Talkback

Yesterday, in a bid to kick off its Hari Raya campaign, Watsons Malaysia released an extremely controversial 15-minute short film called ‘Legenda Cun Raya’. The video spread like wildfire, igniting huge controversy and a barrage of comments all over the internet disgracing the film for promoting blackface and racism. So, this evening we want to know: Is it important to have fair skin? Our lines will be open.

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#2kerja - some of us do it out of necessity. Some of us do it because we can, and additional income does more good than harm at the end of the day. The increasing cost of living has often been cited as the main reason this is happening. Not to mention economists' forecast of our shrinking urban middle class and a further depreciating ringgit. But this, of course, takes its toll on those who have 2 jobs - they're overworked and stuck in a rut. So, this evening we want to know: Is it realistic to expect someone to hold two jobs? Our lines will be open.

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Malaysians were asked whether they would support a proposal for a single-stream education system as opposed to the current vernacular schooling system that we have now. The polls suggested an almost fair split between both sides of the fence - with 47.4% of them opposing it and 41.4% supporting the idea. There are arguments that vernacular schools can unintentionally cause segregation of race, mindset, and language - but it can also prolong a native cultural identity. With the Malaysian population seemingly more polarised along racial and religious lines, we're asking you, what do you think is needed to foster unity in our schools? Our lines will be open.

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So, we’ve just gone past Teacher’s Day, a day that’s very much a token of appreciation for the vital contributions that teachers make to education and development. A couple of days ago, there was an article in FMT, quoting Zakaria Kasa of the National Professors Council who talked about Singapore, and how Singaporean parents often have to play an important role in their kid’s academic performance. He said that in Singapore, parents are urged to be assistant teachers, in an official capacity. He then went on to say that Malaysia should adopt a similar culture instead of pinning responsibility on teachers alone. So this evening, we’re asking you, would you volunteer to be a teacher’s assistant? Our lines will be open.

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It was reported this week that there are at least 1 in 20 runaway-maid cases here in Malaysia. The reasons vary from employer abuse to being misled by their agency and also the yearning for freedom. The Malaysian Maid Employers’ Association have said that more effort should be made to overcome the problem of runaway maids. And one of the suggestions is to treat domestic maids like family, but is that the solution? What else could we do to nip the problem in the bud? With all the work they assist us in, could we live without domestic help? Our lines will be open.

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Earlier this week, we covered a story about how retired senior citizens in China, are clamouring to go back to university. Looking at projections for Malaysia, we’re headed for an increase, to about 33.3 million by 2020, with the aged population (people 60 years and above) projected at just under 10% of that. We’re going to have 3.26 million senior citizens in our midst, come 2020. So this evening, we’d like to find out what your plans for retirement are. Have you planned for your retirement? And if you're retired, what are you doing now? Our lines will be open.

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The death of Mohammad Thaqif Amin who was physically abused at his school has left the nation in shock and anger. Everyone has been saying that it should not have happened. But it did. And the events leading up to his unfortunate demise exposed a cry for help that was ignored, and a system without checks and balances.Who should take responsibility over his death? Who should be taking care of the welfare of our kids in school? Our lines will be open.

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A couple of days ago, Sports and Youth Minister Khairy Jamaluddin spoke about how young Malaysians preferred citizens of the country to be known as ‘Bangsa Malaysia’. He found a recurring narrative spoken by youths from 20 dialogues held nationwide on the TN50 Programme. It seemed that most young Malaysians ‘wanted the wall that separated the races in the country to be demolished’. Though, it isn’t exactly a recent idea: in 1991, the notion of Bangsa Malaysia was outlined as one of the nine goals in the Vision 2020 by former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad. Our current Prime Minister announced a similar rhetoric under the brand of 1Malaysia. We all know what we want to be identified as - and that is Bangsa Malaysia, or simply: Malaysians. But what might be more difficult to define is what it means to us. So today for Talkback, we’re asking, what does ‘Bangsa Malaysia’ mean to you? Our lines will be open.

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A couple of days ago, SPAD released proposed guidelines for the reclassification of taxi services in Malaysia. The objective, is to revamp the industry, leveling the playing field amongst taxi drivers and their ride-sharing counterparts. So this evening, we’re trying to assess where we are, in terms of the whole taxi/ridesharing ecosystem. On Talkback Thursday today, we’d like you to tell us about your experiences with taxis and ridesharing services - the good and the bad. Our lines will be open.

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Parliament is in session, and it's been a busy period for our MPs who have been carefully reviewing tabled bills and amendments. And the outcome has been good; notably for the bill on sexual violence against children and the amendments passed for the Domestic Violence Act. But an off-putting remark by Tasek Gelugor MP Datuk Shabudin Yahaya about rape and child marriage has got Parliament and the public up in arms. So today on Talkback Thursday, we'd like to know if you think your MPs represent your views. Our lines will be open.

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