More and more states in Malaysia are feeling assertive and empowered, pushing the federal government to funnel more money to the state levels.

In light of the MA63 agreement, Sabah and Sarawak's negotiations with the federal government, as well as states such as Johor and Penang's demands for more, we explore this further with Dr Lee Hwok-Aun, Senior Fellow at the Malaysian Studies Programme, at ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute.

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Right-wing movements are on the rise all over the world. In the past, we’ve discussed the rise of right-wing, ultra-conservative movements with fascist tendencies in Europe, the US and even India. 

On today’s show, we continue to explore this phenomenon, this time with an academic from Pakistan. 

Dr Taimur Rahman is an academic and the author of The Class Structure of Pakistan, for which he won the Akhtar Hameed Khan Memorial Award for the "best book on Social Sciences" about Pakistan in 2012. 

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Being bullied and trolled online. Violent or sexually explicit content. Reels and posts promoting unrealistic ideals. Our children could be inadvertently exposed to all this and more, in their everyday use of social media, gaming, video, messaging and content platforms. How concerned should we be about the content that our children and teens see online, and how do we realistically protect them from the potential harms? Dr Rajini Sarvananthan, Consultant Developmental Paediatrician, and Mediha Mahmood, CEO of the Communications and Multimedia Content Forum of Malaysia, join us for this conversation. 

Photo by Compare Fibre on Unsplash

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On August 9th, A 31-year-old trainee doctor’s dead body and bearing multiple injuries, was found at a government training hospital in Kolkata – a city in West Bengal, India. She was assaulted, raped and murdered. This triggered massive and widespread women-led protests across the country demanding the “independence to live in freedom and without fear.”

In this episode, we unpack the tragic incident and the subsequent women-led mass protests that are currently unfolding, with Srabani Chakraborty, Activist, All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA). She’s also a public policy researcher at Tricontinental Institute, India. 

We discuss the the prevalence of rape culture in India, how the state, particularly the right-wing BJP government enables it and the powerful and unprecedented nature of the current waves of protests. 

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On today’s episode we’re doing a check-in on the government’s anti-corruption efforts so far. After all, this is a government led by a Prime Minister who repeatedly stresses the importance of combatting corruption. So, what has the MADANI government done well so far and what are the gaps?

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The DEMO project, launched by Zikri Rahman, Jeremy Lim and Ooi Kok Hin, is a collection of interviews documenting the history of Malaysian contemporary protests. It’s an archive of stories on the lived experiences of protest organisers and activists of the past 15 years and aims to be a resource for future activists.
We speak to ⅔ of the brains behind DEMO Project. 

DEMO Project Website: https://pusatsejarahrakyat.org/demo/ 

DEMO Project Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/demoproject.my/ 

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Professor Kishore Mahbubani is a prominent Singaporean academic and the Founding Dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in NUS. He’s an ex-diplomat who served as Singapore's Permanent Representative to the United Nations and held various senior positions in Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

He’s also an author known for his sharp commentary on global affairs, particularly regarding the rise of China and Asia as a whole, the decline of the American Empire and its implication for global political economy. He’s written books such as “Has China Won” and “Can Asians Think” and his latest one – Living the Asian Century: An Undiplomatic Memoir. 

In this episode, Kishore Mahbubani joins us in conversation about his life and lessons from years of working as a diplomat. We talk about the rise of Asia, the curious case of Singapore's first Prime Minister, Lee Kuan Yew, the strengths of ASEAN, US-China relations and if we're getting closer to World War III. 

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Imagine a parent walking down the street with their 7-year-old child. They walk past a cleaner sweeping the road or perhaps it's someone cutting grass. The parent tells the kid, don't be lazy otherwise you will end up like that cleaner. There is a perception that the poor are poor and remain poor because they are lazy. That persistent poverty can be attributed to personal behaviour.

Political psychologist and political economist at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Assistant Professor Peter Beattie joins us today to debunk the myths and dive deep into the misconceptions behind this stereotype.

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Imagine a parent walking down the street with their 7-year-old child. They walk past a cleaner sweeping the road or perhaps it's someone cutting grass. The parent tells the kid, don't be lazy otherwise you will end up like that cleaner. There is a perception that the poor are poor and remain poor because they are lazy. That persistent poverty can be attributed to personal behaviour.

Political psychologist and political economist at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Assistant Professor Peter Beattie joins us today to debunk the myths and dive deep into the misconceptions behind this stereotype.

Image credit: Shutterstock

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It's been 79 years today since the US dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, a moment that forever changed the course of history. This event has impacted people's perception towards nuclear energy, especially in terms of policy making over the past several decades. We will be delving into the anniversary's significance, the impact on Japanese and Malaysian victims, and current reflections. Joining us on the show today to discuss this is Aaron Denison, a doctoral candidate at Hiroshima University.

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