General

Audrey Raj speaks to Kamarul A Muhamed, Founder & CEO of Aerodyne Group, about what winning the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2020 Malaysia award means to him, what changes occurred as a result, and his advice for entrepreneurs who aim to participate in the awards programme this year.

To nominate an unstoppable entrepreneur, head over to ey.com/my/eoy. Nominations close on 16 July 2021.

Sri Murniati, Senior Manager with the Public Finance unit at IDEAS - The Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs, discusses the gargantuan public cost from a country that continues to suffer from endemic corruption.

Image Credit: Shutterstock.com

With borders still closed and travel severely curtailed, can Air Asia still survive? Tan Sri Tony Fernandes, CEO and Co-Founder of AirAsia tells us his plans to keep the airline flying while telling us the future of travel in the post covid world whilst talking about his other pillars within the group and its monetisation efforts.

Image credit: Soraphak RUSHAKITTI / Shutterstock

The construction sector is under scrutiny as causing workplace clusters of Covid-19 infections, with the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) revealing that a third of operational sites are flouting SOPs. We discuss the reasons behind this and what’s being done to address violations, as well as the state of the construction sector overall and the forms of support needed CIDB chief Dato’ Ahmad Asri Abdul Hamid.

Image Credit: Shutterstock.com

With the recent restrictions imposed by the Chinese Government, cryptocurrencies especially Bitcoin have taken a beating, returning all their year-to-date gains. Varun Mittal, Global Emerging Markets FinTech Leader at EY tells us if this has long-term repercussions and will there be other regulatory or compliance risks that we should watch out for.

Image Credit: Shutterstock.com

Jack Kouzi, Director for Strategy, VFS Group, discusses Microsoft’s hitting the $2 trillion mark in its market cap and fields questions on ASEAN’s own big-cap tech: Grab, soon to make its public debut.

With our eyes set on unearthing the freshest flavours from unexpected places, we widen our scope with hand-picked musical gems from all across Asia.

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Jin Kirigaya -波
Babychair - Oh It’s You
Rrefal - Camomile Dream (feat. Inis)
Reality Club - Oh, Bella
Lucy Park - True To You
Crinkle Cut - Fascination
Nathanie - Who Do I Call
Alex Porat - Girlfriend
CHAI - IN PINK (feat. Mndsgn)
Peggy Gou - Nabi (feat. OHHYUK)
Yuna - Stay Where You Are (Seb Wildblood Remix)
Maruxa, Reckless Escapades - My Name
jaake, F.Rider, Bastard & Ichu - Dive 
Ron Mvtthew - DIZZY_ (feat. Dacey)
ForceParkBois - BLESS THE FORCE (feat. HuNtEr)

In our sixth episode of the series, we check in with 24-year-old Malaysian Artistic Gymnast Jeremiah Loo Phay Xing. Due to an unexpected turn of events, 2017 SEA Games gold medalist is on the brink of making Tokyo Olympics this coming July, and if he qualifies - it will be the first time for Malaysia to send off two artistic gymnasts representatives. He shares his experience juggling between being a student and an athlete, aspirations for the sport in Malaysia, and his plans for his return after rehabilitation.

IMAGE SOURCE: Junior Gymnastics Centre Penang

Pearl S. Buck was many things: daughter of missionary parents; a white woman writing primarily about the people and struggles of her adopted home, China; Nobel and Pulitzer prize winner; humanitarian. In this Bibliography episode, we dive into her life, work and legacy.

An enchanted tale of a girl trying to find her way through a world of spirits, dragons and folklore, Spirited Away is one of the great Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli's most well-known films - and it's celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. We look back at Spirited Away, and all its hand-drawn, dreamy glory.