Live & Learn

With the healthcare industry evolving at a rapid pace, Sunway University’s Sir Jeffrey Cheah Sunway Medical School is aiming to create future-ready doctors equipped with the skills and knowledge to excel in modern medicine. From addressing physician shortages to integrating technology and sustainability into medical education, we explore how this program aims to shape the future of healthcare in Malaysia with Professor Sibrandes Poppema, the President of Sunway University, and Professor Dr Raja Affendi, the Dean of the School of Medical and Life Sciences at Sunway University.

What are the key reforms needed to take our education system into the future? In this forum, we gathered policymakers, education experts, and industry leaders to deliberate on curriculum innovation, the integration of technology, strengthening STEM education, and enhancing access to early childhood and vocational training. How can we achieve the country's goal to align Malaysia's education system with global standards, and prepare future generations for the demands of the 21st century, in line with the Malaysia MADANI vision? Our guests, Yang Berusaha Tuan Zainal Abas, Deputy Director General of Education Malaysia (School Operations Sector), Ministry of Education Malaysia and Datin Haryati Binti Mohamed Razali, Deputy Director, Educational Planning and Research, Ministry of Education Malaysia join BFM’s Sharaad Kuttan to outline the priority areas in education transformation, as identified by the Ministry of Education, Malaysia.

We speak to Professor Sibrandes Poppema, the President of Sunway University, to discuss a pivotal year for the university as it hosts its third major academic gathering of 2024, the AppliedHE Xchange - Recognising Excellence, Diversity and Impact. This event follows the Planetary Health Summit, and Times Higher Education Asia Universities Summit, reinforcing Malaysia's prominence on the global education map. Together, we'll explore how hosting such high-profile summits helps advance Malaysia’s standing as an education hub, the impact of global and regional rankings on Sunway’s strategy, and its commitment to lifelong learning and diversity in higher education. Professor Poppema will also share insights into what sets the AppliedHE Xchange apart and how it aims to foster inclusivity, collaboration, and innovation across Southeast Asia’s higher education landscape.

Aishah Zainal is a 27-year-old author from Ipoh. Her novel Hades, which is set in a world of low-cost flats and centers around the relationship between a troubled teen and a single mother, was longlisted for the Dublin Literary Award 2024. We speak to her about her novel and her journey.

Image Credit: Dublin Literary Award

Singaporean comedian Sharul Channa’s latest performance in Malaysia would’ve been on 18th May, but it was unfortunately cancelled after her work visa was cancelled by the Ministry of Communications just two days before the event. This comes after several police reports were made of a clip of a show from 2018, which allegedly touched on 3R - race, religion, and royalty - issues. This incident has raised much concern among the local arts and comedy scene because of the precedent it could set and the implications it could have for local and foreign artists. Joining me on the show today to delve into that as well as what procedures should be in place to deal with situations like this, is Arief Hamizan, committee member of ReformARTsi.

Image credit: Shutterstock

Malaysian-born Paris-based Angeline Teh is a journalism graduate, and (full disclosure!) a former radio producer and presenter from BFM89.9. From her years producing for radio, she developed a keen eye for uncovering the narratives embedded within the everyday. In 2021, she was awarded a full scholarship and graduated with Magna cum Laude honours in 2023 from the prestigious DocNomads Joint Masters Degree programme in Europe, and has four short films to her credit now, which delicately blend visual and auditory elements to capture the essence of ordinary, yet profound stories. Her debut documentary short, "Reading You" is a deeply introspective piece about family, memory, and reconciliation, and made its mark by premiering and competing in the Southeast Asian Short Film Competition at the Singapore International Film Festival in 2023. The film is now heading to Grimstad, Norway, where it's been selected for the 47th Norwegian Shortfilm Festival Competition in June. We catch up with Angeline to find out more about her budding documentary filmmaking career, and how her works balance the intimacy of personal storytelling with universal themes that resonate with audiences from diverse backgrounds.

TW: Death by suicide

Image Credit: Angeline Teh

Early in May, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim launched the National Anti-Corruption Strategies (NACS) 2024-2028 which focuses on the effectiveness of corruption prevention efforts and improving governance and integrity. The NACS is replacing National Anti-Corruption Plan (NACP) 2019-2023, and as the name suggests is an important component of the government’s reform agenda.

We unpack this with Raymon Ram, Certified Fraud Examiner & Anti-Money Laundering Specialist.

Image Credit: Anwar Ibrahim, X

The UNDP's 2023/24 Human Development Report (HDR), titled "Breaking the Gridlock: Reimagining cooperation in a polarised world," tells a troubling tale: that the rebound in the global Human Development Index (HDI) - which encapsulates a nation's Gross National Income (GNI) per capita, education, and life expectancy - has been fragmented, deficient, and marked by disparities. This uneven development progress is leaving the poorest behind, exacerbating inequality, and stoking political polarisation on a global scale. The result is a dangerous gridlock that must be urgently tackled through collective action. So what can be done, with inequality on the rise? We speak to Niloy Banerjee, the Resident Representative for Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei Darussalam, from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to discuss the issues, and also the solutions towards tackling them.

With the recent Kuala Kubu Baharu state by-elections this past Saturday, also came stories of voters doing all they can to ensure they cast their ballot and exercise their democratic right. From being bedridden to having travel hundreds of kilometres, these stories are commonly reported during election seasons and while they seem inspirational, they can also contribute to the perception that processes and infrastructure don’t need to change to improve accessibility for people with disabilities - whether it’s to do with voting or any other aspect of social participation. To dive into the significance of reasonable accommodation and how we can improve overall accessibility for people with disabilities, we speak to Hasbeemasputra Abu Bakar, a community engagement and lived experience advocate from SIUMAN.

Image credit: The Accessible Icon Project

There are currently hundreds of thousands, maybe millions of refugees in Southeast Asia. Malaysia alone is home to around 187 000 UNHCR registered refugees (which means the actual numbers are much higher). Yet, we and many countries in the region do not have a comprehensive refugee rights and protections framework.

So, what are the most critical gaps and challenges identified in the existing forced migration architecture within ASEAN?

The Centre for Policy Development is an Australian-based, independent policy institute, which together with the Asia Dialogue on Forced Migration (ADFM), published a paper trying to answer exactly that.

We speak to Andrew Hudson, CEO, Centre for Policy Development (Australia).

Image Credit: Shutterstock