Live & Learn

During the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis, Eni Lestari left her home in Indonesia for Hong Kong to become a domestic worker, driven by the need to support her family. Sadly, she experienced labour abuse at the hands of her employers, and eventually had to run away from them to escape. With the help of others, she found her way to the Asian Pacific Mission for Migrants (APMM), who offered her shelter, but who also made her aware of her basic rights and how to fight her plight. Since then, she has been in the forefront of organising and advocating for policy changes in the realm of the rights of women migrant workers. Eni, who is the Founder of the Association of Indonesian Migrant Workers, and the Chairperson of the International Migrants Alliance, joins us to share her story.

The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) is considering banning the social media/messaging app Telegram. The company’s chief compliance officer, Zulkarnain Mohd Yasin, said this could be necessary in order to offer protection to users of the app, as well as to safeguard national sovereignty.

But just how dangerous is Telegram? And is banning the app (and social media platforms, in general) the right way to go about dealing with this issue? We speak to media expert, Dr Benjamin Loh. 

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The ocean covers more than 70% of this blue planet, and plays an essential part in supporting all life on this planet. We rely on the ocean to produce more than half of the planet’s oxygen as well as to provide sustenance and jobs for us humans. But with our marine and aquatic ecosystems under stress and threat, what does this mean for the future of our planet and humanity?

In conjunction with World Oceans Day which is celebrated annually on the 8th of June, we dive into how we can better protect our oceans through the lens of sustainable aquaculture and fisheries, together with Dr Essam Yassin Mohammed, Director-General of WorldFish, an international non-profit research and innovation organisation working across Africa, Asia and the Pacific. 

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Cultural organisation PUSAKA will be presenting a performance of Main Puteri of Kelantan at the Festival de l'Imaginaire organised by Maison des Cultures du Monde - CFPCI on the 7th of June 2023, at the Théâtre de l'Alliance Française in Paris, France. PUSAKA's Main Puteri performance features three renowned Tok Puteris—Che Mohd Zailani bin Che Moh ("Pok Mat Jedok"), Muhd Noor bin Arifin ("Pok Jue"), and Ahmad Shaifuldin bin Jusoh ("Din Puteri")—alongside an ensemble of extraordinary young Kelantanese musicians including Che Zulfakrimi bin Che Zawawi ("Kimi Anak Limbat") on rebab and Muhamad Syakil Ikwan bin Che Md Yusoff on serunai. We find out more about this from Pauline Fan, the Creative Director of Pusaka, who will also share the many tangible and intangible impacts of taking Malaysian cultural traditions to the global stage.

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During the tabling of the Budget 2023 earlier this year, the government announced that RM102 million will be set aside for the Digital Content Fund, to boost the marketing of local art products and to encourage the production of more creative and fresh works. A total of RM10 million is allocated by the Government under the Ministry of Communications and Digital to music industry players, through the Dana Kandungan Digital (DKD),  a funding opportunity that offers up to RM300,000 for each successful application. It is intended to facilitate and encourage industry players in the production, publication and dissemination of creative music content that can be marketed domestically and internationally. We find out more about this from Junady Nawawi, the Group CEO of MyCreative Ventures Sdn Bhd (MyCreative).

Calling colleagues “sayang” or “dear” are now considered sexual harassment in the workplace and will be considered an offence for civil servants. This is according to the Public Services Commission (PSC). PSC stated that calling a colleague “sayang” (for example) is considered verbal sexual harassment, while touching, holding, groping, kissing, and pinching would be physical sexual harassment.

The PSC said that if a civil servant is found to have committed such offences, they could face disciplinary action under Regulation 4A of the Public Officers Regulations (Conduct and Discipline) 1993.

This move has generally been praised, but there are some who have also wondered why calling your colleague “dear” is a big deal. We discuss all this with Robin Tan of AWAM. Robin is also a lawyer at Messrs Darren Lim & Lee.

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Earlier in May, the World Meteorological Organisation reported that there is an increasing likelihood that El Niño will occur this year, bringing with it the possibility of drought and higher temperatures. We speak to Nurfitri Amir Muhammad, coordinator of the Malaysian Food Sovereignty Forum, on how El Niño could have knock-on effects for food (in)security, and whether anything can be done to build resilience in our agricultural sector.

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Earlier this week, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reforms) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said, said that a comprehensive study is being done on the proposed Public Defender's Act, aimed at improving legal aid services for criminal cases in the country. Access to justice is - or should be - a fundamental right in a democratic society, but we know that in reality, there are problems of access to justice for many. On this episode of Law & Behold, we discuss the right to representation and whether it is mentioned anywhere in the Federal Constitution, while also relating this to recent developments in the country on the abolishment of the mandatory death penalty, and access to justice for those on death row. We tie all of this in with Article 5 of the Federal Constitution which states that "no person may be deprived of life or personal liberty except in accordance with law."

Helping us to unpack all of this are Firdaus Husni (Chief Human Rights Strategist, Malaysian Centre for Constitutionalism and Human Rights (MCCHR), and Abdul Rashid Ismail (Lawyer, and Former President, National Human Rights Society of Malaysia (HAKAM).

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Tan Sri Azam Baki’s name is once again in the limelight. It was reported on the 10th of May that the term of the current chief of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has been extended for another year. Azam Baki’s term was due to end on the 12th of May. Given the controversies that have been surrounding Azam Baki over the past year, his reappointment certainly caused many to raise an eyebrow. 

So, where do we go from here? We discuss with Pushpan Murugiah, the new acting CEO of The Center to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4).

The care and well-being of older adults in our rapidly ageing society is a huge question mark. In a society which still places much emphasis on filial piety, adult children are often expected to shoulder the responsibility for their older parents. But is this enough? With the Senior Citizens’ Bill expected to be tabled next year, we take another look at what is needed for older adults to have a good quality of life, and what role might a Mental Capacity Act play instead.

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