General

We're still staying home to stay healthy and safe, and the folks behind the FreedomFilmFest are still releasing a specially curated Freedom film playlist every weekend - dubbed ‘Weekend Watch with FreedomFilmFest' - on their YouTube channel. This so that we can all revisit the many thought-provoking films that have been released throughout the years through this amazing human rights film festival. Today, we revisit the film titled: “No Silver Lining: The Perak Crisis” which looks back at the events of the 2009 Perak constitutional crisis, when the Pakatan Rakyat-led Perak government collapsed after the defection of three assembly persons. Joining us to discuss this are the film's directors, Seira Sacha Abu Bakar and Sherrie Razak Dali.

Image source: Freedom Film Network

Instead of relying only on the domestic market, Penang-based durian sellers have taken to social media to sell their wares to customers in other states.

Image Credit: Tom Fisk | Pexels

Local businesses have been urged to take advantage of grants such as GKP 4.0 in order to help them survive the ongoing National Recovery Plan restrictions. Similarly, SMEs have been asked to take advantage of the RCEP deal, which could drive awareness towards their business and services.

Image Credit: Pixabay | Pexels

Malaysian-based property rental platform, SPEEDHOME, has raised RM7 million in a Series A funding exercise with the fund to be capitalised on the platform’s regional expansion and tech advancements.

Image Credit: SPEEDHOME | speedhome.com

Imagine an advertising technology platform powered by the crowd for the crowd with hopes to provide brands with the best reach possible. MyBump Media aims to decentralize advertising and provide advertising-income opportunities to everyone! To find out more on their game plan and how they hope to expand, we speak to Dhanish Athif and Nadia Jalil, Co-Founders of MyBump Media.

Image Credit: MyBump Media | mybump.my

How does corruption work in the construction sector? And how does it trickle down to affect the price you pay for your house or office building? IDEAS and CBI looked into this issue with their study “Corruption in the Supply Chain: Forms and Impacts on Consumers”. The study looked at corruption in construction, healthcare, and education that took place here and its impact on the price of goods, including property. Tricia Yeoh and Mark Chay take to Sim about the issue.

For more on the study, you can check it out here.

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We speak to Dr. Sanjay Rampal about the most recent guidelines set by the Ministry of Human Resources on ventilation and air quality during the Covid pandemic. We also get Dr. Sanjay's perspective on the recent Klang Valley Taskforce and the recent spike in Covid cases.

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Amid changing SOPs, various types of movement restrictions, and opaque announcements, international chambers of commerce have been petitioning both the Federal and State governments to express their concern over the Covid-19 response. They have warned that businesses are rethinking their investment decisions here in Malaysia, as cases remain high and confidence erodes. So we reached out to Marco Winter, Executive Director of MDBC Malaysian Dutch Business Council, to understand better the concerns being brought forward by the international business community.

Image Credit: AkuAlip | Shutterstock.com

Alvin Chua, President of the Federation of Malaysian Freight Forwarders discusses the challenges faced in light of skyrocketing global shipping costs and Covid-19 movement restrictions, and how Malaysia can improve its logistics performance including improving customs clearance and tackling corruption. On the World Bank’s Logistics Performance Index, Malaysia’s ranking has slipped since 2016, from 32 to 41 in 2018. In this region, Singapore is amongst the top 10 while in 2018, Thailand and Vietnam have outranked Malaysia.

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Prof Datuk Dr. Denison Jayasooria, Co-Chair of the Malaysian CSO SDG Alliance discusses where Malaysia is strong and lacking in meeting the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, and the consequences of not meeting its commitments.

For Malaysia's Voluntary National Review (VNR) 2021, click here.

Image credit: United Nations