Current Affairs

Bridget Welsh is an associate professor in political science at the Singapore Management University. She was previously with the Southeast Asia Studies Program at Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies in Washington. Melisa Idris gets her views on the upcoming general elections in Singapore.

In this interview, Bridget discusses the key issues surrounding the polls, such as immigration and housing. She also talks about the influence of young voters, and the role of new media tools in these elections. We also ask her about the Opposition newcomers and her predictions about the hotly contested Aljunied GRC.

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Prof Rohan Gunaratna is the Head of the Nanyamg Tecnological University's Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research. He is a prolific author and academic on terrorism, having written and edited 12 books on the subject.

Melisa Idris gets his views on the recent death of Osama bin Laden, and the implications it has on Malaysia and other South East Asian countries.  

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Khairy Jamaluddin, Chairman of BN Youth and head of UMNO Youth and MP for Rembau, talks about nationalism and the role of excess and extremism in politics. He discusses:

Why and how the political landscape has evolved in this way;

Whether an 'ultra' position is a recipe for election to higher posts in UMNO;

The reasons why political leaders sometimes seem to make contradictory statements - first criticising a segment of the population then later praising it;

Accusations that he was at one time also perceived as an ‘ultra’;

His and UMNO's views on Dato' Ibrahim Ali from the Malay supremacy organization, Perkasa;

That from an economic and investment standpoint -- especially given the World bank’s recent and conservative estimate of a million, mainly Chinese diaspora -- whether Malaysia's political leaders should dial back some of this rhetoric,

And;

Why he appears at least, to be taking on a more moderate stance.

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Ng Wan Peng, COO, Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC), gives an update on the MSC and its recently launched Phase 3. She discusses:
Phase I and II's main achievements;
The registration of 7,666 new IPs, exceeding the RMK9 projections of 1,400 by 447%;
Areas such as Bangsar South considered "MSC-status" locations and the criteria they fulfil in order to obtaint his status;
Challenges such as Internet speeds and costs;
The seven flagship applications;
The number of MSC companies, local and foreign, still active and operational;
The govt's promise for a non-censorship Internet and recent DOS (denial of service) attacks on news websites

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No study into the history of Malaysia is complete without the study of Pahang's rich history.

Understanding the intricate and rich history of the largest state in Peninsula Malaysia provides an important perspective to understanding the history of country as a whole.

Melisa Idris speaks to Dr Farish Noor - author, historian and senior fellow at the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore - who gives us an insight into the wealth of Pahang's history.

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Khairy Jamaluddin, Chairman of BN Youth and UMNO Youth Head, discusses his efforts in reaching out to the Malay Youth. he comments on:
The study results, which showed that 80 percent had a maximum of SPM qualifications, have taken courses which don't yield them jobs and prevailing worries about crime rates;
Whether the govt. decision to continue a mainly-Malay education (as well as flip-flopping on the nation's education policy in years gone by) has resulted in their financial and vocational disenfranchisement;
Key positives and negatives from the recently concluded Sarawak elections;
Whether the results make him more or less optimistic for the next GE;
What elements the kids of today resonate with;
And his future plans, following his stated desire to leave politics;

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Wan Saiful Wan Jan, Chief Executive of the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS) talks about the proposal to revive and reinstate the teaching and learning of Science and Mathematics in English, or better known by its Bahasa Malaysia acronym PPSMI. He discusses the importance of parents' involvement in the education of children, and why parents should be given a choice to select the language of instruction for these subjects.

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Malaysia has been recognised as one of the more advanced countries in Asean in terms of book production, ranked 16th globally in a recently released United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) survey.

Melisa Idris gets the views of Dr. Farish Ahmad Noor – historian, author and a Senior Fellow at the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.

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Khairy Jamaluddin, Umno Youth head and MP of Rembau, explains his stand on the NEP, why it is important to explain the social contract to the younger generation, and the loss of Chinese support for Barisan Nasional in Sarawak.

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The Asian Green City Index, a recently released report by the Economist Intelligence Unit, assessed the performances of 22 Asian cities in eight areas: energy and CO2 emission, transport, land use and buildings, waste management, water management, sanitation, air quality, and environmental governance.

Khoo Hsu Chuang speaks to Manoj Vohra, Head of Research for South Asia and Australasia with the Economist Intelligence Unit, on how Kuala Lumpur ranked in the Asian Green City Index. Mr Vohra led the EIU's Asia team on the report.

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