General

Opposition leaders have met Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob on ways to work together, and Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has indicated that Pakatan would not complicate the upcoming vote of confidence for Ismail as long as people’s interests are prioritized. Wong Chen, Member of Parliament for Subang helps us understand if a bipartisan approach is realistic and fruitful, and whether in reality, it’s just a show.

Image credit: Prime Minister Office

Anand Stanley, President of the Asia-Pacific arm of the European aviation multinational corporation Airbus, talks about how air travel will change as the world recovers from the pandemic, while also discussing its robust first-half financial performance.

Image credit: Ceri Breeze / Shutterstock.com & Airbus

Andy Davison, Founder and CEO of The Expat Group Media, and approved agent of the MM2H programme ran a survey and found that less than 5% of respondents qualify to stay on in Malaysia under the new requirements that applicants must have a minimum monthly income of RM40,000 compared to RM10,000. He discusses the implications and how he is engaging with the new government on this matter.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com

US Vice President Kamala Harris is the latest Biden administration official to visit Southeast Asia this week, signalling the US’ renewed focus on the Asia-Pacific. She signed a raft of agreements to strengthen collaboration with Singapore, and promised one million Covid-19 vaccine doses to Vietnam. How much weight does US engagement carry in a region shadowed by Beijing? We discuss the geopolitical dynamics with Chong Ja Ian of the National University of Singapore.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com

Vishnu Varathan of Mizuho Bank discusses Jerome Powell’s likely remarks about the Fed’s taper program at the upcoming Jackson Hole symposium this week and what they will mean for financial markets.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com

大马民众普遍偏好购买外国海产，但对本土渔货却知之甚少。马来西亚位处热带，海产丰盛，具有大量品质优良的海鲜。无奈国人对本土海产兴致缺缺，导致新鲜的渔货只能出口海外。为此，「城市渔夫」只售卖本土海产，致力于推动国人对本地海鲜的认识，将新鲜的渔货带进城市。

Pannir Selvam is a Malaysian who's currently serving the death sentence in Singapore after he was found guilty of drug trafficking in 2014. As a talented lyricist, he spends his time in jail reflecting on his fate and the capital punishment by writing songs. The result was Arah Tuju, a song that provides commentary on how devastating the death penalty can be to its recipients, performed by Santesh Kumar. We speak to Santesh, and Angelia Pranthaman, Pannir's sister, and president of NGO, Sebaran Kasih, to find out more about Pannir's story and how music can be a good platform to discuss serious issues.

IMAGE SOURCE: Mopic / SHUTTERSTOCK

By The Way is a rapid-fire segment that gives you a snapshot of developing stories in the music world. This week, somber news for the music industry and fans alike, as two legendary musicians passed away - Rolling Stones’ drummer Charlie Watts and UB40’s saxophonist and songwriter Brian Travers. In other development, Spencer Elden, a man featured on Nirvana’s iconic 1991 album cover ‘Nevermind’ as a toddler is now suing the band, alleging he was "sexually exploited", via the nude picture. Lastly, ex-frontman of Sex Pistols John Lydon has lost a high court battle in trying to stop the band’s music from being used in a new TV drama.

Forget about the old format of song dedications, Song Bar is a unique music service that allows one to order a song dedication to their loved ones over the phone sung by a musician, live! Founder Rui Ong joins us on the show - as she shares about how this unique idea came to be.

IMAGE SOURCE: IMGUR

On this week's show, we have Chong Chooi Yau and Tan Chien Yin, the co-founders of Nom Studio, a tableware and ceramics brand that started over the pandemic. Nom Studio's products come at a time when Malaysians are cooking more and caring more about the aesthetics of food than ever before, and so they've gone from strength to strength with their taste in ceramics and a pretty ingenious direct-to-consumer business model.

IMAGE SOURCE: Nom Studio