Live & Learn

On June 6th 2022, a group of armed forces veterans gathered at Tugu Negara to call for the current military pension system to be reviewed. Why have some 300-thousand of these veterans now come under the B40 income group, after spending the best part of their lives defending Malaysia? We find out why from Retired Royal Malaysian Air Force officer Major Mior Rosli Mior Jaafar, the President of Pertubuhan Suara Patriotik Rakyat Malaysia, who also led the gathering.

Rising cost of living - and food - is causing many to feel the pinch, especially non-governmental organisations which have been relying on public funding to sustain their operations to help those in need. We speak to Kavindran a/l Ganasen, Co-founder and Treasurer, Lost Animal Souls Shelter (LASS) to find out how they are managing to ensure the welfare of their dogs. 

Image credit: Facebook / Lost Animal Souls Shelter

Rising cost of living - and food - is causing many to feel the pinch, especially non-governmental organisations which have been relying on public funding to sustain their operations to help those in need. We speak to Datuk Munirah Abdul Hamid, the founder of PERTIWI Soup Kitchen, to find out how the soup kitchen and the people they feed are coping.

Image credit: Facebook / PERTIWI Soup Kitchen

World Vision Malaysia is 25 years old. In light of that, on today’s show we take a look at the origins of World Vision Malaysia, the challenges they’ve faced throughout the years, the evolving landscape of NGOs in Malaysia and their hope for the future. We speak with Terry Leong, Acting CEO of World Vision Malaysia.

Image credit: World Vision

The Selangor State government recently pledged some new initiatives to uplift the ethnic Indian community. On today’s show, we’ll be taking a look at the issues and uphill battles that ethnic Indians face in Malaysia, particularly in Selangor, and how the Selangor government aims to improve upward mobility among Indians. Klang MP Chales Santiago joins us to discuss.

Image credit: Facebook / Charles Santiago

Access to digital devices and to the internet has become such an integral part of our lives, that many would find it hard to do without. But not everyone across the globe nor across communities have equal access to the digital world, and one of the main issues is the digital gender gap. We explore why the digital gender gap matters and how we can close that gap, together with Dr Claudia Lopes, Research Lead with the United Nations University International Institute for Global Health.

Law & Behold is a monthly series which aims to arm Malaysians with constitutional literacy, and is done in collaboration with The Malaysian Bar, the University of Malaya's Faculty of Law, and the Malaysian Centre for Constitutionalism and Human Rights (MCCHR). This month, we speak to lawyers Larissa Ann Louis (Hakita) and Simon Siah (Lawyer Kamek for Change), who are both actively working to resolve issues on statelessness in Malaysia. Who are considered stateless in Malaysia, and what rights are denied to them? What legal safeguards are there in the Federal Constitution against statelessness, and how can someone who has been deemed stateless through no fault of their own - especially children - attempt to obtain Malaysian citizenship? We discuss what law and policy reforms on citizenship are needed, so that we can address the endless cycle of statelessness in Malaysia.

Image credit: Reggie Lee/Shutterstock.com

Are people with higher levels of life satisfaction more likely to vote for the incumbent government? Dr. Grace Lee, Associate Professor of Economics, and her team have conducted a study that empirically examines the relationship between life satisfaction and incumbent voting in a country that experienced its first turnover of power after more than half a century since its independence. Our guests on today’s episode are Dr Grace herself, as well as Dr Jason Ng, Senior Lecturer, Department of Econometrics and Business Statistics.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com

The Supreme Court of the United States - the highest court in their judiciary system - recently overturned the landmark Roe v Wade case, thus resulting more than half of states in the country to ban abortion with immediate effect. While this is a legislative move in one country, the U.S. remains a strong influence globally. So how might this impact debates over access to safe abortion and what does access to safe abortion look like in Malaysia? We discuss with Amanda Tiew, who’s working with the International Network for the Reduction of Abortion Discrimination and Stigma. Amanda is also a hotline para-counsellor with the Reproductive Rights Advocacy Alliance Malaysia.

Image credit: Bob Korn/Shutterstock.com

From as early as April 2020, Malaysia saw a spike in the number of domestic violence cases, which followed the implementation of the first Movement Control Order (MCO), in March that same year. The trend has sadly continued - despite lockdowns ending, hotlines such as the one run by the Women's Aid Organisation, are still receiving a high number of calls for help and advice from people facing gender-based violence, such as sexual violence, harassment, rape and more. We speak to Charlene Murray, Services Director, Women’s Aid Organization (WAO), Malaysia to find out more.

If you are experiencing domestic violence, you can contact WAO at the WAO Hotline: +603 3000 8858 or via SMS/WhatsApp TINA: +6018 988 8058. Read about other options for help here.

Image credit: Shutterstock