Bfm :: Live & Learn

For more than 10 years, Anton Protsiuk, who’s the programs coordinator at Wikimedia Ukraine, has been focused on decolonising Ukrainian knowledge and preserving languages. He joins us in today’s episode to discuss his work and how the Russian invasion of Ukraine prompted a wide reevaluation of the Ukrainian cultural legacy. Image Credit: Олена Ангелова

Social workers may not be a very visible profession but they work to protect and help some of the most vulnerable in our society. But as we continue to hear reports that we simply don’t have enough social workers, what are we doing to also protect them and the work that they do? In conjunction with the 50th anniversary of the formation of the Malaysian Association of Social Workers, we speak to Dr Teoh Ai Hua, president of MASW and Saskia Blume, chief of child protection at UNICEF Malaysia, on why a Social Work Profession Bill is needed. To find out more about the joint UNICEF-MASW campaign, “Heroes Among Us”, click here.Image Credit: UNICEF/MASW

Apa Kata Wanita Orang Asli or Amplifying the Voices of Young Orang Asli Women is a collaboration between the Freedom Film Network and young Orang Asli women from various tribes in Malaysia, which aims to amplify their voices through storytelling. Through the content they create, they hope to articulate their lived realities, and demand for equality and rights for their community in Malaysia. We speak to Eliana a/p Tan Beng Hui, Rosdila Ngah Roslan and Yaliyana Lenab, who are all content creators with the collective, to find out more about this collaboration, and to discuss why is it important for the voices of Orang Asli youths to be heard, especially those of young women.

The Refugee Festival 2023 will be taking place at the Kuala Lumpur Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall (KLSCAH) from the 8th - 10th of September. The event was founded by investigative journalist Mahi Ramakrishnan and was first held at Black Box Publika in 2016. The event has since grown into an annual affair with even more participation from various refugee community leaders.We discuss The Refugee Festival with Hasan Al-Akraa, a Syrian refugee, founder of Refugee Emergency Fund and Mohammad Ali Safdari, a refugee from Afghanistan and a musician. Image Credit: Khaldoun A Sh.

Have you ever had that one famous movie star, athlete or public figure that you really admired? Perhaps you’ve even had a “celebrity crush” or feel like they could be your friend? Most of us have probably formed at least one parasocial relationship in our lives, and with social media, these individuals feel more relatable than ever. Why do we form such attachments to people we don’t know? And when does that behaviour border on unhealthy, or even dangerous? Joining us on the show to share more about the psychology behind this is clinical psychologist Dr Joel Low. Image Credit: Shutterstock

We're set to celebrate 66 years of Merdeka on Thursday, and as the nation commemorates, we too want to remember the historic occasion, by paying tribute to our Bapa Merdeka, Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj, one of the prime architects of our Federal Constitution, and our Prime Minister from 1957 until September 1970, who was instrumental in gaining Malaya's freedom and sovereignty without war or bloodshed. Joining us to do this are two trustees from Yayasan Tunku Abdul Rahman (YTAR),  Datin Sri Sharifah Menyalara Hussein (CEO and Founding Director of M&C Saatchi Malaysia) and Emeritus Professor Datuk Dr Hj Shad Saleem Faruqi (Holder of the Tunku Abdul Rahman Chair, University of Malaya). While we reminisce about the past and our country's journey to independence, we also look forward to the future, and wonder what it holds for our nation.Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons 

If you’re a fan of Masterchef Australia, the name Adam Liaw would be a very familiar one to you. Adam took home the title in the second season of the series back in 2010, and he has since gone on to publish cookbooks and host TV shows, establishing himself as a household name in Australia, and arguably in some households here as well. The Malaysian-born Australian cook, author, and TV presenter joins us in the studio to share more about how his heritage has influenced his career in food and whether he plans to film a series in Malaysia one day. Image Credit: Adam Liaw

The Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall (KLSCAH) is running a human rights exhibition called FREEDOM. This exhibition will be divided into various sections, allowing visitors to visualise and understand the concept of freedom, to revisit the path that leads to where we are at today, and to reflect on what freedom is, and what it means to us.We speak to some of the brains behind the exhibition. Event details are as follows:Date: 23rd-31st August 2023Time: 9am-6pmVenue: Kong Choi Exhibition Room (First Floor of KLSCAH)

The finals of the FIFA Women’s World Cup took place last Sunday, in which Spain defeated England 1-0, in a hard-fought match.However, what we’re going to be discussing today is an incident that took place after the match. President of the Spanish football federation, Luis Rubiales, has been on the receiving end of criticism after he kissed striker Jenni Hermoso on the lips, following the Spanish team’s victory. The kiss was delivered on stage during the official post-match ceremony.On a live stream afterwards, Jenni Hermoso said that she “didn’t like it.” Later, she appeared to have changed her stance, calling it a “natural show of affection.”Spanish Socialist politician Adrián Barbón characterised it as an “absolute lack of respect and an abuse that neither the moment, nor the euphoria, nor the joy justifies.”We speak to Lilian Kok, Programme Manager, All Women’s Action Society (AWAM) about consent and what that means when there’s an imbalance in power dynamics. Image Credit: Kim Price/CSM/Shutterstock

Earlier this month, Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim said that the government is considering the introduction of schools targeted specifically for students from hardcore poor families, to ensure that access and opportunities are given fairly so that these students are not left behind. Would this help break the cycle of poverty among these children or will it further entrench the gap between students from lower and higher income groups? Joining us to share some insights into this is Loh Ken Ming, Director of Community Mobilisation at Teach for Malaysia. Image credit: 123RF

In legal and political theory, an elected and representative legislature is the central pillar of a democratic system. One third of the Articles of the Constitution of Malaysia require Parliament to perform a number of essential functions, such as the making of laws, scrutiny of executive policy, supervision of national finance, and control of emergency powers. But is Parliament failing to live up to our expectations in other areas? What are some reforms needed? We discuss this and more with Prof. Emeritus Datuk Dr Hj Shad Saleem Faruqi (Holder of the Tunku Abdul Rahman Chair at the University of Malaya, and co-chair of the UM Malaysian Bar Constitutional Literacy Initiative) and Maha Balakrishnan (Parliamentary Consultant & Researcher, and a Research Fellow at the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, Asian Headquarters).Law & Behold is an ongoing series which aims to arm Malaysians with constitutional literacy, and is done in collaboration with The Malaysian Bar, the University of Malaya's F

Wiki Impact is a new online platform dedicated to sharing stories of the impact industry and highlighting changemakers on the ground. On today’s show, I’ll be speaking to Co-Founder of Wiki Impact, Deborah Chan, to talk about how the organisation has evolved since 2021 and their upcoming Top 100 Changemakers Campaign.Image Credit: Wiki Impact 

Child sexual abuse are some of the most heinous crimes, and unfortunately, we are still hearing about such cases happening today, often “invisibly” because it happens at home. Just recently, it was reported that a 9-year-old is the youngest mother on record in the country, after it was mentioned by Yayasan Ikhlas chairman Zainur Rashid Zainuddin, who added that the girl had become pregnant after she was raped by her brother. Just yesterday, a man was found guilty of raping and sexually assaulting two of his teenage daughters over the past seven years, and the eldest daughter is now pregnant. What can we do to better protect young children, especially in their own homes? We speak to Dr James Nayagam, Chairman of Suriana Welfare Society to find out. To support their work, visit www.suriana.org for more information. Image credit: 123RF

“Election goodies” and “local council elections” are usually seen as two separate matters. But recently, Benjamin Loh, Senior Lecturer at the School of Media and Communication at Taylor’s University and Visiting Fellow with the ISEAS Yusof Ishak Institute wrote a column for Malaysiakini discussing if local council elections can destigmatise 'election goodies'? We discuss. Image Credit: Djohan Shahrin/Shutterstock

Ahead of the six state elections that are happening on the 12th of August, the Centre for Independent Journalism, along with University of Nottingham Malaysia, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, and Universiti Sains Malaysia, launched the “Say No To Hate Speech” portal as part of their hate speech monitoring project during this election period. Here to tell us more about this project as well as the need to recognise and counter hate speech is Zaharom Nain, professor of communication and multimedia at the University of Nottingham Malaysia. Image Credit: CIJ Malaysia

The Hungry Ghost Festival is one of several important festival days of Ghost Month - the seventh month of the Chinese lunar calendar. The festival is the setting of the Malaysian film Hungry Ghost Diner, which is a supernatural tale about memory, nostalgia, and commemoration, directed by filmmaker Cho We Jun. The film recently won the prestigious Netpac Award at the 27th Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival, and we catch up with We Jun, and also Lim Benji, the film’s producer, to discuss why they made a Cantonese language film set against the backdrop of the Hungry Ghost Festival during the MCO, while also doing a 101 on the Hungry Ghost Festival.

In light of the upcoming state elections, we take another look at Belanjawan 2023. On today’s show, we hone in on higher education specifically and discuss if our government is spending enough on higher education and whether we are getting the outcomes that we want from that spending.If you’d like to further explore the initiatives that the government is offering to the rakyat, you can visit: www.belanjawan.mof.gov.my/manfaat

In light of the upcoming state elections, we take another look at Belanjawan 2023. On today’s show, we hone in on education and discuss if our government is spending enough on education and whether we are getting the outcomes that we want from that spending.  We speak to Chan Soon Seng, CEO, Teach For Malaysia.

In light of the upcoming state elections, we’ll be taking another look at Belanjawan 2023 (or Budget 2023). On today’s show, we hone in on social housing, particularly Program Perumahan Rakyat (PPR), how it’s been maintained over the years and how Belanjawan 2023 seeks to improve the conditions of the people living there.

Self-care, anxiety, boundaries, depression. These are just some of the mental health terms that many of us have gotten used to hearing and using in everyday conversations. It’s undeniable that mental health awareness has grown leaps and bounds, but are we talking about mental health so much now that it’s become meaningless? Joining me on the show today to talk about how we’re talking about mental health and how that is affecting people who are struggling with serious mental health disorders is clinical psychologist, Sarah Zehan.Image Credit: Shutterstock