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. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/norman-goh/message ..read more

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 ..read more

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 proce ..read more

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 ..read more

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 u ..read more

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. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/norman-goh/message ..read more

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 em ..read more

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 dynam ..read more

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. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/norman-goh/message ..read more

What are my top stories of the week? Check out my take of last week's top stories and what you should look out this week as we prepare for Umno's AGM over the weekend.  --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/norman-goh/message ..read more