General

What do you remember the most about schools? For many Malaysians, it was memorising textbooks days before exams, getting punished for not finishing homework and squeezing in tuition classes after long school hours.

Our education system is far from perfect, with severely exhausted teachers and stressed out students remaining as constant fixtures.

In the final episode of Big Brain Energy, CEO of Teach For Malaysia, Chan Soon Seng, sheds light on the flaws in the system and shares how change is within reach. Watch the full discussion and find out from the Merdeka Award Trust Secretariat on how you can apply for a fully sponsored 3-month attachment at a renowned international institution, thanks to the Merdeka Award Trust.

Presented in collaboration with the Merdeka Award Trust. Click here to learn more about their ongoing International Attachment programme!

A teacher was accused of encouraging a Form Three student at a school in KL to embrace Islam, claiming that it would boost his chances of becoming a national footballer. We discuss the line between personal beliefs and respecting others.

我国2022年GDP录得8.7%增长，尽管增幅优于市场预期，国行也强调大马今年不会进入经济衰退，但基于当前全球经济前景不甚乐观，经济学家仍下调我国今年经济增长预测至最低3.7%。除了全球经济放缓、地缘政治风险升高、外围风险增加，我国经济前景还将遭遇哪些逆风？

近日，纽西兰遭受到带有气旋嘉布瑞尔（Gabrielle）的袭击，导致洪灾和模6.3地震以及4.0级余震，形势十分严峻。目前，纽西兰政府已经宣布进入「国家紧急状态」。这场灾难已经造成了5人死亡，100人失踪，多达1万500人流离失所。

而纽西兰的风灾和最近发生的各个灾难再次提醒着我们，全球暖化的问题已经变得迫在眉睫。为了应对全球暖化，我们每个人都应该从自身做起，采取环保行动。

It’s no secret that Malaysians love food, and maybe we also love the salt in our food, a little too much. But just how much salt are we consuming, and if we’re over the limit, how do we cut down on salt without compromising on taste? And is it really so bad to have that little bit more salt in our food? Prof Datin Dr Chia Yook Chin, founder and president of the Malaysian Society for World Action on Salt, Sugar and Health joins consultant urologist Dr George Lee to share some tips and why it is important for us to watch what we eat.

Image credit: Shutterstock

Miko Peled grew up in a prominent Zionist family who helped establish the State of Israel. His grandfather signed Israel’s Declaration of Independence. Miko even served in the Israeli military for a short period of time. However, a personal tragedy drove Miko to explore the truth about Palestine. What he discovered shocked him and woke him up. Today, Miko is a prominent human rights activist fighting for peace and justice for Palestine. In 2012, Miko wrote a book called ‘The General’s Son: Journey of an Israeli in Palestine.’ Miko also has a podcast where he talks about fighting for justice for Palestine. 

Described as a lecture which turns into a workshop which turns into a performance, Touch Me Hold Me Let Me Go will be led by Lee Su-Feh, a performance maker, educator and writer who has spent the last 40 years exploring the human body as a site of intersecting habits and histories. This gathering invites the audience to listen, experience and participate with their bodies and voices, with Su-Feh sharing her Touch Me Hold Me Let Me Go algorithm, and ways to use it. We speak to Su-Feh and also dance artist Lee Ren Xin, who is producing Su-Feh's workshop and lecture performance, to find out more. 

Image credit: Five Arts Centre Malaysia

In A Notional History, a performer, a journalist, and an activist pore through school textbooks, inherited memories, and video interviews of exiled revolutionaries – uncovering erasures, exclusions and questions around the Malayan Emergency. Part of a series of works known as the Emergency Projects which examines that era in our history, the performers investigate and speculate on the possible histories for a different Malaysia, intersecting the personal, the national, and the notional. We discuss the documentary performance with documentary filmmaker and performer Rahmah Pauzi, and A Notional History's director Mark Teh of Five Arts Centre Malaysia, to discuss how the team are relooking into our history in imaginative and speculative ways. 

Image Credit: George Town Festival

Academias have always been split about using tech innovations in the classroom - we all remember the debate years ago about using laptops or smartphones during lessons. But technology is always evolving, and now with ChatGPT in place, should academias adapt or resist? And how can they combat plagiarism among students who love the technology?

We speak to Professor Chengyi Lin, Affiliate Professor of Strategy at INSEAD to learn more.

Photo Credit: Shuttershock | Iryna Imago

Bingbots, algo-cheating, taped-up batteries, aliens and Neanderthals are just some of the topics Mattsplained is weirding out with today

Photo Credit: Kulturpop | MidJourney