Live & Learn

As school lessons and classes went online to cope with the pandemic, parents - many with deep, newfound respect for their children’s teachers - took on the task of homeschooling their children. Many had to get creative with their lessons and teaching methods, but one parent, Gregory Dennis, went as far as inventing a Mathematics board game for his 11-year old son, to make the subject more fun and enjoyable to learn. The game, called Math-Ace, is meant for children aged eight to 12, and we speak to Greg about the challenges of homeschooling his children, while discussing his other plans to make learning maths more accessible and fun for all. 

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In many Asian countries, children are still encouraged to become doctors, lawyers or engineers. Malaysia is no different. But does the job market need more engineers? After all, we’ve read plenty of stories about fresh graduate engineers unable to land a job in the engineering field. Assoc. Prof. Dr Ku Zilati binti Ku Shaari, Dean of the Engineering Faculty at UTP joins us to share her insights, as well as how UTP ensures good quality graduates.

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Shelters provide a vital lifeline and a safe space for survivors of domestic violence, especially when they have nowhere or no one to turn to. But it’s more than simply providing a physical location. With a recently launched pilot programme by the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development together with the Federal Territories Islamic Religious Department, fourteen mosques across KL will be used as transit centres for domestic violence survivors, and this is announced just days before the capital city is thrust into a third MCO. With Sumitra Visvanathan, Executive Director of the Women’s Aid Organisation (WAO), we discuss why this move is important, what it takes to run a domestic violence shelter, and whether MCO 3.0 could once again see a rise in cases of domestic violence. 

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If you are a survivor of domestic violence or know of anyone who needs help, you can call Talian Kasih at 15999, the WAO Hotline at 03 3000 8858 (24 hours) or SMS/WhatsApp TINA at +6018 988 8058 (24 hours).

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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 Mdm Judy Liu, 83, from Kuching, Sarawak.

Malaysia is one of only 25 countries in the world, that does not grant women the right to confer nationality on their children on an equal basis as men. This despite the fact that Constitution also stating that that there shall be no discrimination against citizens based on religion, race, ethnicity, place of birth or gender. The Association of Family Support & Welfare Selangor & KL (Family Frontiers), an umbrella body for the Foreign Spouses Support Group, has long been campaigning for gender equality in citizenship laws in the country, and filed a suit in December last year, to uphold the principle of equality in the Federal Constitution, as well as Malaysia’s commitment to international conventions on gender equality. We get some updates on that suit from Suri Kempe, the President of the Association of Family Support & Welfare Selangor & Kuala Lumpur (Family Frontiers) and Josil Murray, an affected mother and member of the Foreign Spouses Support Group.

Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) was registered by its founding members on 30th April 1998, though it was only formally registered 10 years later. But from 1998, they have been at the forefront in fighting for the rights of the working class, including on issues like housing for all, rights for workers and decent living wages, climate change and renewable energy, quality and affordable healthcare, and so much more. Though faring poorly at GE14, the party continues to advocate for and help marginalised communities in Malaysia. In a belated nod to International Workers' Day, we speak to Dr Jeyakumar Devaraj, the Chairperson of Parti Sosialis Malaysia, about all the party does to help the working class community, and their plans for the future.

Image source: Jeyakumar Devaraj PSM Facebook 

Malaysia’s first Information Ecosystem Assessment (IEA) was recently published, and identifies information needs, gaps, dynamics, and impact among youths and marginalised communities. Done by Internews, in collaboration with the Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ), the report aims to reveal “deeply local information” which is then used to seek a human-centered understanding of how people and communities find, share, value, trust and produce information in their own local contexts. We find out more from Nadiah Rosli and Hanani Wan Alkamar Shah, who are both Project Directors with Internews in Malaysia, and co-authors of the IEA report.

Image source: Information Ecosystem Assessment - Malaysia

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 Mdm Ham Swee Kim, 84, from Malacca.

As much of the world continues to battle against COVID-19, the situation in India has dominated headlines in recent weeks as they battle a deadly second wave. Reports of hospitals running out of beds, people fighting over limited oxygen supplies, and mass crematoriums burning day and night are harrowing to read about, to say the least. We speak to Leena Menghaney, Regional Head (South Asia), Médecins Sans Frontières Access Campaign to find out what led to the situation that India is facing now, and what can be done to help India make it through this second wave, including the role of an IP waiver.

Image source: EPA-EFE

It’s World Press Freedom Day today. According to the UN, World Press Freedom Day is observed as a reminder to governments of the need to respect their commitment to press freedom and is also a day of reflection among media professionals about issues of press freedom and professional ethics.

So, in light of that, our guest on this episode is a journalist from Myanmar who goes by the name Cape Diamond. As we know, in February, Myanmar’s military kicked out the governing pro-democracy party, NLD. Since the takeover, citizens of Myanmar have been endlessly protesting the Military Junta and in return, the military has been responding with violence and without mercy.

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