Current Affairs

On Friday, the Thai Raksa Chart party made a bold move by nominating Princess Ubolratana, the elder sister of King Maha Vajiralongkorn, as their candidate for Prime Minister. The nomination of Princess Ubolratana was described as a “political earthquake” in the country, which has been ruled by a military government since May 2014. However the following day the Palace issued a statement denouncing the candidacy as "inappropriate" and "unconstitutional". We speak to James about the reactions to this and his thoughts about the nomination process.

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There is RM2 billion pumped into the government's MySalam insurance scheme to help the B40 group. But could that money be better served for the national healthcare agenda? Tony Pua, Political Secretary with the MOF helps clarify things for us.

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Thailand will hold its first democratic elections on 24 March since the military took over the government in the May 2014 coup. We speak to Dr James Gomez of the Asia Centre on the political situation in Thailand and public sentiment ahead of the elections, including the strength of the youth vote.

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We speak to Datuk Akhbar Satar of Transparency International Malaysia to get his views on the recently launched National Anti-Corruption Plan and if it is an appropriate tool to battle corruption within the government.

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We speak to Dr Michael Jeyakumar of the Parti Sosialis Malaysia who has been quite vocal about the governments health protection schemes for the B40. He talks to us about the recently launched Peduli Kesihatan (PeKa B40) scheme  and his concerns about the mySalam National Protection Scheme.

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The US government was shutdown on 22 December after Congress failed to pass a bill to fund the US-Mexico border wall which is billed at USD 5.7 billion. Last week, US President Donald Trump announced an agreement to reopen the government for three weeks, following a record shutdown which lasted for 35 days.

This has been the longest shutdown in US history, with thousands of federal government workers were either furloughed or forced to work without pay for over a month. We speak to Kathryn to share her insights of the situation concerning the shutdown.

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Despite the assurances of Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamed and his designated successor, Dato’ Sri Anwar Ibrahim that the leadership succession is on track, doubts continue to dog Pakatan Harapan’s future. Bridget Welsh shares some insight into the PH power struggle, and also comments on the upcoming Cameron Highlands by-elections.

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Dato’ V. Nadarajan, historian and author of ‘Bujang Valley: The Wonder that was Ancient Kedah’ helps us understand the historical context and nuances involved in disputes over the relocation of places of worship, as well as success stories in resolving these types of disputes.

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The government recently announced it would delay of the plan to separate the powers of the public prosecutor and the Attorney-General. Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad says this is because it involves amending the Federal Constitution, which requires a two-thirds majority in Parliament. Constitutional lawyer Malik Imtiaz helps us unpack the repercussion of this dual-role.

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Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) will be holding its 13th National Congress this weekend - its first congress as a part of the Federal government. This will also be the first congress since its formation in which Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim has held the role of Party President. 

The congress will conclude on Sunday with the official announcement of the new central party leadership.

YB Fahmi Fadzil,  Director of Communications for PKR and MP for Lembah Pantai speaks to us about what to expect. 

Listen in.

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