General

Has the smoking ban in eateries been sufficiently enforced during the pandemic? Should we take the pandemic as an opportunity to ban smoking in all public places? Are we seeing more or fewer smokers during the pandemic? These are some of the questions that have been raised over the past year, and part of what we discuss on the show, in conjunction with World No Tobacco Day (31 May). Joining us on the show to discuss how we can continue pushing for anti-tobacco efforts are Dr Muhamad Hairul Nizam, senior principal assistant director at the Tobacco Control Unit at the Ministry of Health and Dr Roslina Abdul Manap, consultant respiratory physician at Hospital Canselor Tuanku Muhriz.

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With the aim of improving the livelihoods of vulnerable communities - through education and the provision of basic needs - Yayasan Generasi Gemilang (GG) has also launched the KidzREAD Network, which is a platform that wants to bring together like-minded individuals, people groups and organisations to work towards improving English literacy for children in these communities. We find out more from Caryn Ng, who is the Head of Education Service, at Yayasan Generasi Gemilang.

Image source: Generasi Gemilang

A few days ago, Home Minister Hamzah Zainuddin announced that the immigration department will be conducting operations to detain undocumented migrants during the two-week lockdown. This appears to contradict a statement made a few months ago by the Minister of Science and Technology, Khairy Jamaluddin, who’s running the National COVID-19 Immunization Programme, who previously said that we need to encourage everyone to get vaccinated including undocumented migrants and that they will not be arrested.

The Home Minister’s decision to hunt down undocumented migrants has received pushback from various quarters, including Human Rights NGOs as well as the APPGM (The All-Party Parliament Group Malaysia), which consists of MPs from both opposition and government. 

Joining us on the show today to discuss the issue, is YB Nurul Izzah Anwar, MP from Permatang Pauh and a member of the APPGM.

Image source: Nurul Izzah Anwar Facebook 

One of COVID-19’s most well-known symptoms that often lasts even after recovery is a loss of the sense of smell. A French oncologist, Fabrice Denis, and Lille-based start-up Kelindi, have teamed up to create a “smelling training” app so former COVID-19 patients and other smell disorder patients could potentially be able to stop and smell the roses again.

When will Malaysia reach herd immunity? According to the government and based on the current rollout rate, December is a likely target. Of course, the speed of the rollout could increase over time, but at the moment, it looks like we could enter 2022 as an “immune nation”.

June 5th is World Environment Day, the United Nations day for encouraging global awareness of and action to protect the environment. This year's theme is “Ecosystem Restoration” and the day will see the launch of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. What small things can we do to help raise awareness?

Matt Armitage with another of his quirky yet insightful technology topics.

In line with World Environment Day, we’re speaking to Sustainable Superheroes: causes or companies dedicated to upholding and promoting sustainable practices. In this episode, we speak to Seah Kian Hoe, CEO and Founder of Heng Hiap Industries about upcycling plastic, and how they became the first company in the world to be certified with the Ocean Bound Plastic (OBP) certification.

Brought to you by Volvo Cars; Redefining freedom to move in a personal, sustainable, and safe way.

Malaysia’s land surface was once almost entirely covered with forest but today, forests only cover about 54% of the total land area. And as our towns and cities continue to expand and concerns regarding the conservation and restoration of our forests intersect with each other, how do we balance between developing more urban spaces and restoring the forests we’ve lost? For a World Environment Day special, we’ll be exploring these issues with Dzaeman Dzulkifli of the Tropical Rainforest Conservation Research Centre.

This World Environment Day special was brought to you by Volvo Cars; Redefining freedom to move in a personal, sustainable, and safe way.

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As communities place more emphasis on preserving our environment, environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investments have become increasingly mainstream. Since demand has been strong, despite the Covid-19 pandemic, we speak to Alexander Chia, Regional Head of Research from RHB Investment Bank for more insight.