General

A survey by Penang Institute found that Penang is a pretty happy place - with three-quarters of 3,011 residents surveyed identifying as "happy". We first dive into the survey findings and what they mean for policymaking. Then, we find out how much of our happiness and satisfaction are driven by our environment.

Image Source: Szilvia Basso, Unsplash

Nur Sajat, the transgender cosmetics entrepreneur who was granted asylum in Australia after leaving Malaysia, has spoken up about her experience to the BBC and announced that she’ll be going on The Ellen Degeneres Show next January. We talk about this story, as well as how other notable whistleblowers have used international platforms to talk about difficult issues relating to their countries.

Image Source: Lightspring, Shutterstock

Today's highlight of the Dewan Rakyat include discussions on the status of the hawk fighter jets and safety measures surrounding it, the costs of the 5G implementation, inclusivity of the Keluarga Malaysia plan, and also the tabling of Undi18.

Image Source: Kelvin Yii's Official Twitter Account

In the US, a baby boy born at 21 weeks and a day, weighing just 420g is the world’s most premature baby to survive, after celebrating his first birthday in July this year. Closer to home, in Singapore, a baby girl weighing just 212g when she was born is believed to be the world’s smallest at birth, and was discharged in August after spending 13 months in the hospital. In conjunction with World Prematurity Day (17th November), senior consultant neonatologist Prof Dr Cheah Fook Choe joins us to discuss how far we’ve come to help the smallest babies defy all odds to survive and thrive.

Image credit: Shutterstock

While many experts predicted that Harapan would lose in the Melaka state elections, most expected it to be a close battle. However, the end result read, Barisan Nasional 21, Perikatan Nasional 2, Pakatan Harapan 5 (out of which, DAP won 4, Amanah 1 and PKR 0). Many also predicted that DAP would retain their 8 seats or at least most of it. But they did not. So, what went wrong? Howard Lee joins us to share his thoughts. 

Image Credit: howardlee.my & Wikimedia Commons

The book Girls Who Dared to Dream, features heroic tales from girls around the world, who didn’t give up on their dreams, even when everything seemed against them. “Girls who Dared to Dream” is part of international humanitarian organisation World Vision's 1,000 Girls campaign, which aims to empower 1,000 girls to live free of fear and achieve their dreams. The book features stories of 10 girls who dreamed big, thought differently, and who were changemakers in their own big and small ways. We speak to two of the girls featured in the book, firstly Addyson from the US, who successfully raised more than 130 thousand US dollars to install clean water pumps in Kenya, and also Akhi from Bangladesh, who started her own sewing business and became a community hero during the pandemic. 

Also joining us to help translate for Akhi is George Sarkar (Manager of Donor Relations in World Vision Bangladesh).

Image credit: Girls Who Dared to Dream book.

According to experts in the field, the allocation for higher education in the country under Budget 2022 won’t be enough to help the sector recover from the effects of the pandemic. With many institutions feeling the financial burden of shifting to online learning, the government will have to channel more aid to an industry that was previously a major contributor to the national economy.

Image Credit: New Straits Times

Renewable energy has been prioritised in developed nations for decades, following years of increasingly indisputable evidence of greenhouse gas emissions and the adverse impact they have towards the environment. As future generations start to panic about how our world is changing, developing nations have only recently started to acknowledge alternative options, like solar power, when it comes to energy sources.

Locally, youth entrepreneur Joshep Lee, is furthering the national solar energy conversation by rallying investors to partake in Malaysia’s first ever solar fund.

Located in the heart of Chinatown, REXKL is an indoor art, retail and food hub. It occupies a historical building constructed before the Japanese occupation that survived three fires. Privileging the reclaimed and repurposed, architects Shin Tseng and Shin Chang give Rex Cinema a new lease of life as a community hub for events, theatre, performances, screenings, facilities, exhibitions and workshops.

Image Credit: Augustman

A recent nation-wide survey conducted by Luno Malaysia aimed at understanding the financial management habits of everyday Malaysians found that more than half of Malaysians say the most important purpose of having money is to safeguard their family’s long-term well-being, meanwhile nearly a third of them were more inclined to seek financial advice from family members or peers compared to more professional sources. So how exactly do Malaysians view wealth? We find out on this episode of Ringgit and Sense. Image credit: Shutterstock