Australia heads to the polls for their federal elections tomorrow, and predictive polls have placed the incumbent centre-left Australian Labor party ahead of the centre-right Liberal-National Coalition. The presence of President Donald Trump has cast a shadow over the elections, with his recent policies heavily influencing citizens’ voting choices in this election. We talk about this with Kean Wong, Malaysian journalist and editor as well as associate of the Australian National University Malaysia Institute.

Other stories we covered:

• Sarawak vs Petronas Carigali: Carigali, a Petronas subsidiary, is accused of running a plant in Miri without a valid licence. While the issue may seem minor, it reflects deeper tensions between Sarawak and Petronas over control of the state’s oil and gas resources, as Sarawak asserts greater autonomy through its own oil and gas company, Petros. We spoke to Amalina Anuar, Senior Director of FMT Business, to understand the significance of this legal action and what it might signal for the broader dispute.

• Malaysian food staples double in price: Staple Malaysian foods such as roti canai and nasi lemak have risen in prices over the past couple of years. The Department of Statistics Malaysia recently released an analysis that found a significant trend between the measure of inflation and the prices of food items. We discuss this today with Professor Mohamad Fazli Sabri, the Head of the Department of Resource Management & Consumer Studies at Universiti Putra Malaysia.

• 60% of adults will be overweight by 2050: A recent Lancet Medical Journal study has shown that 60% of adults will be obese by 2050. We get into the misconceptions surrounding the root causes of obesity with insight from Professor Dr Barakatun Nisak, Deputy Dean of Health Sciences and Dr Yang Wai Yew, Senior Lecturer, both from Universiti Putra Malaysia.

• Singaporean politicians turn to podcasting: Building up to election day in Singapore, more and more politicians have been using podcasts as a medium for their campaigns. Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong himself has appeared on podcasts such as, “Yah Lah BUT” and, “The Daily Ketchup.” We talk about podcast culture and why politicians may be using them in their campaign strategies.

Image Credit: Shutterstock

Produced by: Sharaad Kuttan, Dashran Yohan, Alia Zefri, Sudais Ferhard, Sneha Harikannan, Tee Shiao Eek

Presented by: Sharaad Kuttan, Dashran Yohan

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Categories:  politics,  government,  international,  culture,  technology,  economy,  controversies,  food,  wellness,  managing disease,  Law/Activism

Tags:  singapore elections 2025,  campaign strategy,  petronas,  oil and gas,  malaysian food,  roti canai,  nasi lemak,  inflation,  rising food prices,  obesity awareness,  obesity,  podcasts,  australian elections,  president donald trump,