BMI - Bicara Minggu Ini

Malaysia unanimously passed the bill to repeal mandatory death penalty and natural life sentence at the Parliament today. After years of work, the bill was approved and paved the way to the reforms of criminal justice system in Malaysia. One of the prominent proponents of such law reform is Kasthuri Patto, former Batu Kawan MP, and she has worked closely with NGOs to push for these reforms.

The constitutional amendment on Malaysia Agreement MA63 will be tabled in the last Parliamentary sitting of the year 2021. It was initially scheduled to be tabled on October 26 as the first reading and the second reading on October 28. However, on October 25, de-facto law minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar told the Parliament that the cabinet has decided to postpone the amendment to a later date to iron out the details with the Attorney General's Chambers. At the same time, Pakatan Harapan's MP from Seremban, Anthony Loke said in a statement on October 25 that the opposition bloc of MPs are in full support of the constitutional amendments and called on the government to table it immediately in this sitting.  This is the second attempt after Pakatan Harapan administration failed in 2019. How different is it this time than in 2019? And will it succeed?  In this episode, we have two long term observers from Borneo: Joe Samad from Sabah and James Chin from Sarawak to share their views in a Clubhouse session held on October 25, 2021. 

September 9, 2021 - It was a day of reckoning. A day of joy and celebration for Malaysian mothers who have been trying so hard for years to finally get an affirmation by the Kuala Lumpur High Court that children born overseas to Malaysian mothers and foreign fathers are automatically entitled to Malaysian citizenship. However, the Attorney General's Chambers had filed an appeal against the high court decision on September 14. In this episode, I speak to Ronan Collins, spouse to Malaysian mother, Choong Wai Li who is one of the six mothers together with Family Frontiers, started the legal proceedings last year seeking a declaration that Malaysian women married to foreign spouses can automatically get citizenship for their children who are born overseas. There were an estimated 40,000 pending applications from Malaysian women seeking citizenship for their children. Public pressures are mounting and growing calls by lawmakers, even members of the cabinet, to rescind the decision by the Attorney-General’s Chambers to appeal against the case. Question is, will the new Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri uphold his mantra of “Keluarga Malaysia”?

The history repeated itself again when former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin announced his resignation on 16 August that led to a frenzy of competing for the numbers to appoint a new Prime Minister for Malaysia. Alas, after a long two weeks of political drama, we have come to an end after the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Al-Mustafa Billah Shah of Pahang, consented the appointment of Bera MP, Ismail Sabri Yaakob as the ninth Malaysian Prime Minister. Ismail is also the third PM appointed since the last 14th General Election in 2018. In this episode, I will try to delve deeper into what are among the key things to watch when Ismail Sabri takes his oath of office on 21 August at the Istana Negara. I’m speaking to Raja Iskandar Fareez, communications director of Research For Social Advancement Berhad (REFSA).

The deadline is over. At 4PM sharp on 18th of August, all 220 MPs submitted their statutory decorations to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong. Who will be the next Prime Minister, the ninth Prime Minister of Malaysia? After months and weeks of political turmoil in Malaysia, in the face of rising Covid-19 cases in the country, Malaysia finds itself deep in the triple crisis in health, economy and politics. It does seem like there is no end to this, but by this weekend, we may have a new prime minister, until the next general election which may be held sometime next year, or maybe in the next 21 months until the tenure expires in 2023. With me in this episode, Dr. James Chin, political analyst at the Asia Institute, University of Tasmania in Australia.

In this episode, I speak to Kelvin Tan, CEO and co-founder of Project ID, a school-based education initiative to help students and teachers. In 2020, Project ID conducted the Student Voice Matters survey to understand how students are coping with the sudden switch to online learning. This year in 2021, Project ID recently published the first part of the study to see the changes in the Malaysian students’ online learning experience and how they look to move forward.

International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) Asia-Pacific launched the report on The Trust in Media study in Malaysia, in collaboration with the Merdeka Centre on 10 May 2021. The research is a key activity in the foundation phase of strengthening Malaysia’s Media for Change Project. The project was commissioned to Merdeka Centre for Opinion Research to assess current reporting standards and public perceptions of media outlets, media coverage and journalists. The research concluded in January 2021 and this webinar will discuss the key findings and to launch the Trust in Media report. The webinar featured the following panelists and moderated by Norman Goh, independent journalist and producer of Bicara Minggu Ini: 1. Cynthia Gabriel, Executive Director of Centre to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4) 2. Ibrahim Suffian, Programs Director of Merdeka Center for Opinion Research 3. Charles F. Moiera, Freelance Journalist, Associate Member of National Union of Journalists Malaysia (NUJ) 4. Jahabar Sadiq, Founder of The Malaysian Insight

In this episode, I am speaking to Dr Oh Ei Sun, a senior fellow at the Singapore Institute of International Affairs to discuss about the prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin's political longevity amidst the political crisis. Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin still enjoys a high approval rating at 67% in the recent poll by Merdeka Center, suggesting a growing optimism for the leader of Perikatan Nasional coalition. However, the survey showed a clear split on the administration as a whole as the nation struggles to find the footing in securing a clear stability in the government, in the midst of the emergency. As we try to decipher the peculiarity of the polls by Merdeka Center, despite the kerfuffle by several ministers in Muhyiddin’s cabinet, he is set to continue to be comfortable amidst the noise in the Malaysian political landscape. In another matter, Abdul Hamid Bador bid farewell as the inspector-general of police on May 4th and the new IGP is Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani, taking over the helm of the police force. Hamid, however, made an explosive allegation about the interference of the executives, accusing the politicians for meddling in the works of the police. Although these allegations are not new, this confirms the long ongoing rumours that the political masters have had hands in the law enforcement.  How do we read in between the lines of the polls on Malaysian politics and what future holds for the law enforcement in the country?

In the last Sarawak state election held in 2016, the then Sarawak Barisan Nasional led by the late Adenan Satem, won with a landslide victory, winning 72 out of 82 seats contested, while the opposition only managed to secure 10 seats. Although we are still in the midst of the emergency, it is expected that the state will call for an election by the end of the year once the emergency is lifted. In this episode, a collaboration with Dr James Chin, professor in Asia Studies at Asia Institute, University of Tasmania, as well as Sarawak’s ROSE or Rise of Efforts in discussing the polemics and dynamics of Malay politics, its influence and power. We were joined by Parti Bumiputera Pesaka Bersatu PBB deputy youth chief, Fazruddin Abdul Rahman, who is also assemblyman for Tupong constituency in Kuching. This discussion is also joined by Abang Halil Abang Nalil, chairman of Sarawak Amanah and Abang Zulkifli Abang Engkeh, deputy chairman of Sarawak’s Parti Keadilan Rakyat.

In this episode, I speak to DAP’s national political education director and former deputy defence minister Senator Liew Chin Tong, discussing the changing political landscape in the country after Umno’s ultimatum to Bersatu and Perikatan Nasional.  We will be diving deeper into the economic issues we face in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic and moving forward as we attempt to pull it through these tough times.