General

It's said that women have borne much of the brunt of the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to UN Women, one in three women experienced physical or sexual violence, mostly by an intimate partner in prepandemic times. During the pandemic, there has been a dramatic increase of violence against women and girls, particularly of domestic violence, as lockdown measures also saw women with violent partners increasingly isolated from people and resources that could help them. The post-pandemic economic impact has further limited women’s opportunities to escape violent situations. This “Shadow Pandemic”, as defined by UN Women is growing, and here in Malaysia, the Women's Aid Organisation is one of the many CSO's helping women experiencing domestic violence. We catch up with Sumitra Visvanathan, the Executive Director of WAO, to discuss this and also why we must prioritize the eradication of gender-based violence, even in times of austerity.

If you or anyone you know are experiencing domestic violence, call the 24-hour WAO hotline at 03-3000 8858 or SMS/WhatsApp 018-988 8058.

Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings is crushing box office records worldwide, calling Disney’s previous dual-platform release strategy into question. But will the titular Asian character be enough to reinvigorate Malaysian cinemas when they reopen very soon? The numbers seem hopeful, but consumer behavior is still a key deciding factor.

Image Credit: Disney | movies.disney.my

Cinemas nationwide have been given approval to resume operations. However, major chains like TGV and GSC are holding off for now, citing SOP clarity and insufficient time given to reopen their doors to the public. With Covid-19 cases still soaring and shifting customer sentiments, how are cinemas hoping to recoup their losses in the coming months?

Image Credit: NAUFAL ZAQUAN | Shutterstock

Satellite smartphones, radiation detecting snakes, contraceptive vaccines and accent morphing AI are just some of the stories in this week’s Weird Science selection.

Finology started in 2017 by absorbing and reinventing Loanstreet. A year after, they activated instant home loan approvals for the real estate industry through Loanplus and in 2019, they became the first in Malaysia to allow for online renewals of motorcycle insurance and road tax. Fresh off their win at the Seedstars World Competition, we speak with co-founders Robin Ang and Jared Lim about their next move.

Image Credit: finology | finology.com.my

We speak to Jaime Chew, Property Consultant and MM2H Agent on how the recent changes in the MM2H programme will affect the property market.

Image credit: Max Ku / Shutterstock.com

BNM has left interest rates unchanged in its seventh-straight meeting, but with the economy faltering thanks to the Delta variant, is there a case for dropping them yet further?

Abdul Mui’zz Morhalim, Economist at MIDF Research, discusses.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com

The MySejahtera app has been improved in terms of user experience with a check-out feature. How else can the app be used and upgraded to improve our pandemic response? Dr. Kelvin Yii, the Member of Parliament of Bandar Kuching weighs in on the conversation including why cases have been rising rapidly in Sarawak despite high vaccination rate.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com

The toll of the Covid-19 pandemic extends far beyond the physical disease; it's impacts include the mental health dimension. According to official statistics, on average three people died by suicide per day from January to May of this year. On World Suicide Prevention Day, we discuss why it's imperative for Malaysia to decriminalize suicide and the policy recommendations to strengthen the mental healthcare system with Nurul Izzah Anwar, Permatang Pauh MP.

If you are in need of mental health support, contact the Befrienders at 03-7627 2929 or [email protected].

At the recent Global Education Conference and Postgraduate Colloquium hosted by UNIRAZAK, Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Aziz the finance minister said that the government has to consider unorthodox economic solutions to respond to extraordinary situations like the pandemic. We deep dive with Professor Geoffrey Williams at Malaysia University of Science and Technology on possible unorthodox prescriptions for Malaysia in the longer-term.

Image credit: Abdul Razak Latif / Shutterstock.com