The government has announced that there will no longer be toll waivers during festive seasons. This announcement comes right before Chinese New Year, when people will be making plans to travel. So naturally, its ruffled a few feathers. We speak to Shahrim Tamrin, about why this move is one in the right direction.

· Chicken ham sandwich issue leads to vandalism: This incident began when two KK Mart outlets found themselves in hot water over the question of whether their sandwiches were halal or not. This issue triggered a wave of different reactions from people, and reached its peak when an outlet was doused with paint recently. Syaza Shukri, associate professor of Political Science at International Islamic University of Malaysia weighs in on why this issue has become so polarised.

· ASEANAPOL to crack down on scam centres: The regional police cooperation is prioritizing the fight against scam syndicates, which fuel human trafficking and cybercrime across the region. Meanwhile, Malaysia is pushing for an ASEAN Cybercrime Task Force to improve intelligence sharing. Raymon Ram, Certified Fraud Examiner and Anti-Money Laundering Specialist at Graymatter Forensic Advisory weighs in on these efforts.

· New fitness standards for police and firefighters: Police and firefighters will now be expected to achieve a certain level of fitness, in order for them to get promotions. We spoke to Professor Dr Sharifa Ezat Wan Puteh, health economics professor from UKM Medical Centre, about why this matters.

· Malala calls out Taliban's gender apartheid: The Nobel Peace Prize winner urged Muslim leaders to challenge the Taliban-led government's discriminatory policies against Afghan women and girls. Rozana Isa, executive director of Sisters in Islam shares how women are discriminated and whether our own Ministry of Education's efforts can really influence change in Afghanistan.

Image Credit: shutterstock.com

Produced by: Christine May Yong, Sneha Harikannan, Sudais Ferhard, Alia Zefri

Presented by: Lee Chwi Lynn, Sharaad Kuttan

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Categories:  politics,  government,  international,  Law/Activism,  corruption,  environment,  controversies,  education

Tags:  government toll waivers,  Chinese New Year travel,  works minister,  chicken ham sandwich issue,  halal controversy,  KK Mart vandalism,  ASEANAPOL scam centres,  ASEAN Cybercrime Task Force,  fitness standards,  Taliban gender apartheid,  gender discrimination in Afghanistan,  cybercrime,  human trafficking,  police,  firefighters,  health economics,  malala,