Live & Learn

Reflecting the breakdown of traditional family values in modern Malaysian society that marginalises the elderly, the film Meniti Senja explores the alarming rise in the elderly being left to fend for themselves in aged care centres - removed from the comfort of homes they knew, and the children they raised. On this week's Stay Home & Watch, a series done in collaboration with the Freedom Film Network,  we revisit this 2020 film by first-time filmmaker Lily Fu, who is also the founder of Seniors Aloud, an online community for senior-citizens in Malaysia and the Vice President of the University of the Third Age. Lily joins us to share more about the themes explored in her film, and how she hopes it will push for policies to protect the elderly in Malaysia. 

Image credit: Freedom Film Network

In the early hours of 20th April, over 500 Rohingya refugees, including 97 women, 294 men, and 137 children, escaped from a detention centre in Sungai Bakap. It was later confirmed that 7 of those who fled were killed tragically in a traffic accident, including three young children. A lot has been said about Malaysia’s treatment of refugees, but what can be done better?

Image credit: EPA-EU

Dr Mariana Brussoni is a proponent of something most parents are dead against – risky play. Mariana has spent years researching this form of risky play, which is described as “thrilling and exciting play where children engage in risk without certainty.” Mariana is an investigator at the British Columbia Children's Hospital, and the Director of Human Early Learning Partnership at the University of British Columbia, and she joins us to discuss the proven immense benefits of risky play, how it can actually reduce injuries in kids,  and whether we as a society have lost the appropriate balance between keeping children healthy and active, and protecting them from serious harm. 

Out Of The Box, is an ongoing series where we explore alternative ways to teach and learn, and which is done in collaboration with Anyaman Preschool.

Image credit: Play Outside/Facebook

The internet has afforded us access to more information and online materials than we could ever imagine, but it has also provided a space and anonymity for child pornography - or more accurately, online child sexual abuse material - to be uploaded and accessed. Recently, it was reported that the police had received more than 93,000 IP addresses suspected of sharing such child sexual abuse materials on the internet over the past six years, but that they lacked the resources to carry out arrests and inspections. So what can we do to better tackle online child sexual abuse materials? Here to help us dive into this is Srividhya Ganapathy, co-chairperson of the CRIB Foundation (Child Rights Innovation & Betterment).

Trigger warning, this podcast includes descriptions of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Listener discretion is advised.

Image credit: Shutterstock

We're continuing our collaboration with the folks from the Freedom Film Network, revisiting past films that were made over the last two decades, which tackled various human rights issues in Malaysia. This week, we're revisiting the 2020 film, Petani Bukan Pemalas, which gives us an insight into the struggles of paddy farmers right here in Malaysia, who are faced with declining harvests and rising costs, and an exploitative system which sees farmers trapped in a vicious cycle of debt. We find out more about the film and issues raised in it from Nurfitri Amir bin Muhammad, the director of the film. Amir is also an activist and researcher, and coordinator of the Malaysia Food Sovereignty Forum.

Image credit: Freedom Film Network

The COVID-19 pandemic is not just a health crisis, but one that has chilling ripple effects on many other aspects of our lives. One of which is education. Over the course of the pandemic, students lost close to two years of learning. The term “lost generation” has been used to describe this batch of students. While things are starting to go back to some level of “nomalcy,” the consequences of COVID-19 towards education are still felt. But just how serious is the problem? And what can we do about it?

Image credit: Papa Annur/Shutterstock

What is academic freedom? Associate Professor Dr Adnan Trakic argues that the term "academic freedom" is commonly being mistaken for free speech — with dangerous consequences for democracy. So, what are the differences? And how can we strengthen academic freedom here in Malaysia?

Image credit: Shutterstock

The recent news of the death of a house officer has renewed allegations of bullying within the healthcare fraternity, leading to calls by doctors, medical organisations and politicians for the Ministry of Health to ensure that junior doctors aren’t working in a toxic environment. Since then, Minister of Health Khairy Jamaluddin has announced that an independent task force will be set up to look into allegations of a prevalent bullying culture. But for those who have been bullied, especially at work, what toll does that take on your mental health? And what does it tell us, when people working in medicine, who are meant to save lives and act with compassion, are being accused of bullying their peers? Consultant clinical psychologist Dr Joel Low weighs in.

Image credit: Shutterstock

 Juliana Ooi's social enterprise, X Ed Malaysia, tackles reproductive and social health. In 2019, she received a Merdeka Award Grant to produce a tool kit to assist young parents engage in "active parenting" to help their children learn both survival and life skills on those very topics of reproductive and social health. Juliana is also one of the winners of 120 Under 40: The New Generation of Family Planning Leaders organised by Bill & Melinda Gates Institute for Population and Reproductive Health at the John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and has volunteered as a trainer in reproductive and social health since she was 22. She joins us to share more about her work, and to explain the role parents play in providing their children with comprehensive sex education, to ensure their child’s health and safety.

The Youth Aspiration Manifesto Survey was initiated to uncover youth opinions on issues such as employment, housing, education, wealth distribution, healthcare, environment, representation, and law and order. The survey was done as part of the #Undi100Peratus campaign that was launched earlier this month, that aspires to achieve 100% youth voter turnout in elections and ensure youth voices are heard by political parties. The campaign is a joint collaboration led by Undi18, UndiNegaraku and Architects of Diversity Malaysia (AOD) and we speak to Jason Wee, the Co-Founder of Architects of Diversity Malaysia, to tell us more about the findings of the survey, which among others, include three-quarters (75%) of Malaysian youth being concerned about climate change in Malaysia, with the majority supporting decreasing infrastructure development and greater punishment for illegal logging.