Live & Learn

Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has resigned as the Prime Minister of Malaysia. The question is, who will be the next to take office? Will some form of Perikatan Nasional remain intact, with Ismail Sabri as their candidate? Will KuLi be the candidate to bring UMNO and Pakatan Harapan to form a temporary alliance? Will Anwar finally become the Prime Minister after gunning for the seat for many years? Or will we have someone else entirely? James Chai, joins us to discuss.

Image source: Muhyiddin Yassin Facebook 

Today, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin resigned as the Prime Minister of Malaysia, and was subsequently appointed caretaker Prime Minister, until a new prime minister is appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong. What does this all mean, and what does the Federal Constitution dictate, about what should happen next? Lawyer New Sin Yew breaks it all down for us.

Image source: EPA-EFE

For the last couple of months or so, the team behind the FreedomFilmFest have been releasing a specially curated Freedom film playlist every weekend - dubbed ‘Weekend Watch with FreedomFilmFest' - on their YouTube channel. This weekend, in conjunction with International Day of the World's Indigenous People, the playlist will feature the film, The Story of Kam Agong. In the film, Agnes Padan takes a long journey back to her Lun Bawang village in Long Semadoh, in the interior of Sarawak to piece together what happened to her mother, Kam Agong, who died 19 years ago, shortly after she gave birth to her eighth son, Jordan. Through the film, we get a glimpse of the state of maternity healthcare available to villagers living in rural areas of Sarawak. We find out more from Agnes herself.

Image source: The Story Of Kam Agong

The death toll from the COVID-19 pandemic has been staggering, especially here in Malaysia as the number of deaths due to COVID-19 has surpassed 11,000 and we are reporting upwards of 100 to 300 deaths a day in the past weeks. That’s 11,000 people whose deaths leave a huge hole in the lives of their families and friends, including children who have lost one or both of their parents or caregiver to COVID-19. A recent study in the Lancet estimated that for every 2 people who die of COVID, 1 child is left orphaned. This group of children has even been referred to as COVID orphans, and this shows us just how widespread this problem is. So what are we doing to protect and provide for these children? What can we do to mitigate the economic, developmental and psychological impact that they will face because of COVID-19? Here to dive into this, is Sharmila Sekaran, chairperson of Voice of the Children.

Image source: Shutterstock 

The Registrar of Societies (more commonly known as ROS) has ruled that Umno’s decision to postpone its internal party elections by up to 18 months is invalid. Originally the party, particularly President Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, had announced plans that the elections would only be held after the next general elections. But the ROS has ordered the party to set a new date for the Supreme Council elections, as soon as possible, preferably by the end of the year. Many, including Parti MUDA and Bersih 2.0 have cried foul, claiming that it seems like a politically motivated move. 

But what exactly is the role of the ROS and does it need to be reformed? Thomas Fann, Chairperson of Bersih 2.0, joins us to discuss.

Image source: Shutterstock, Jabatan Pendaftaran Pertubuhan Malaysia Facebook

The Tokyo Olympics 2020 has come and gone. It was a rather strange affair this time around, as stadiums and arenas were empty, due to the COVID-19 crisis. Nevertheless, Malaysia successfully brought home two medals -- a bronze in badminton and a silver in cycling. While we may have once again been unsuccessful in clinching the coveted gold medal, our athletes still gave us plenty to celebrate about and be inspired by. Sports journalist, Keeshaanan Sundaresan (Mat Stats), joins us to reflect on Malaysia’s journey at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Image source: Shutterstock

Since early June, the team behind the FreedomFilmFest have been releasing a specially curated Freedom film playlist every weekend - dubbed ‘Weekend Watch with FreedomFilmFest' - on their YouTube channel. Each thematic playlist has allowed us to revisit some of the many films produced for the film festival, and remind ourselves about the many human rights issues that have been brought to the fore, through these thought-provoking films. This weekend, the playlist is themed 'People’s Movement for Change' and will feature three films: "Melawan Arus" by Arul Prakkash, "Kayuh" by Soh Sook Hwa and "When Lawyers Walk", by Mien Ly. On the show today, we speak to both Prakkash and Sook Hwa about their respective films.

Image source: Parti Sosialis Malaysia, Witness

With durian season in full-swing, many of us are still enjoying these delicious fruits, despite the pandemic. But for the Orang Asli from Ulu Geruntum in Perak, setting up roadside stalls and pivoting online to sell their durians as others did, weren't options readily available to them. Tonnes of durians from their harvest this year ended up being wasted due to circumstances beyond their control. That is, until some friends stepped in to help, and managed to assist the Orang Asli villagers sell their durians through a direct sales initiative to folks in urban areas, using open online tools. We find out more this #kitajagakita collaboration between Orang Asli and volunteers, from academic Roz Hussin.

* If you'd like to order durians from Ulu Geruntum, fill up this form.

** If you’d like to volunteer to help, contact Roz via WhatsApp at +1 (402) 2172914

Image source: Shutterstock 

Over the past couple of days, we’ve covered various angles on Live & Learn with regards to protesting, in light of the #LAWAN protest that took place last Saturday at Dataran Merdeka (well, Masjid Jamek LRT area). On Monday we took a look at why authorities should stop using intimidation tactics against protesters, yesterday, we did a show on the significance of Dataran Merdeka as well as the influence of the built environment on protests and public participation. Today, I’m going to be taking a look at the role of the media during a protest. What are the Dos and Don’ts, as well as how the media should be framing protest stories. Independent journalist, Norman Goh, joins us to share his insights.

Image source: Shutterstock 

On Saturday, the Lawan protest took place in our capital city, where young Malaysians took to the streets to voice out their frustrations with the Perikatan Nasional administration and their handling of the pandemic. The protesters had aimed to gather at Dataran Merdeka, but it had already been cordoned off by the police earlier in the morning. Yesterday, we saw Opposition MPs gathering at the Dataran calling for Parliament to reopen. A common thread that runs through these recent protests as well as others in the past, is the role that Dataran Merdeka often plays in these events. We speak to Dr Nurul Azreen Azlan, senior lecturer in the Masters of Sustainable Urban Design programme at UTM KL, to find out more about the significance of Dataran Merdeka as well as the influence of the built environment on protests and public participation.

Image source: Shutterstock