Live & Learn

Social Activists are seemingly tireless in their dedication to their causes, but in the end they are very much human too. The physical, mental and emotional exhaustion can very often be pushed to the brink, simply because activists feel a deep commitment to putting their cause before self-care. How can activists recognise burnout, and what can be done to recover from it? We speak to industry consultant Dr Sudeep Mohandas who works in strategic planning for social enterprises and social activist Hayati Ismail about when activists need to put their own needs first.

Deepavali is a time for families to gather and celebrate holiday traditions. But for those who lose their parents at a young age, Deepavali celebrations are often tinged with a melancholy that cannot be assuaged by fireworks and festivities. In the run up to the Festival of Lights, we indulge in the nostalgia of Deepavali celebrations imbued with the memory of departed loved ones.

A recent news headline triumphantly announced that teen pregnancies in Malaysia are on the decline; however a read through the article divulged the fact that in fact, it is pregnancies amongst married adolescents which has declined. However, for unmarried pregnant teenagers, the number of recorded pregnancies increased between 2017 and 2018. Set aside for a moment the pressing issue of child marriage; teen pregnancy is a looming crisis that needs to be addressed. We speak to Datuk Dr Narimah Awin, Chairperson of the National Population and Family Development Board and Syed Azmi, Social Activist about how to help children who themselves are having children.

Given that the segment title is Live and Learn, we wanted to deep dive into the notion of learning as a unique human trait. We spoke to Cultural Anthropologist, Joseph Henrich who is also Chairman of the Department of Human Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University about how exactly human beings acquire knowledge through learning, and when we start the process of learning.

We often think about play and playing, being a past-time that kids indulge in. In fact, according to the United Nations, play and recreation are one of the many rights of children, that must be upheld. We speak to Paediatric Neuropsychologist Dr Daniel LeGoff to find out how play and play therapy are essential to helping children on the autism spectrum with their social development needs.

The recently released Social Prosperity Vision 2030 has identified a crime prevention index as one of the 8 social indicators of a progressive Malaysia. What really goes into a crime prevention index and how does the index contribute to creating safer spaces for us to live and thrive in? We speak to Rajiv Rishyakaran the ADUN for Bukit Gasing and Shamir Rajadurai, a Crime Prevention Specialist, about this issue and address fears that residents and home-dwellers harbour about criminal activity in their neighbourhoods.

As more and more of the world’s population move towards living in cities, architects and planners are shifting their focus towards preparing urban centres for the increased number of inhabitants. We speak to Caroline Bos and Ren Yee from UN Studio which is a Dutch architectural practice specialising in sustainable building and planning practices.

What are some of the issues that older people need to deal with when it comes to contemplating the end of their lives? It may sound like a morbid topic, but preparedness is key for ensuring that medical and legal complications do not detract from living life to the end, with dignity. Raja Eileeen Soraya and Ramakrishna Tharini from the Medico-Legal Society of Malaysia join us to outline the basics of medical law and then drill down into the rights that the elderly have when it comes to making important decisions on their health and healthcare needs.

Law & Behold is a series aimed at improving constitutional literacy among Malaysians, done in collaboration with The Malaysian Bar and the University of Malaya's Faculty of Law. In this episode, we discuss the struggle for recognition of the legal rights of indigenous communities under the Federal Constitution and laws of Malaysia with lawyer Steven Thiru, the 31st President of the Malaysian Bar, who handles native title cases for the Orang Asli.

Malaysia is one of only 25 countries that denies Malaysian women the right to confer nationality on their children on an equal basis as Malaysian men. Many are calling for Malaysia to amend the federal constitution to allow both men and women to confer their citizenship on their children born outside of Malaysia through the same process. We find out more from Bina Ramanand, the Lead Coordinator and Co-founder of the Foreign Spouses Support Group (FSSG) and Suri Kempe, the Programme Manager of Musawah.