Live & Learn

When we think of scuba diving, we’d think of the endless wonders that you could see in the ocean. But scuba diving also opens up different possibilities for people with disabilities, both physical and developmental. Diveheart is an organisation which provides and supports educational scuba diving programmes to children and adults with disabilities. An organisation that started in the US, they also have a Malaysian chapter, and here to tell us more about the work they do is the Malaysia team lead, Syed Abd Rahman. Also joining us in the studio today is Sharifah Nadia Syed Mohd Famy who was part of the programmes that Diveheart Malaysia ran and is now a certified PADI open water diver.

Spearheaded by Marina Tan, Nukilan Lagu Raya, The Lagu Raya Songbook, delves into a comprehensive exploration of 30 'Raya' songs from 1936 to 2022, where she explored both the context and conceptualisation of these songs as a way to explore our nation’s socio-economic history. From the pioneering work of Bangsawan singers in the 1930s to the emergence of iconic Raya songs and film stars like P. Ramlee in the 1950s, the project traces the evolution of Malaysian music, blending pop-rock influences in the 1960s and 1970s. All of this is coming together in a Music, Food, Fashion & Visual Arts Showcase, which offers us all an immersive journey through Malaysia's musical heritage, bridging past, present, and future cultural narratives. We speak to Marina to find out more about her research into the "Lagu Raya Songbook" and also curator Sharmin Parameswaran, who has put together the visual arts component of this project.

Seals offer us a window into the past, even if to some of us they seem largely unimportant compared to the document that it accompanies. For maritime Southeast Asia, Malay seals contain a treasure trove of data through which we can learn so much about the history of the Malay world. Joining us on the show today is Dato’ Dr Annabel Teh Gallop, to share more about her work researching and collecting over 2,000 seals for her book, Malay Seals from the Islamic World of Southeast Asia. She is currently the Lead Curator of the Southeast Asia section at the British Library, and in 2022 she received the Merdeka Award for “Outstanding Contribution to the People of Malaysia”.

Image credit: Dr Annabel Teh Gallop

The “State of the World’s Human Rights” report 2023/24, published by Amnesty International, is an annual documentation of human rights conditions globally. According to the report, authorities across the world continue to "assault" universal freedoms, while economic crises, climate change and environmental degradation disproportionately affect already marginalised communities. This is just some of the findings from the report that documents human rights concerns from 2023 in 155 countries, including right here in Malaysia. We speak to Katrina Jorene Maliamauv, the Executive Director of Amnesty International Malaysia, to get a rundown of Malaysia's report card from 2023, and to discuss actions and steps governments and others can take, to do better for everyone.

Image Credit: Shutterstock

Recently, the Supreme Court in the US announced that it will not hear the case of McKesson v. Doe. This decision leaves in place a lower court decision that effectively eliminated the right to organize a mass protest in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. The implication is that a protest organizer faces potential financial consequences if a single attendee at a mass protest commits an illegal act.

Many Americans are worried about what this means for freedom of assembly in the US. So on today’s episode we’re going to be talking a little bit about this case but also more broadly look at whether the US and The West is experiencing democratic backsliding.

We speak to Peter Beattie, Political Economist & Political Psychologist, Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK).

Image Credit: Shutterstock

Contemporary Malay gamelan group Gangsapura was first established back in October 2016, with the aim of promoting Malaysian culture, developing traditional arts, and instilling a love of the arts to the community at large. Founded by Teuku Umar Ilany and Nur Diyana Nadirah, the group is made up of musicians from various backgrounds, and they recently received six nominations for the upcoming 19th BOH Cameronian Arts Awards. We speak to Umar and Diyana to discuss the Gangsapura story, and to find out more about their brand new studio, which is set to open in late April.

The BOH Cameronian Arts Awards (BCAA) are back for its 19th edition, continuing with its aim to be Malaysia’s premier award for the performing arts, through recognising, rewarding and raising the bar of excellence for Malaysian performing arts practitioners. Organised by arts company Kakiseni since 2002, we catch up with Low Ngai Yuen, the President of Kakiseni, to discuss the efforts the company has taken to keep the awards going through the years, and to get a glimpse into the nominees for this edition, and what's in store at the upcoming awards ceremony.

In a world where news of war, natural disasters, acts of random violence, and more that happen anywhere in the world can reach us in a matter of minutes, it can be easy to feel overwhelmed by the sheer scale of it all. Some of us have probably chosen to switch off from the news instead, to avoid the distressing feelings that accompany bad news. But is there a way for us to stay informed without feeling numb to what’s happening in the world? We speak to Dr Debbie Ling, compassion researcher and educator; she’s also a lecturer in the Department of Social Work at Monash University.

Image credit: Shutterstock

As the current war and genocide in Gaza by Israel continues, life in Gaza is becoming increasingly difficult and impossible, as people struggle to even find food to survive. In fact, what we often see on social media is only a glimpse of the horrors that Palestinians are going through. For Palestinian refugees outside of Gaza, many are attempting to fundraise to help get their loved ones out of the country - one of them is Manal Adlouni. Having been in Malaysia since 2015, she shares her own journey of leaving Gaza and why she’s trying to get her mother and brother’s family out as well. 

You can contribute to Manal’s fundraiser here.

The Tunku Abdul Rahman Scholarship is open for application. The scholarship is an undergraduate degree scholarship open to high-potential, deserving students with a strong commitment to contribute to the development of Malaysia. What’s interesting is that this isn’t a merit-based scholarship but a holistic and equitable scholarship. We speak to Raenuga Indran and Celine Looi from Yayasan Tunku Abdul Rahman.

Image credit: Yayasan Tunku Abdul Rahman