General

In the paper, Economic Cost of Youth Suicide Malaysia, Relate Malaysia found that, for every youth suicide in 2019, the Malaysian economy lost RM676,165. Dr Chua Sook Ning – clinical psychologist and founder of Relate Malaysia – said the shocking figures should serve as a wake-up call to the Malaysian Government to invest more in youth mental health, including effective suicide prevention strategies. On this episode of Live & Learn, we dissect this study with Dr Chua Sook Ning, and discuss what the country should do moving forward. 

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It’s been more than a year since the government has suspended the entry of new foreign domestic helpers into Malaysia due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With no indication as to when this policy will change, thousands of families have been affected as many are left without an extra pair of hands to care for young children, or the elderly. We speak with Puan Zarina Ismail, President of PUSMA, the National Association of Human Resources Malaysia, to understand what her organisation is doing to change the government’s mind.

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Is a Trump-branded social network a viable concept? Will it be censored, self-regulated and allow anonymous signups? How would the former US President fund the social media company, if advertisers adopt a “watch and see approach”? We discuss.

Donald Trump is reportedly looking to start his own social network in the next two to three months, after being booted from Twitter and suspended from YouTube and Facebook for spewing misinformation and, arguably, inciting a riot at the Capitol earlier this year. 

Twitter released a survey this month to seek public input on the enforcement actions on world leaders who break the platform’s posting rules and community guidelines; but where does the responsibility really lie, and at what point should social media cut off rule-breaking world leaders?

Like most businesses during this pandemic, Direct Selling in Malaysia was quick to pivot online - allowing the industry to hit a new revenue-high in 2020 despite being on lockdown for most of the year. We speak to Datuk Tan Chong Guan, President of the Direct Selling Association of Malaysia (DSAM) about reinventing the industry for survival, how it will evolve around the pandemic this year, and the various challenges and opportunities that’s expected to arise in 2021.

Would you pay RM35 for a box of eggs? What if the eggs were slow-cooked to perfection and served with Dashi and spring onions? That’s Adrian Lau’s proposition, and apparently it’s getting him 40 - 50 orders per week. We speak to Adrian about his onsen egg business, creating a single-texture yolk, and using word of mouth as a viable marketing tactic.

Interest rate cuts and stagnant economies have not spelt out a great 2020 for the banking sector. However, with vaccine rollouts in progress and the first green shoots of recovery appearing, is the banking sector cycling into the spotlight? What are some banking stocks to watch? For insight, we speak to Thilan Wickramasinghe, Head of Research and Head of Regional Financials, Maybank Kim Eng Singapore.

Software giant Adobe has seen its stock rise almost 5 fold over the last 5 years as it has successfully turned away from software as-a-product, to Software as a Service. That said, despite Asia's population size, revenue from the region only represented 16% of 2020 revenue of $12.8 billion. Is this because Adobe hasn’t focused enough on the region or is the Asian market unwilling to pay Adobe’s hefty margins?

During his two-day visit to Sabah, Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin outlined several measures to help the state close its socio-economic gap. But will these measures, and a new development plan announced by the state government, truly address the needs of Sabahans and bolster its ailing economy? We speak to Dr. Firdausi Suffian, Senior Lecturer in Public Policy at UiTM Sabah, to find out.