General

An audio recording of a conversation allegedly between UMNO president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was leaked last week to Facebook. We speak to honorary research associate Dr Bridget Welsh about whether leaked recordings like this bear a significant impact to the politicians involved. Next, we dive into some infamous leaked tapes of the past with senior fellow of the Singapore Institute of International Affairs, Dr. Oh Ei Sun. Lastly, columnist and strategic communications consultant Nathaniel Tan shares his insight on how journalists should report on these headlines.

Image Source: YuriAbas and zmpixes, Shutterstock

The Chinese government has asked the country’s websites and mobile apps to redesign their pages so that they are easier to use for all age groups. Shawn Tanis tells us more.

Image Source: Marcus Aurelius, Pexels

Several areas in KL were impacted by heavy rain and flash floods yesterday, affecting Ramadan bazaars and causing traffic congestion. We speak with water engineer Dato’ Paduka Ir. Hj Keizrul Abdullah to find out the causes of flash floods in the city, and talk about what else needs to be done to better mitigate the problem.

Image Source: Jonathan Ford, Unsplash

RM30.6 billion – that’s the amount that the Malaysian government collected from excise taxes on cigarettes, tobacco products and alcohol, from 2012 to 2017.  Compare that to the ever-increasing cost of treating non-communicable diseases like cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases, which is placing enormous pressure on public funds, as well as individuals’ private savings. With concerns that the COVID-19 pandemic will divert already scarce resources from preventive health programmes, we explore whether Malaysia should earmark the billions of ringgit collected from alcohol and tobacco taxes annually to fund public health.

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9 months—that’s how long it took for lawyer Sitpah Selvaratnam and her team of legal experts to arrest Equanimity, the world’s most wanted superyacht that was bought by Malaysian tycoon Jho Low. Sitpah tells us her gripping experience in achieving the monumental task, against the backdrop of the 1MDB corruption scandal.

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An article previously published on the Ministry of Health’s MyHealth portal has been receiving tremendous criticisms on social media over the past couple of days, for its misogynistic take on why sexual harassment occurs. We break down the content of the article and speak to a women’s rights activist on the myths surrounding sexual harassment.

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Singaporean commerce platform Pine Labs has acquired local startup Fave for over US$45 million, and the two companies hope for joint global expansion, starting primarily in India.

Grab has entered into a merger with Altimeter Growth Corp, securing a valuation of nearly US$40 billion and getting one step closer to the U.S. listing it’s been aiming towards for a long time.

While some states have decided to not allow Ramadan bazaars yet again this year, others like Kuala Lumpur have given the greenlight to 65 bazaars to operate. As news of a ‘fourth wave’ looms, some are calling this decision risky and dangerous, while others sympathize with microbusiness owners who cannot endure two brutal years in a row. Is there really a right decision in this scenario?

As we dive into the world of technology, many companies are led to diversify their systems to adapt in today’s world. We speak to Sylvia Koh, SVP of Thunes, who has recently been awarded The Top 25 Women Leaders in Financial Technology of Asia for 2020 on the challenges of cross border payments, the series B funding and also how women can be more involved in FinTech.