Live & Learn

A few days ago, Home Minister Hamzah Zainuddin announced that the immigration department will be conducting operations to detain undocumented migrants during the two-week lockdown. This appears to contradict a statement made a few months ago by the Minister of Science and Technology, Khairy Jamaluddin, who’s running the National COVID-19 Immunization Programme, who previously said that we need to encourage everyone to get vaccinated including undocumented migrants and that they will not be arrested.

The Home Minister’s decision to hunt down undocumented migrants has received pushback from various quarters, including Human Rights NGOs as well as the APPGM (The All-Party Parliament Group Malaysia), which consists of MPs from both opposition and government. 

Joining us on the show today to discuss the issue, is YB Nurul Izzah Anwar, MP from Permatang Pauh and a member of the APPGM.

Image source: Nurul Izzah Anwar Facebook 

Last week's underground collision involving two trains along the Kelana Jaya Light Rail Transit line was shocking and frightening for everyone involved. For Datuk Dr Alzamani Mohammad Idrose and hundreds of medical staff, it was another intense and stressful day on the job as emergency frontliners, as they responded to the many new casualties from the accident, while continuing to treat COVID-19 patients and other emergencies. Dr Alzamani, who is a Consultant Emergency Physician at Hospital Kuala Lumpur (HKL) and the Head of the Paediatrics Emergency Department at Hospital Tunku Azizah, joins us to share his first-hand experience of what went down at HKL on the night of the crash, and how already overwhelmed medical frontliners  mobilised and responded to the crisis. Dr Alzamani will also share how he has been facing the onslaught of the pandemic, as an emergency physician.

Image source: Shutterstock

Phase 2 of the COVID-19 vaccination programme is now underway. In this ongoing series, senior citizens who have gotten their jabs share their stories, to allay fears and concerns about getting the vaccination. This episode features Bernard Lee, 70 from Kuantan Pahang.

Image source: JKJAV

You might have heard of Ain Husniza, the 17-year-old who took social media by storm when she went on TikTok and called out her teacher for a "rape joke" he made in front of his class. Using the hashtag #MakeSchoolASaferPlace, Ain started a national discussion on sexual harassment and rape culture in schools. Ain joins us on the show to share her story and why we need to make schools safer places now.

Image source: Ain Husniza Twitter

Grief is something that many, if not all of us, would like to avoid, but likely have experienced or will experience at some point in our lives. But the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a surge of people all around the world grieving for the loss of their loved ones due to the pandemic. Worldwide, more than 3.5 million deaths due to COVID-19 have been recorded, and here in Malaysia: more than 2,000 deaths and many fear this number will continue to climb. As we follow the daily number of people who have passed away because of COVID-19, it’s important for us to remember that behind every number is a human being, and that person leaves behind family and friends who grieve over their passing. Are we doing enough to help people understand what they’re feeling? Is there a grief crisis looming over us? We find out from Dr Anasuya Jegathevi Jegathesan, counsellor and lecturer in psychology. 

If you need emotional support or just want to talk to someone anonymously, you can call Befrienders KL at 03 7627 2929.

Image source: Shutterstock 

Phase 2 of the COVID-19 vaccination programme is now underway. In this ongoing series, senior citizens who have gotten their jabs share their stories, to allay fears and concerns about getting the vaccination. This episode features Amy Ishak, 63, from Petaling Jaya, who shares a refreshingly candid account of how her daughter convinced her to put her fears aside and opt-in for the first round of the AstraZeneca vaccination programme.

Phase 2 of the COVID-19 vaccination programme is now underway. In this ongoing series, senior citizens who have gotten their jabs share their stories, to allay fears and concerns about getting the vaccination. This episode features Juwita Wan, 61, from Kuala Lumpur, who opted-in for the first round of the AstraZeneca vaccination programme.

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 two cases in the courts that concern citizenship in Malaysia, how the Federal Constitution is being interpreted in these cases. First, the case involving a 10-year-old boy, who was born to a Malaysian father and a Filipino mother, and the landmark decision on his citizenship appeal in the Federal Court. Following that, we look at the case involving Family Frontiers and six mothers, who have filed a suit to seek a declaration that Malaysian women married to foreigners have the right under the Federal Constitution for their overseas-born children to be Malaysian citizens. Finally, we take a brief look at the government's stand on how we're going to vaccinate stateless individuals in Malaysia, to protect us all from COVID-19.

While social media has allowed for instant reporting of what’s happening in Palestine and Israel, many of us around the world continue to rely on traditional media to stay updated on the violence that has been going on in a decades long conflict. But news organisations, especially English-language news media based in the West, have also often been called out for taking sides or for “sanitising” the violence when reporting about Palestine. Now, why does it matter how the media frames and reports on Palestine and Israel? Is objectivity possible or simply a guise for taking sides? To delve into these issues, we speak to Dr Dina Matar, Chair of the Centre for Global Media & Communication, and Chair of the Centre for Palestine Studies, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS).

Image source: Shutterstock

You’ve probably started seeing a number of people around you getting their COVID-19 vaccines. But as more people get their appointments, the question arises if the vaccination process - from registering for the vaccine to getting the vaccine in your arm - is sufficiently accessible for people with disabilities or people who are differently abled. We speak to Moses Choo, consultant for the National Council For The Blind to find out what the process has been like for people with visual impairments, and what can be done better to ensure that no one is left behind in the National COVID-19 Immunisation Programme.

Image source: Shutterstock