Talkback

Public schools can either be a firm foundation for unity or spread the seeds of disunity.As we take several measures to better our education system, could English be the neutral language in bringing our seemingly polarised society together? Are English-medium schools the answer to national unity? Our lines will be open.
This Talkback Thursday is brought to you by the Economic Transformation Program (ETP)

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According to a recent study, presented at the forum Brain Drain: Who Gains? Who Sacrifices? in KL on Saturday, economist Dr Lim Kim Hwa stated that the current scheme to stem brain drain could backfire.

In reference to the 15% optional tax rate on income for 5 years, this would inadvertently nudge more local professionals to work abroad for higher salaries and gains that outstripped the benefits that they would enjoy if they returned.

Citing a 2011 World bank Report, among the top three reasons Malaysians left to work overseas: better salary/benefits, career prospects and social injustice.

Should we focus on retaining and improving local talent as a cheaper and more sustainable solution rather than luring overseas Malaysians back?

Today on the Evening Edition we asked ‘Should we forget about trying to bring Malaysian experts back from abroad?’ Do you really think country needs their expertise?

Our lines were open.

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On the 3rd of July 2014, Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor said that soup kitchens will be fined f they do not shift out of the capital city by Monday. In an initiative to clean up the streets of the homeless. A 2km radius has been instituted around the shopping mall Lot 10 where non-governmental organisations (NGO’s) are prohibited from feeding the homeless.

Evening Edition asks: What initiatives you think KL should adopt to help clean up the city? Should the poor and hungry be considered ‘problems’ for the city and just be swept aside? What should we do with people that are our malnourished?

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Just a few days ago 15-year-old Muhammad Firdaus Dullah was found covered with faeces and urine in a low cost flat in Taman Semarak, Nilai. He was emaciated, couldn't walk, and suffers from cerebral palsy.

Meanwhile, Malaysia found itself being downgraded to the lowest level ranking on a recent human trafficking report, indicating that Malaysia has categorically failed to comply with the most basic international requirements to prevent trafficking and protect victims within our borders.

What does this say about us as a society?

Tonight on the Evening Edition, we be explored the idea of compassion. As a people, are we lacking in compassion? Our lines were open.

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Back in 2010 North Korea made it into the World Cup; a team not exactly known for the footballing prowess or their football fandom. Why is it, that a nation as football crazy as Malaysia can't make it into the World Cup? What do we need to do? How do we get there? Our lines were open.

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A total of 230 suggestions were made in the Auditor-General's Report 2013 Series 2 to assist the federal and state governments and federal statutory bodies to make improvements and overcome the weaknesses reported.

Auditor-General Tan Sri Ambrin Buang said out of this number, 55 suggestions were made to the federal government, 31 to the federal statutory bodies and 144 to the state governments. "The weaknesses reported mostly involved inefficiency and failure to comply with the government’s financial regulations by the public servants involved."

We opened the lines to ask if you thought that the AG's report  improved accountability.

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Last September, the Singapore government rolled out the first batch of three-generation (3Gen) flats. Essentially, larger flats - each of which were at approximately 115 sq m in size (about 5 sq m bigger than a typical five-roomer). Each 3Gen flat typically has four bedrooms, a living area, a dining area, a kitchen, three bathrooms, and a store room cum apartment shelter. The idea behind this is, is that young couples should live with their parents.

This largely echoed preliminary results of an online poll that showed most young couples would rather live on their own. Most of the couples who took part in the Ministry of National Development (MND) session were worried about the lack of privacy of such three-generation (3Gen) flats.

So we asked what you thought about the idea of the Multi-generation flat. Should it be encouraged here in Malaysia?

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The latest victim in the saga of "THINGS BANNED IN MALAYSIA", is an album that was released 47 years ago. Jimi Hendrix’s 1967 album “Axis: Bold as Love” was recently banned by the Home Ministry, as the album cover art depicts Hendrix and his bandmates as various forms of the Hindu deity, Lord Vishnu.

A spokesman from the Home Ministry’s Publication Control and Quranic Text unit also said that the CD's would be prohibited from entering the country and that they would seize such CDs found in Malaysia. In fact, according to reports, the ban was enforced last month when the Home Ministry confiscated posters of the  album cover from bookseller BookXcess Sdn Bhd.

On Talkback today, we explored whether or not us being too sensitive could affect our economy.

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On Talkback Tuesday, we'll talked about the future of our country. And by that, we meant our children. We've read so many horror stories in the news recently with regard to the senseless death of children, the abused and the neglected. What can we do to make Malaysia better for our children? Our lines were open.

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