Evening Edition

It’s that time of year when people are making and breaking their New Year’s resolutions in quick succession. So we check in with Dr Chua Sook Ning about this practice of making resolutions, and how to do it in a way that is helpful (and doesn't create unnecessary stress and pressure!). Image Source: xalien, ShutterstockSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Whistleblower Lalitha Kunaratnam has received a letter of demand from MACC Chief Tan Sri Azam Baki over the publication of two articles that purportedly questions the latter’s share purchases. She has been asked to issue a public apology within 14 days, remove the aforementioned articles and pay RM 10 million in damages for tarnishing his reputation. We speak with lawyer Goh Cia Yee to find out more about the situation, as well as what this says about how much protection is offered to whistleblowers.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lion dances are a traditional part of Chinese New Year celebrations, and one that people look forward to every year, with the drum beats and thrilling stunts. As we say goodbye to the Year of the Ox and hello to the Year of the Tiger, we check in with the first National Southern Lion Dance Championship, and discuss the role they play in keeping this tradition alive. Image Source: Gary Tou, UnsplashSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A new policy was recently announced that returning Umrah pilgrims are required quarantine at a designated facility. This came after news that a large number of Umrah travellers had tested positive for the Omicron Covid-19 variant, and had not followed proper quarantine SOPs. This has led to public outrage about the high hotel quarantine costs they've had to bear. We look into this.Image source: Eczatasoy, ShutterstockSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A tweet calling out a movie-goer for posting snippets of the new film, "House of Gucci" goes viral. We go through Twitter for reactions.Image Source: Tima Miroshnichenko, PexelsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

World Number 1 and nine-time Australian Open winner, Novak Djokovic, has had his entry visa revoked to Australia, and may not be able to play in the 2022 Grand Slam. While he’s contesting it legally and the Serbian president and Australian prime minister are lobbing statements back and forth, we get into the wider repercussions of a prominent athlete and his refusal to vaccinate.Image Source: Leonard Zhukovsky, ShutterstockSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As of yesterday, Blackberry devices running the original in-house operating system are no longer being supported. We commemorate the end of the legendary Blackberry era.Image Source: Hafez Husin, ShutterstockSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On January 2nd, President Joe Biden told the Ukrainian President that the US will "respond decisively" if Russia further invades Ukraine. This comes amidst Russia's demands that the West not interfere with Ukraine. With talks between the US and Russia scheduled for January 9th and 10th, we look at the implications of these events.Image source: Lev Radin, ShutterstockSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A report by The Malaysian Insight has shed light on the increase of porn consumption amongst children, during the pandemic. We discuss the wider social impact of this and how parents can encourage healthy conversations on sex-related topics with their children.Source: Monkey Business Image, ShutterstockSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

lt's been two years since virtual negotiaions began, and now Malaysia will be facilitating physical peace talks between the Thai government and Barisan Revolusi Nasional. What goes into such negotiations, and will a face to face meeting finally put an end to the ongoing conflict in the Deep South? We explore. Image source: Tanes Ngamsom, ShutterstockSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An intern at Mydin has landed themselves a permanent position with a tweet. We discuss this and what it says about the current job hunting scene in Malaysia. Image Source: roshaizul, ShutterstockSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Videos of Rohingya children walking on roads and knocking on car windows to get drivers’ attention are going viral on Twitter, and have garnered a variety of responses. We get into this.Image Source: MIA Studio, ShutterstockSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A dad in Singapore discovered his daughter had made online transactions worth RM61, 936 to upgrade her avatar in the mobile game Genshin Impact. We look at the details of this discovery and the larger questions around microtransactions in games that this brings up. Image source: Courtesy of miHoYoSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Penang is trending on Twitter, after an article on CNN Travel named it one of the best destinations to visit in 2022. Image Source: The Hippo Zoom, ShutterstockSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bread company Massimo has decided to hike up the prices of their products, after Gardenia announced their price increase a few months ago. We find out more about this decision. Image Source: Zambri Zakaria, ShutterstockSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In our last story of the year, we look back at some of the biggest global headlines and developments of 2021, and how it impacted us, as well as what they might mean for us as we move into 2022. Image source: Ververidis Vasilis, Shutterstock; Fotomay, Shutterstock; lev radin, Shutterstock; kan Sangtong, ShutterstockSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We're reaching the end of 2021, which is the second year of the pandemic, and mental health is a topic that is more significant than ever. We discuss how it's been throughout the year, and some ways we can approach our mental health as we enter 2022. Image Source: rawpixel.com, ShutterstockSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today on Twitter, we look at tweets on the new years, and how people are celebrating the end of 2021. Image Source: Özgür Öztürk, UnsplashSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Universiti Malaya Press has published a book aiming to educate Malaysians on the electoral process, written by two former members of the Electoral Reform Committee, which was established to review election laws and systems. We spoke to Dr G Manimaran, one of the authors, to find out more.Image Source: Ilham Books Offical WebsiteSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today, we look into the trending hashtag #CucukMYAZ as more AstraZeneca vaccine recipients receive their booster shots. Image Source: insta_photos, ShutterstockSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After years of being rejected, a group of Malaysian mothers, whose children were previously denied citizenship because they were born overseas to foreign fathers, finally managed to start the process to get the children’s citizenship confirmation certificate at the National Registration Department (JPN) yesterday. We discuss their response to this, and what it took for them to get to this point.Image Source: Austin Lowman, UnsplashSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A report has shown that 90 government websites are still ‘not secure’ five months after the audit announcement. We look into what this means, and the risks it involves.Image Source: song_about_summer, ShutterstockSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

#HighCourt is trending, after the court ruled that the use of Tamil and Mandarin in vernacular schools is constitutional. We look into it. Image Source: Naufal Zaquan, ShutterstockSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Six retention ponds were approved by DBKL for development, despite the developments posing a risk of rivers in the city overflowing. We look into what goes into development order approvals, and whether they’re being considered properly. Image Source: Faizal Ramli, ShutterstockSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There’s been several calls to investigate the allegations against MACC Chief Commissioner Datuk Seri Azam Baki, on his ownership of about 2 million shares in a publicly listed company. We look into the case.Image Source: Parti Amanah Negara Official Facebook PageSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The MySJ Trace function will use bluetooth technology to solve the issues we all have with checking out and to ease the process of contact tracing. We go through the mechanics of the function and the questions on privacy that have naturally come up.Image Source: zmpixes, ShutterstockSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Food containers, specifically Tupperware, has been trending on Twitter in relation to the floods that happened in the country since last week. We find out why.Image Source: Ahmad Nazrol bin MohammedSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is making the argument that timber firms should contribute more financial aid to flood victims, saying that they were partially responsible for local flash floods. We discuss this.Image Source: PARALAXIS, ShutterstockSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There is a video making its rounds on social media, of authorities stopping an ambulance at an intersection so the Prime Minister’s convoy can pass through. We go to Twitter for reactions.Image Source: zmpixes, ShutterstockSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ministers and VIPs have been receiving a lot of public backlash over the photos and videos they have shared on social media, of them helping with flood relief. We look into where the criticisms are coming from, and how it can be handled better.Image Source: Rina Harun Official Facebook PageSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s been a tough week for many Malaysians dealing with the floods and its effects, but one bright spot has been seeing so many of us coming together to try and help where we can. And in the last week, one initiative has come up time and time again, and that’s the aid provided by Sikh houses of worship. Image Source: Gurdwara Sahib Petaling Jaya - GSPJ Facebook PageSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today, Twitterverse gives shine and love to Azwan Omar, who drove from Melaka to Shah Alam to rescue flood victims, with nothing but RM50 in his pocket and a boat tied to the roof of his Perodua Viva. Image Source: edwinmasripan, TwitterSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

MCMC were unsuccessful in their attempt to remove Twitter posts and hashtags that were critical of the government’s handling of the floods. We get into the details and response to this story.Image Source: Brett Jordan, UnsplashSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Despite the discovery made during a heritage impact assessment (HIA) for the Melaka Waterfront Economic Zone, experts have given the greenlight for the mega reclamation project to proceed. We speak to the researcher of the HIA to get a better understanding of how the decision was made and what goes into these undersea explorations. Image Source: Melaka Waterfront Economic Zone - M-WEZ Official Facebook PageSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An amusing video of a Myvi bravely powering through floodwaters is going viral. We head to Twitter for reactions.Image Source: Bonma Suriya, ShutterstockSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With flood recovery efforts underway, we focus on what we need to do to flood-proof our towns and cities. Image Source: Faiz Zaki, ShutterstockSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An Indonesian domestic worker has sought refuge at the Indonesian Embassy, having fled a home she had worked at for 12 years, without receiving any pay. We look into the legalitlies around this and what is needed to afford domestic workers basic rights. Image Source: sebra, ShutterstockSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We look into the reactions of the public to the launch of the Keluarga Malaysia Relief Fund launched yesterday.Image Source: Rina Mohd Harun Official Facebook pageSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With the recent devastating floods, and the possibility of continuing bad weather, we get some insight on what we can do to keep as safe as possible in the event of a flood.Image Source: Kemang Hakim, ShutterstockSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We shed light on the brands that have gotten involved in flood recovery efforts.Image Source: Papa Annur, ShutterstockSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We continue our discussion on the massive floods that have affected more than 66,000 people in the country. We get into the importance of mental health care and psychological first aid for flood victims.Image Source: muhd fuad abd rahim, ShutterstockSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the last day of the Dewan Rakyat this year, MPs got into a heated argument over whether a debate on the flood disaster should be allowed in Parliament. Also, Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin announced that the tabling of the amendments for the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act will be postponed to the next sitting.Image source: Yusnizam Yusof, ShuuterstockSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On Saturday, Gabungan Parti Sarawak won by an overwhelming majority with 76 seats, retaining its rule in Sarawak. We discuss where the chips have fallen with the outcome of this recent election.Image Source: tehvon, ShutterstockSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We get into how the rakyat has banded together to help those affected by the devastating floods which hit Malaysia over the weekend.Image Source: IZWAN IS, ShutterstockSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We pay tribute to our friend and colleague Ross Yusof, who passed away on 15th December 2021.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Warisan launched its peninsular chapter today, with plans to run in GE15 as a party to unite all Malaysians, and to be inclusive and multiracial.Can they succeed in their commitment to build a nation that looks beyond race and religion? Dr. Firdausi Suffian weighs in. Image Source: Shafie Apdal Offical Facebook PageSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We look into the hashtags #SalamJumaat and #HappyWeekend, and different types of greetings we get these days on social media.Image Source: Valeriia Miller, UnsplashSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A newly launched app called MySukarela, created by the Malaysian Red Crescent Society, allows people to sign up as volunteers while matching this to the needs of NGOs. The platform also allows donors to contribute to these activities. We find out more. Image Source: Malaysian Red Crescent FacebookSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Banks have announced that the RM1 fee for interbank ATM withdrawals will be reinstated in February next year, but Opposition MPs say this isn’t the right time. We look into this.Image Source: Gwoeii, ShutterstockSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today in Dewan Rakyat, the government announced that they will maintan the legal marrying age at 16 for Muslim girls, and that parliament will be extended to Monday, to give MPs time to debate and vote on the amendments to increase penalties for SOP violations. Image Source: Jarretera, ShutterstockSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.