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Could the nomination of Warisan’s Shafie Apdal as PM-designate shift Sarawak’s GPS position from supporting Muhyiddin Yassin, to supporting Pakatan Harapan Plus, seen as crucial if PH Plus has any chance of forming a stable government? Melisa Idris and Sharaad Kuttan speak to Hamidin Hamid, a political analyst with Universiti Malaya.

News of a DBKL notice banning refugees from entering the Kuala Lumpur wholesale market stirred debate on social media coming on the heels of World Refugee Day. The move did not come with any stated reasoning but included that foreigners with valid papers must be accompanied by a Malaysian to enter the market. Melisa Idris and Sharaad Kuttan bring you the most important conversations of the day.

Recently the Department of Statistics revealed that Malaysia's unemployment rate for April - at 5% - was the highest it’s been in 30 years. But what of the youth component?  Will young Malaysians disproportionately bear the brunt of the economic fallout from the pandemic? Melisa Idris and Sharaad Kuttan speak to Lee Hwok Aun, Senior Fellow, ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute.

How do policy makers view the structural problems underpinning youth unemployment - itself a multidimensional issue? And does the expected global recession change the way they ought to approach solutions?  Melisa Idris and Sharaad Kuttan speak to Dr Juita Mohamad, Fellow, Economics, Trade and Regional Integration Division, Institute Of Strategic & International Studies.

Ahead of nomination day for the Chini by-election tomorrow Saturday the 20th of June we look at how the Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in new norms for the electoral process. To get a better sense of how these new rules affect campaigning, Melisa Idris and Sharaad Kuttan speak to Azmi Sharom, Deputy Chairman of the Election Commission.

Talk of snap polls has gained momentum in recent weeks but can safe-distancing measures be implemented at a national scale for a GE? And what international best practices can be adopted.  Melisa Idris and Sharaad Kuttan speak to Azmi Sharom, Deputy chairman of the Election Commission.

To better understand ‘workforce casualisation’ -- which is the shift from full-time and permanent employment, to casual and contract positions in the labour market – we need to understand it as a strategy both for enterprises and also individuals, but with uneven consequences. Melisa Idris and Sharaad Kuttan speak to Niaz Asadullah, Professor of Economics at Universiti Malaya, and the Southeast Asia Lead for the Global Labor Organization.

Against the expectation of a no-contest, the Chini by-election looks set to be competitive and from an expected candidate. With Bersatu’s deputy chief of the Pekan division, Tengku Datuk Zainul Hisham Tengku Hussin throwing his hat in the ring, the incumbent party Barisan Nasional’s candidate Mohd Sharim Zain will now have to win his seat. Melisa Idris and Sharaad Kuttan bring you the most important conversations of the day.

Some weeks ago a labour dispute made headlines when picketing activists were arrested for violating the MCO rules on public gatherings. Behind this event was a long-standing grouse about work conditions involving workers once in secure government employment, moved into less secure contract work. Melisa Idris and Sharaad Kuttan speak to Sarasvathy Muthu, Executive Secretary of the National Union of Workers in Hospitals Support and Allied Services.

To better understand ‘workforce casualisation’ -- which is the shift from full-time and permanent employment, to casual and contract positions in the labour market – we need to understand it as a strategy both for enterprises and also individuals, but with uneven consequences. Melisa Idris and Sharaad Kuttan speak to Niaz Asadullah, Professor of Economics at Universiti Malaya, and the Southeast Asia Lead for the Global Labor Organization.