continuing her efforts to make the world a better place. We speak to her about her illustrious decades-long career and the challenges she faces in her fiel...

Kawan Food started 40 years ago and has now grown to become Malaysia's largest Asian frozen food manufacturer, famous for its parathas and spring roll pastry. We chart its progress and discuss future growth plans with its Managing Director, Timothy Tan. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Cherian Varghese, the Regional Managing Director & Vice President for ASEAN & South Asia at the global software firm Oracle Corp., discusses the challenges and opportunities in managing one of the fastest-growing economic regions in the world while navigating competition from larger, younger rivals like Amazon and Google in rhe next big thing, the Cloud. See omnystudio.com/listener for pri...

Hungary is a heavily export-driven economy, which may see some repercussions from its position in the European Union, once Britain leaves the bloc. Today on the Breakfast Grille, we speak to Dr Balázs Orbán, Deputy Minister of the Hungarian Prime Minister's Office, about trade, the country's position with the European Union, as well as the Hungarian government's stance on i...

The fintech scene is fast-changing — but is it changing too fast? Do we have the right financial, legal and social structures in place to keep up with the fast changing fintech scene? We speak to Chris Skinner, frequent commentator on fintech matters, and author & blogger of Finanser.com, on his take on today’s fintech scene. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Economist Peter Blair Henry, the author of “Turnaround” published in 2013, posited that first-world countries stand to learn from advanced and emerging economies that have successfully navigated economic reforms. We speak to him to discuss his outlook for the global economy and whether new lessons have emerged. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Coursera has become synonymous with online continuous learning, offering over 3,000 courses in partnership with prominent higher education institutes. As more players enter the online education space, what is Coursera’s strategy to maintain its edge? We speak to Raghav Gupta, the Director of India and APAC for Coursera to find out. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hino Motors has been in Malaysia for 40 years and is Japan’s oldest motor vehicle manufacturer, with its trucks and buses marketed in over 70 countries worldwide. So how is Hino maneuvering the rapid changes in the transportation sector? We speak to Hino Malaysia's newly minted Managing Director Atsushi Uchiyama, on the companies longstanding presence in Malaysia as well as its future plans...

With the Malaysian Government pushing for 20% renewable energy capacity by 2025, we speak to Yusrizal Yusof, Managing Director of TNB Renewables to uncover the initiatives to achieve this and how the residential customer can participate too. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With Malaysia on the cusp of Industry 4.0, building a mature digital economy has become a national priority. On the Breakfast Grille we ask Surina Shukri, CEO of the Malaysian Digital Economy Corporation, about MDEC's vision, initiatives for SMEs as well as efforts to build the country's native digital talent. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS) released the 2019 Policy Ideas on Affordable Homes. The Malaysian property sector has been making a lot of headlines recently: from affordable housing, to the property overhang and the role of government in the industry. We speak to Carmelo Ferlito, Senior Fellow of IDEAS for more insights on the housing sector. See omnystudio.com/listener for p...

Mestron Holdings manufactures steel poles such as street light poles, decorative light poles, and specialty poles. The are listing on the ACE Market on the 18th June. We speak to Gary Loon, Executive Director, Mestron Holdings details of their planned IPO. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We speak to Raymond Lim, Country Head of Airbus Malaysia about its investments in the country, the relationship it has with local airlines and government policy. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jean-Marc Roda gives a scientific approach to looking at whether palm oil is causing alarming deforestation. It boils down to the question of economic development and how the world population will be fed. As oil palm produces so much more edible oil per hectare than say, soy, growing other crops to feed the world's oil consumption is worse for the environment. See omnystudio.com/listener for priva...

BMW is one of two major carmakers who are synonymous with luxury here in Malaysia. But how will they adapt themselves to the changing world of mobility? We speak to BMW Malaysia CEO Harald Hoelzl about trends in electric vehicles, financing, and changing consumer behaviours in the automotive industry. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The European Union, despite its troubles, is often held up as an example of a successful monetary union. For his thoughts on the subject, we speak to Ashoka Mody, Author of the book 'EuroTragedy: A Drama in Nine Acts', and long-time critic of the EU, about whether a single currency might put the region at risk of a financial crisis. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Shou Ning Wong speaks to Datuk Azman Ismail, Managing Director of Plus Malaysia Berhad, to find out if the Government will nationalise tolls and if the company can ward off the competition. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Islamic Relief is a worldwide Islamic faith-based charity with a presence in over 45 countries. Islamic Relief Malaysia or IRM aims to alleviate poverty and suffering. We speak to CEO, Zairulshahfuddin Zainal Abidin, on the organisation's strategic direction and management of funds. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Direct online insurance purchases which strip away expensive agency commissions not only make insurance coverage a lot cheaper but can also help in fulfilling Bank Negara Malaysia's coverage ambition of 75% of the population. We check out how the life insurance industry deals with this. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Labuan was declared as an international offshore financial centre in the 1990s and since Pakatan Harapan took over as government, the Labuan Blueprint 2030 is being put on hold. Labuan has yet to reach its potential as a financial services hub in the region. We speak to Dato Sri Amir Hussein, Chairman of Labuan Corporation on their plans to transform the island into a successful hub in East Malays...

We speak to Ian Shapiro, CEO of REALL, a UK charity using a unique model to solve the problem of affordable housing in Africa and Asia and whether this model can be applied in Malaysia. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

PTPTN is RM40 billion in debt and counting. On June 13, it will be closing the public consultation and  begins the process of compiling the feedback of the people to be submitted to the cabinet., Wan Saiful seems to be leaning towards a mixed approach in dealing with debtors as opposed to the more punitive demands from sections of the public. We also try to get clues into his thinking ab...

A landmark in Petaling Jaya, the Hilton Hotel was once the five star hotel for travellers in Malaysia. Today, they have 11 hotels throughout Malaysia, and 40 throughout the Southeast Asian region. In conjunction with the Hilton's 100th year anniversary, we speak to Paul Hutton, Hilton's Southeast Asian Vice President for Operations to discuss its plans for the region and sentiments of the hot...