Consider This

There was a study done by Khazanah Research that estimated that more than 60% of senior citizens are in the B40 group, and that this increases with age? While there are many government schemes to support older citizens many remain vulnerable. What can be done? Melisa Idris and Sharaad Kuttan speak to Professor Emeritus Datuk Norma Mansor is Director of Universiti Malaya’s Wellbeing Research Centre.

Since Malaysians were granted early access to their retirement savings to get through the Covid-19 pandemic, close to 6 million people have made a withdrawal from their EPF accounts. This has brought to the fore the long-standing concern that many will have too little to survive on in old age. But how serious is the situation and can policy mitigate the consequences of this financial vulnerability? Melisa Idris and Sharaad Kuttan speak to Nurhisham Hussein, Chief Strategy Officer at the Employees’ Provident Fund.

Apart from issues of vaccine efficacy and adverse reactions, how will the emergence of variants of the virus affect the vaccine strategy and was it designed into our immunization strategy? What should the public keep in mind in what is a rapidly evolving public health crisis. Melisa Idris and Sharaad Kuttan speak to Dr Ghows Azzam, Associate Professor, School of Biological Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia and Special Advisor to Minister of Science, Technology & Innovation, Khairy Jamaluddin, who is Coordinating Minister for the National Immunisation Programme.

Several days ago, the Director China’s Centre for Disease Control and Prevention was quoted as saying that the efficacy of Chinese Covid vaccines is low. These raised alarm bells because China has supplied more than 40 million doses to over 30 countries across the globe -- including the 200,000 doses it sent to Malaysia. But has there been a fundamental misunderstanding of the original statement and should we change our national immunisation plans accordingly? Melisa Idris and Sharaad Kuttan speak to Dr Ghows Azzam, Associate Professor, School of Biological Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia and Special Advisor to Minister of Science, Technology & Innovation, Khairy Jamaluddin, who is Coordinating Minister for the National Immunisation Programme. 

Our guest has noted that while Budget 2021 has an explicit focus on environmental sustainability the overall environmental allocation as a proportion of the total budget remains largely unchanged from previous years – and it remains low at less than 1%. How do we assess the current government’s commitment to addressing climate change issues? Melisa Idris and Sharaad Kuttan speak to Alizan Mahadi, Director of Research, Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS) Malaysia.

Next week, the US will host a virtual summit on the climate crisis , but Malaysia did not make the list. According to the Environment & Water Minister Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man, Malaysia was not invited as we are not categorised as a country vulnerable to climate change.Was our exclusion from the US Leaders Summit on Climate as significant as critics claim? Melisa Idris and Sharaad Kuttan speak to Lavanya Rama Iyer, Head of Policy and Climate Change, WWF-Malaysia. 

The Government has touted vocational education as a ‘game changer’ for achieving inclusive economic growth but has this been backed by policy and  programmes? Melisa Idris and Sharaad Kuttan ask Dr Norlidah Alias, Associate Professor, Department of Curriculum and Instructional Technology, Faculty of Education, Universiti Malaya if the TVET component of our education system has been neglected?

While the Malaysian government has touted technical and vocational education as a game hanger to address labour market problems, many challenges remain. The International Labour Organisation (ILO) has identified these challenges as: foreseeing future skills demand; harmonising TVET governance systems; promoting equity and inclusion, and enhancing industry engagement. Is it time we rethink our education system with a greater emphasis on TVET? Melisa Idris and Sharaad Kuttan speak to Dr Junichi Mori, Chief Technical Advisor, Skills for Prosperity Programme, ILO, Malaysia.

What do escalating tensions over Xinjiang cotton tell us about China’s relationship with international companies that want access to their markets? Chinese officials have warned that the “era of bullying” by foreign powers was over but what does the reality of interdependence mean for all sides in the dispute? Melisa Idris and Sharaad Kuttan speak to Oh Ei Sun, Senior Fellow,  Singapore Institute of International Affairs.

The Foreign Minister was recently criticised over his “big brother” remark during a press conference in Beijing with his China counterpart, Wang Yi. Following the blowback, the Minister released a statement that he was merely practicing ‘Asian values’, and showing respect for “a more senior Foreign Minister”. Was this a major diplomatic faux pas, or were his critics overreacting and what does signal about our changing relationship with China? Melisa Idris and Sharaad Kuttan speak to Thomas Daniel, Fellow, Foreign Policy and Security Studies Programme, ISIS Malaysia.