BMI - Bicara Minggu Ini

Media professionals in Malaysia still face many restrictive laws despite seeing an improved press freedom ranking in the last two years. In this webinar, we will be discussing about the current media landscape in the country, existing legal framework for the media and procedures for both avoiding charges and dealing with the ramifications.

This webinar forum was organised by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) Asia Pacific and supported by Switzerland Embassy in Malaysia, The European Union, Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (SUHAKAM), and National Union of Journalists Malaysia (NUJM).

In the 1970s, more than two thirds of the land in the Borneo island were covered in rainforest, lush greenery, flora and fauna. One of the last bastions of untouched rainforest in the world. In less than four decades, much of it has been lost and we are now looking at a grim figure of 30 percent left of rainforest cover in Borneo.

Much closer to home in Sarawak, while the state government boasts more than 60 percent of forest coverage and sustainable forest management, replanting of trees, we still continue seeing timber industry continue to grow rapidly. In this episode, I speak to Peter Kallang from SAVE Rivers to talk about the ongoing logging activities affecting northern Sarawak communities from the Kayan and Penan tribe in Gerenai. 

Do support this campaign and sign the petition here https://saverivers.org/stopthechop/

Stop. Pause. Politics. Covid-19. Quarantine. Unemployment. Deaths.

With all the political drama over the week, what can we do to reset Malaysia? What can we expect from the upcoming Budget 2021 scheduled to be tabled on November 6? I speak to Ivy Kwek, research director of REFSA (Research for Social Advancement) to delve deeper in understanding the events in the country and the region, and how these will impact many of us in Malaysia. 

It has been a depressing week for many of us, while some others are fighting hard on the frontlines in Sabah to help those who are affected by the pandemic.  In this episode, I will be selecting the top stories over the week and Malaysia’s political drama is as exciting as the series of Game of Thrones.

Since the end of the last Sabah state election, Parti Warisan Sabah fell short and we saw a change of state government through the ballots. However, Sabah is now known as the Little Wuhan, with hundreds of cases reported on a daily basis. With emerging infection clusters all of Malaysia, all hands on deck to manage the third pandemic wave in the country.

In this episode, I’m collaborating with a new-found friend, Harith Mohamad who runs NadiKita podcast program. We will be discussing the dynamics of politics in Malaysia, and more recently, PKR president Anwar Ibrahim’s audience with Yang diPertuan Agong on October 13. 

As the power plays at the centre of the country, what future unfolds for all Malaysians?

[Bicara Minggu Ini] with The Vibes had an opportunity to interview former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak on September 20 in the midst of the Sabah state election campaign. In this episode, we discussed about the return of his 'popularity' in the political sphere with his moniker 'Bossku' and his take about the his case in July related to the misappropriation of RM42 million related to SRC International Sdn Bhd and 1MDB where he was found guilty of seven charges. 

Bicara Minggu Ini returns with a conversation with Dr James Chin, professor of Asia Studies in the University of Tasmania, Australia to make sense of the outcome from the recently concluded Sabah state election last week. This episode was recorded on September 27, a day after the polling day on September 26 which saw Shafie Apdal led Warisan Plus ousted by Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS).

[Bicara Minggu Ini] returns this week with a conversation with Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR)'s member of parliament from Kangar, Noor Amin Ahmad. We discussed about his memories during his younger days in the midst of the start of the Reformasi era in 1998 while representing his school in a chess competition. An academic and researcher prior to joining politics, the mild-mannered lawmaker shares his story and observations on Malaysian political landscape and how will Sabah elections paved the future ahead. 

This episode was recorded on September 5, 2020 in Petaling Jaya, Selangor. 

Coming back this week as we anticipate the nomination day on September 12 in Sabah state election where Sabahans head to the polls on September 26. I speak to 3 young Malaysians; Aaron Denison, Umar Hafiz and Daniel Qayyum who are among a group of young leaders behind the #PulangMengundiSabah, crowdsourcing funds to help Sabahans to return home to cast their ballots in the snap election.  At the same time, there were many chatters and discussions surrounding the hyped youth-centered political party and platform spearheaded by Muar MP and former youth and sports minister Syed Saddiq. 

Organised by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) Asia Pacific, a report on the challenges, issues and controls that journalists and media workers encountered in Malaysia as a result of existing legislation and new controls imposed during the Covid-19 pandemic was published in September 2020.