The Simon Says Podcast

The term Fourth Estate refers to the press and news media that wield significant indirect social influence. Hence, media plays an extremely role in any modern society that values checks and balances of political mandate and powers. However, we are seeing increasingly erratic reporting, especially from mainstream media that simply want to lecture the viewers on their philosophy. They are quick to s...

Since the infamous Sheraton Move, the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government unwittingly took over the nation and was immediately thrust into epic and challenging response required from the pandemic crisis. 18 months into the pandemic, the PN government’s popularity is at an all-time low. We are living in times where our government steps into the realm of bad faith behaviour. DON’T KEEP SILENT ANYMORE...

Eric Clapton stated reservation of his right NOT to perform in any state where a discriminated audience is present in response to the UK prime minister's recent announcement for proof of vaccination as an entry requirement. In achieving the dreamland goal of herd immunity, the accentuated narrative is such that “without the vaccination, you are endangering the lives of other people.” Are the data...

Since last week, we see headlines and cable TV news chyrons all screamed the pithy sound bite. “The pandemic is 'spiraling out of control' due to unvaccinated people, Trump administration official says”, reads CNN headline. Such are the narratives that echoed Dr. Jerome Adams’ message, i.e., to get vaccinated for those who love freedom and hate mask mandates. What will it take for us to return to...

Daniel Moss, a Bloomberg Opinion Columnist, recently referenced the white flag movement (#benderaputih) to paint Malaysia as a nation that is heading towards a failed statehood. Nevertheless, the premise of this podcast's title is that there is a potential and gift that each one of us can bring to our nation which allows the nation to go towards its destiny - pushing it to a finishing line, a glor...

With the seemingly unending lockdowns, we are seeing an underlying pattern of Group Think that appeals to the natural senses of fear and anxieties but shuts down any voices of dissent in the form of debates, disagreements, and legitimate debates. How do we, as the Rakyat, stir up a voice presenting Minority Report to break free from a dominant control system based on pseudo data? Join us for a hop...

We started Season 2 with the same title, “Lockdown Again?!” with MCO 2.0. And it seems like we are in a time loop with no clear sight of an end as we are in MCO 3.0. Is there a more feasible and tolerable way for us to deal with the issues, instead of lockdown? It is past time we take an effortful pause from a vantage point, recalibrate our response to the true risk, make rational cost-benefit ana...

Interestingly, in the last episode when we explored the concept of state vs region, our host, Simon, realised later that he made mistake in the pronunciation of the word “Secession” as “Cessation”. The pronunciation of the word “Secession” is very similar to the word succession – as in take over a position and responsibilities by a successor. Though the word was mispronounced as cessation, interes...

Join us this week as our host, Simon Yeo, brings us back to a key event that took place in the year 1976, where constitutional amendment made by the Parliament of Malaysia essentially relegated Sabah and Sarawak to the status of mere states.  Logan travelled back in time to 1973 in the movie “X-Men: Days of Future Past” to change history in preventing an event that results in doom for both hu...

In last week’s podcast, we drew reference to the famous quote by George Orwell, “All animals are equal. But some animals are more equal than others.” As we continue to uncover more about the tribe values of two groups of people ascribed by David Goodhart, Anywhere and Somewhere, and how they fit into the big picture of big government versus small government, we would understand the critical functi...

Our title for this week’s podcast is extracted from none other than an acclaimed dystopian masterpiece novel by George Orwell. Such an apt description that described the hypocrisy of governments that promote absolute equality of their citizens, yet empowering and benefiting a small elite. Big government is a prelude to a totalitarian system. Is it something that we really want, having had a big go...

Perhaps one of the most famous quotes about freedom of speech is none other than Hall’s phrase in The Friends of Voltaire, “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.” Here’s a nation with one of the founding pillars being freedom of speech and freedom of expression. In an era where more restrictions have been placed on what we can say, on what we can think,...

Don’t we all love time traveling, whether through the time-traveling machines or the superpower of time traveling to enable us to revisit a past event to rectify it for a better future? As we revisit some of the past watershed moments in the history of our nation, we would like to encourage all the listeners to answer these questions honestly. What is the hope and desire we have for our nation? Do...

In recent times, the relationship between United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) and Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) has reached its all-time low that a key development was observed in the tussle for leadership in Malaysia’s government. In a February 26 decision, UMNO has announced the severance of ties with Bersatu, the party of the 8th Prime Minister of Malaysia. This breaking news...

Malaysia is no stranger to public health crises. In the A(H1N1) outbreak, there was no health curfew imposed given the preparedness Malaysian Health Ministry in pandemic outbreak response, with health screening and thermal scanners in place at various checkpoints at Kuala Lumpur International Airport following the start of a global alert on the flu. What makes the COVID-19 pandemic different from...

Join us this week as our host, Simon Yeo, talks us through some key events of the nation as written in the memoirs of Malaysia’s former Attorney General. In “Return of the Jedi”, Obi-Wan Kenobi tells Luke Skywalker, “What I told you was true, from a certain point of view.” In the same manner, this memoir titled “My Story: Justice in the Wilderness” is historical accounts that were written from Tan...

There is this old adage that is full of social wisdom: “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” Then again, we see the model of seemingly successful Socialist Paradises in Nordic countries that have low unemployment, low income-inequality, low poverty rates, and steadily high levels of growing economies; and we can’t help but wonder, "Per...

As many Malaysians face up to the reality of having to spend time away from their families in the upcoming Chinese New Year festive holidays, we want to begin to look at the current affairs, such as lockdown, that are affecting ordinary folks like you and me. Yes, we have entered into a new stage of new normal. Some new normal habits are formed, such as less wasting, less luxury, which are good. B...

It's our SEASON FINALE! Join us as our host, Simon Yeo, walks us through some of the highlights in Season 1. We are going to re-learn some of the key concepts of nation-building and what YOU can do to help Malaysia achieve her greatest destiny! Don't miss our most exciting episode yet!

As controversial as it may sound, join us as our host Simon Yeo walks us through a deeper understanding of the election process, both in the United States of America and in Malaysia, and then decide for yourself what can People do in order to vote for a government who would be held accountable to upload liberty in the land.

In our very first episode, Simon discussed the lowering of the voting age in Malaysia. Joining us this week are two young people who will be voting for the very first time in the upcoming election. Tune in as they discuss automatic voter registration, possible effects of Covid-19 restrictions on the election, government handouts, and rule of law.

Isn't democracy about the majority? The majority rules? That’s mob rule - it can be for better or for worse. The Founding Fathers of the United States of America drew their decision from the French Revolution (a type of mob rule) and designed the constitution as we know today. America is founded based on a constitutional republic. It is crucial as we begin to understand and appreciate the signific...

Both Twitter and Facebook recently took extraordinary censorship measures against The New York Post over its exposés about Hunter Biden’s emails. Responding to other mainstream media outlets’ refusal to cover the new details surrounding Hunter Biden’s pursuit of lucrative overseas deals, Glenn Greenwald, a co-founding editor of The Intercept and a former Guardian columnist, tweeted, “The target of...

In the Supreme Court of the United States of America confirmation hearing, Judge Amy Coney Barrett delivered a powerful opening statement. Judge Barrett said, “Courts have vital responsibility to enforce the rule of law, which is critical to a free society. The policy decision and value judgments of government must be made by the political branches elected by and accountable to the People.” We hav...

Learn the power of the voice of the youth to redeem the identity of Malaysia, automatic registration and how that impacts Malaysia in this episode. So we need you, youth - you can make a positive impact for Malaysia!