Live & Learn

Last Saturday, the 31st of July, saw more than 1000 young Malaysians take to the streets to voice their frustration against the current Perikatan Nasional administration. Protestors demanded for the Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin to resign, for parliament to be allowed to reconvene properly and for full moratoriums for all Malaysians during these trying times of the COVID-19 pandemic. Following the protest, the police announced that they will be calling up and investigating both organisers and participants of the LAWAN protest. But is that fair? Wathshlah Naidu, Executive Director of CIJ, joins us to share her observations and thoughts about the protest, as well as the investigations that are currently taking place.

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Law & Behold - now a monthly segment - continues to arm Malaysians with constitutional literacy, and is done in collaboration with The Malaysian Bar and the University of Malaya's Faculty of Law. This month, we discuss what went down during the first four days of the Special Third Parliamentary Proceeding of the 14th Term - focussing especially on the government's surprise announcement that all Emergency Ordinances enacted under the State of Emergency had been revoked, which was then followed by a royal rebuke from His Majesty, the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong, and finally, why we're facing a Constitutional crisis. Helping us break all this down is lawyer New Sin Yew.

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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. Each thematic playlist has allowed us to revisit some of the many films produced in collaboration with the Freedom Film Network, all tackling different human rights issues, and putting the spotlight on marginalised communities and some of the issues they are facing. This weekend, the playlist will feature films made by Shafie Dris, an Orang Asli activist & filmmaker, and those films are titled: ‘Hak Dinafikan’, ‘Abai’ and ‘Tak Kesampaian’, which highlight several examples of land cases in different parts of Malaysia and the struggle of the orang asli network to defend their ancestral lands, among other issues. Shafie, together with Brenda Danker, the Co-founder of Freedom Film Network, joins us to share more.

Image source: Shutterstock 

Heidy Quah, founder of the NGO, Refuge for the Refugees, was charged in the Sessions Court yesterday with improper use of network facilities by initiating the transmission of offensive communications on refugees in the country through her Facebook. Heidy pleaded not guilty. Heidy, who’s a recipient of the Women of the Future award, joins us on the show today to share her thoughts on the case, as well as how she’s finding the courage and strength to keep pushing despite the circumstances.

Image source: Heidy Quah Facebook 

TINDAK! Is a coalition of Civil Society Organisations urging the government to use science-based policies to fight the COVID-19 pandemic effectively. In fact, they have 15 demands that they want the sitting government to fulfill. Nathaniel Tan, one of the driving forces behind TINDAK joins us on the show to discuss these demands.

Image source: Nathaniel Tan Twitter, Pelan Bertindak Rakyat Facebook 

On Friday, just days before contract medical officers were planning a strike over alleged unfair treatment of them, the government announced that it was offering a two to four year contract extension for these contract doctors as well as specialisation opportunities and benefits that are on par with what their colleagues with permanent positions are able to enjoy. Yesterday (26th July), we saw contract doctors from government hospitals nationwide walk out for a brief period in the morning to highlight their demands for job security and better career progression. So, what is a feasible solution to ensure that our junior contract doctors have a future in the field? If not enough is done to address this, how will this affect our healthcare system in the long-run? Here to help us answer those questions is independent health policies specialist, Dr Khor Swee Kheng.

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It’s been slightly more than 10 years since the iconic BERSIH 2.0 rally that took place on the 9th of July 2011. Authorities fired tear gas and water cannons. Close to 1700 people were arrested. But it did not break the spirits of those who were protesting, who marched on nonetheless. 

Today, in light of its 10th anniversary, we speak to activists Nalini Elumalai and Ivy Josiah, important figures in the Bersih 2.0 rally.

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On August 1st, it will be exactly six months since the military in Myanmar seized power from the Aung San Suu Kyi-led National League for Democracy party which won the election in a landslide in November last year. Protests are still ongoing even as the military government launched deadly reprisals against them - reports say nearly a thousand have died. Many are observing a form of civil disobedience and these include those in the public sector.

BFM's Keith Kam spoke with Kyaw Moe Tun, Myanmar's Permanent Representative to the United Nations again, to find out more about the double crises the country is facing - Covid-19 and daily protests against an unelected military government.

Image source: EPA-EFE

Since early June 2021, the team behind the FreedomFilmFest (FFF) have been releasing a specially curated Freedom film playlist every weekend - dubbed ‘Weekend Watch with FreedomFilmFest' - on their YouTube channel. Each thematic playlist is a journey through the FFF vaults, and an invitation to remind ourselves about the many human rights issues that have been brought to the fore through these thought-provoking films. This weekend, the playlist features stories from Sarawak, in conjunction with Sarawak's Independence Day, which was celebrated yesterday, the 22nd of July. Four films will be featured, including the 2011 film Ulu Bengoh Darum Piin, which was a case study of a rural constituency in Sarawak, Bengoh, which was labelled a hot seat in the 10th Sarawak state elections. We find out why and what went down a decade ago, and how the film's findings relate to today's context with the director of the film, Joachim Leong.

*Other films featured in this weekend's playlist include The Story of Kam Agong, Unlocking Bengoh, and Pengidup Aku.

Image source: Sarawak Tourism Board

As we all know, the Covid-19 pandemic isn’t just a health crisis, but indirectly contributes to a whole host of other issues, including the rise of domestic violence and abuse. Many studies have found that women are one of the groups that are exponentially affected by the pandemic. And on a separate note, the government announced a new aid package called PEMULIH a short while back. But does PEMULIH address the specific issues faced by women during this pandemic? 

Abinaya Mohan, Head of Campaign, WAO and working committee of the Gender Budget Group, joins us to discuss.

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