General

It was reported earlier this year that fighting the COVID-19 pandemic has brought our global debt total to an all-time high of $281 trillion at the end of 2020. We've seen these types of reports in the past, which always leaves many of us scratching our heads. How can our whole world be in debt? Who are we in debt to? Martians? A top secret bank run by Goblins?

On this episode of Today I Learned, Economist Geoffrey Williams joins us to break it all down.

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If you were asked to picture a museum, what comes to mind? Many of us might think of beautiful buildings housing important artefacts and items from a particular culture or point in time, but what makes a museum, especially when the term seems to be used more liberally these days? In conjunction with International Museum Day, which is celebrated on the 18th of May every year, we speak to Simon Soon, a senior lecturer in art history from Universiti Malaya and Lee Yuen Thien, manager of the Baba & Nyonya Heritage Museum in Melaka, to get their perspectives on the role of museums in society, how museums in Malaysia have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, and what the future holds for museums.

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Eligible 18-20 year old Malaysians can claim RM150 in e-wallet credit from the 1st of June to the 22nd of July 2021. This is part of the government’s eBelia programme announced in Budget 2021, aimed at promoting cashless spending and financially supporting Malaysian youth.

As Netflix drives more subscriptions and Disney widens its global reach, other streaming services and content providers are gearing up to ensure their survival in the ongoing streaming wars. In a bold move, AT & T has decided to spinoff Warner Media for a merger with Discovery to form a stronger player to compete against Netflix and Disney+.

While Malaysia is fast becoming a developed nation, it will also become an ageing nation by 2030, with more than 14% of the population being senior citizens. So what needs to be done to prepare the nation for an ageing population? Where and how will we live? What about access to healthcare and public transport? And what do we need to do to bridge the gap between the haves and have-nots?

After spending more than 12 months in various stages of lockdown, the nation finds itself under another Movement Control Order. What can SMEs do to better manage their business this time ‘round? We speak to Dennis Martin, Group CEO of CTOS Digital about what SMEs should be prioritising under MCO3.0, and the three main factors that will determine if businesses thrive or survive in the coming year.

Science and mathematics have always had a love-hate relationship with kids in school, and recent studies have shown that the interest in these subjects is declining with every generation. Ai Tech House, in collaboration with Soro Touch in Japan, plans to change the approach to maths by gamifying the way kids learn. We speak to founder and Malaysian “human calculator” West Wong about constructing a system in tandem with the school syllabus, navigating the pandemic and the need more uninterrupted education, as well as using Artificial Intelligence to customize the way children learn.

As MDEC celebrates its 25th anniversary, does this government agency still have relevance in helping Malaysia achieve its lofty goal of being a digital economy? Surina Shukri, the CEO answers that question and also addresses a news report that she will be replaced.

Mass testing in Selangor state is underway, to identify potential asymptomatic carriers of the Covid-19 virus. This is as the state has consistently recorded the highest number of new daily cases in the country. We check in with Dr Farhan Rusli, Public Health Medicine Specialist and Director of Selangor Task Force (COVID-19) Operations to understand the reason for the mass screenings, and to get to the bottom of reports of heavily congested assessment centres in the state.

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Israel carried out dozens of airstrikes on the Gaza strip yesterday after Palestinian forces fired rockets into southern Israel. The UN has called the escalating conflict a burgeoning humanitarian crisis, but it's one that has been brewing for decades. To help us understand the history and the potential avenues of resolution to this conflict, we reach out to Dr. Liyana Kayali, Lecturer for the Centre for Arab and Islamic Studies at Australian National University.

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