A key battle in the Philippines mid-terms will be for the 12 Senate seats up for grabs, which, if captured by President Rodrigo Duterte's allies, would mean a Duterte-aligned supermajority in both Houses of Parliament. For more insight into the elections, we speak to Dr. Aries Arugay, Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Philippines-Diliman, about possible outcomes, what policies Duterte may push through if he wins Senate control, and the other members of the Duterte family stepping up to the political plate.

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00:05 - Crude palm oil (CPO) goes through the unusual situation of reduced stocks and lower prices.

04:02 - Meanwhile, the government looks to China for ways to make homes cheaper.

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The Sandakan by-elections saw DAP's Vivian Wong emerge victorious with a 11,500 vote majority over her nearest rival, PBS's Datuk Linda Tsen. For more insight into the results and how they reflect on Pakatan Harapan as a whole, we speak to Ibrahim Suffian, Program Director at the Merdeka Centre. Listen in. 

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Is there enough government support and legislation to help working Mothers in Malaysia? We talk to Suri Kempe, Programme Director of Musawah, to find out.

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00:00 - The vote in the Philippines mid-term elections will test Duterte’s popularity, but will likely result in his consolidation of power. Listen in to our discussion.

02:30 - We speak to Dr Tang Siew Mun, Head of the ASEAN Studies Centre at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute to determine the economic impact the KRA Canal will have on Thailand and its regional neighbours.

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00:05 - We speak to Tan Sri Ramon Navaratnam about his views on the New Economic Policy that was implemented in the aftermath of the May 13th riots in 1969.

09:18 - Should KWAP be giving out loans?

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00:00 - The Prime Minister has introduced a new economic model: Shared Prosperity 2030. It's essentially a request for an extension of the Vision 2020 assignment which started a generation ago. His lost decade explainer must also be looked at in light of some of the longer term institutional failures that led to Vision 2020's breakdown. Some “cakap serupa bikin” is called for in policy resolve going forward.

06:18 - We discuss connectivity, from the West Coast Expressway (WCE) following the collapse of it's Klang section, to the revival of the MRT3 and the Sarawak LRT project. Listen in. 

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The proposed merger between Telenor and Axiata would make it one of the largest regional telcos in the ASEAN and Southeast Asian region. However the deal is still in the early stages of discussion.

We speak to Janice Chong, Director at Fitch Ratings, on her take on the merger.

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00:00 - Grab is looking to raise less than 500 million US Dollars for its financial services and payments business. They have mandated a few banks to attract strategic investors like banks and insurance companies to take minority stakes rather than just raising capital.

04:25 - Google’s paid music services have topped 15 million music subscribers after struggling to build their subscription media business. Subscribers to YouTube Music and Premium grew 60% between March 2018 and March 2019.

Listen in. 

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In conjunction with the release of the Corporate Governance Monitor 2019 by the Secuities Commission, we ask Lya Rahman, an adviser with the Institutional Investors Council of Malaysia, whether CEOs of listed companies are overpaid.

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