General

Recently, social media has been abuzz with the launch of a social enterprise programme by Better Malaysia Foundation (formerly known as Vincent Tan Foundation), which seeks to help the government address the affordable housing issue for B40 families. Its recommendations include to have 100% financing for B40 home buyers with two-generation home loans, and for the government to guarantee the repayment of housing loans. This has generated a lot of heated debate online. We first hear about the programme by Better Malaysia Foundation, to get a better understanding. Then, we discuss the key struggles faced by B40 households when it comes to housing. Finally, we take a closer look at the loan structure and whether it will be practical for families.

Image Source: Tom Nora, Unsplash

Tech giant Baidu is introducing a driverless taxi service in China, called "Robotaxis", to operate during the 2022 winter olympics. Dhanya tells us more.

Image Source: Jerry Wang, Unsplash

All the doses of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine were booked in less than 4 hours yesterday following the government's decision to supply it on a first-come, first-served basis in KL and Selangor. We look at the impact this move will have on our National Immunisation Programme.

Image Source: Hakan Nural, Unsplash

Family doctors get a unique glimpse into the lives of families in our community. This means that they get to observe the hidden challenges and needs of adolescents when it comes to sexual and reproductive health issues, which are still largely taboo in our society. Family Medicine Specialist Dr Anuradha Thiagarajan dives into the adolescent sexual health issues that are prevalent in our society, and the role of family physicians in talking to children and young people about sexual health.

Image source: Shutterstock

The always popular Bukit Kiara is one of the few large green open spaces found right here in Kuala Lumpur. A much needed space for so many urbanites, sadly this green lung is also under threat from development, sitting on prime land, as it were. The NGO Friends of Bukit Kiara (FoBK) has long been championing the protection and preservation of this area, and we find out more about their hard work to do this, and also their future vision for this area, from Ir Dr Kribanandan Naidu, the President of Friends of Bukit Kiara (FoBK).

Image source: Friends Of Bukit Kiara's Facebook 

It’s World Press Freedom Day today. According to the UN, World Press Freedom Day is observed as a reminder to governments of the need to respect their commitment to press freedom and is also a day of reflection among media professionals about issues of press freedom and professional ethics.

So, in light of that, our guest on this episode is a journalist from Myanmar who goes by the name Cape Diamond. As we know, in February, Myanmar’s military kicked out the governing pro-democracy party, NLD. Since the takeover, citizens of Myanmar have been endlessly protesting the Military Junta and in return, the military has been responding with violence and without mercy.

Image source: Shutterstock

Journalists have always had to fight for their freedom, regardless of which country they're reporting from or about. But these days, social media platforms have become a viable way of spreading information, and some news organizations have gone completely online to maintain a sense of openness and flexibility in their reporting. Is social media the next great platform to safeguard press freedom? Or does it come with even more problems than its more traditional predecessors? 

Being engaged in the workplace is about employees being committed and connected to their organisation. What does it take to achieve this? What is the role of the employer and the employee in all this? More importantly, what can we do as individuals to ensure that we remain engaged, for our own sake more than anything else? Eva Christodoulou, Head of Solutions and Services at Leaderonomics, explains.

At the heart of an organization is the conversations we have with each other. Conversations can either build our businesses up or tear down a lot of the hard work we have put in. Ultimately what managers or leaders want or hope to achieve with their conversations is high performance. We discuss creating high performance through specific types of conversations by sharing the 7 Powerful Coaching Conversations that any executive or leader can use immediately to create amazing performance.

Wee Eng Kong, Managing Director of the construction services firm Tuju Setia, is Bursa Malaysia's first main market listing in 2021, set to go public on May 19.

Amongst others, he discusses Tuju's business, outlook, tender book and customers while fielding questions on its IPO timing, corporate governance, valuations, safety measures and cost structure.

Image Credit: Tuju Setia