General

We look at what’s going on with Pakatan Harapan and MUDA, ahead of GE15. First, we look at the latest updates from both sides, and examine why the question of joining forces has been so fraught. And then, the Opposition has said that their nominee for PM will be Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. Is this the way to go?

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In July, 12 out of 71 Malaysians were tested positive for cannabis after returning from Thailand as a result of a random screening done by the police at the Perlis border. We look at what the laws say about consuming cannabis in a country where it is legal, and what our rights are when we’re asked to take a drug test by the police.

Image Source: MrWinn, Shuttterstock

不知道你是否听过越南强势品牌「Hảo Hảo」方便面？根据世界泡面协会（WINA）的调查，越南已悄悄超越韩国，成为2021年世界人均泡面消费的第一大国。虽然韩国过去曾经称霸泡面消费的 ”世界第一“， 但越南近年来也不相伯仲，已有每人87份方便面的数据。尤其是疫情爆发后，方便面的销量激增更是成为越南经济成长迅速的助推器。随着国家经济逐步好转，越来越多的外资涌入，越南也有望成为冲出东南亚市场的新兴国家。

The indoor mask mandate was lifted by the government last week, with masks only deemed necessary in public transport, healthcare settings and care homes, and for those who have tested positive for COVID-19. First, we speak to Liu Wei Zi, a psoriasis patient, on how the pandemic and the lifting of the mask mandate affect people who are immunocompromised. Then, we catch up with Assistant Professor Dr Farhan Rusli, Public Health Medicine Specialist from International Islamic University Malaysia, to get his take on this announcement, and whether we’re ready to declare the disease as endemic yet.

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Today, we live in an individualistic world, one where the term “dependence” is seen as a sign of weakness. “Self-made” has become a buzzword, especially by the rich and proponents of hustle culture. But is dependency a sign of weakness? And what does “self-made” mean, anyway? We’re joined by Sandy Clarke, licensed counsellor and author. 

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We are often asked this question very early in life: “What do you want to be when you grow up?” From astronauts to zoologists, we dream of becoming many things, but how many of us end up in a career we are truly passionate about? One lucky soul is Faisal Athar Mohd Fadzil, an XR Specialist at Taylor’s Virtual Online Future Technology and Extended Reality (VORTEX XR) Lab. How did a love for art and gaming lead him towards a career in Extended Reality (XR)? He joins us to share how and why he became an XR Specialist at the VORTEX XR Lab, which is part of Taylor's ongoing efforts to embed virtual, interactive, and immersive experiences in its teaching and learning. Faisal will also share how the learning centre identifies and defines teaching and learning needs through the creation of immersive educational content, and how they drive innovative XR research, ideas, and solutions as an XR Incubation Centre. 

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Malaysians are a talented lot and have certainly made their mark across all industries such as sports, science, business and even entertainment. The question is, why aren’t they back home contributing to our nation’s development with their expertise? Deepa George, managing consultant at MYHRC joins us to help unpack this issue and what Malaysia can do to potentially attract our local talents back home.

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As marketing tends to be the first on the chopping block when an organisation’s cost-cutting measures begin, marketers need a solution to do more with less. This is where Marketing as a Service (MaaS) comes in - a transformative, data-driven approach that enables organisations to achieve greater impact at lower cost. Yong Siew Mee from B2B marketing as a service firm 2X talks to us about the future of MaaS in Malaysia.

Image Credit: 2X Facebook Page

In Malaysia, refugee learning centres have limited funds to hire quality teachers and many centres are having difficulty providing quality education to the students. The Other School aims to place quality teachers in refugee learning centres and at the same time, educate the world. We speak to Teoh Min Chia, co-founder of The Other School about her interesting business model for education.

Image Credit: The Other School Facebook Page

无论是远程作业模式所需的短暂逗留、偶尔逃离喧嚣而临时起意的「宅度假（Staycation）」、参与活动或出席派对前的梳妆准备… 短于整整一天的旅店下榻需求日益攀升，相较一般以过夜留宿为默认预订模式的形态；钟点预订模式显然慢慢地占据了市场颇大的份额。

洞悉市场变化，在旅游名胜「东方之珠」香港起家的 Flow 颠覆了旅宿的传统预订形态，联合各大城市的星级或新晋精品旅店，推广钟点订房服务——让下榻旅客依据自身的时数需求，灵活预定下榻和逗留空间，且仍得以继续享受旅店内的众多设施。