The 2024 ASEAN Gender Outlook report reveal that while poverty rates in ASEAN have declined, but climate change threatens this, disproportionately impacting women, particularly in rural areas. We speak to Aroe Ajoeni, Co-founder & Communications Director, Klima Action Malaysia (KAMY), on the call for gender-sensitive climate policies and how Malaysia is performing in terms of its climate commitments, in comparison to its ASEAN neighbours.

· Controversial CMA bill passed: Despite many concerns being raised in debate sessions, MPs voted on the Communication and Multimedia Act Bill. Notably, all the MPs who voted in favour were from the MADANI coalition. We spoke to Sarah Yong, chairperson of the Bar Council Cyber & Privacy Laws Committee, and Radzi Razak, Spokesperson, Gerakan Media Merdeka (GERAMM) about what passing of the bill means.

· Amending Poca to address cults: Following the GISB Holdings case, the Home Ministry wants to curb religious cults by bringing back the Prevention of Crime Act, known as Poca. This Act aimed to combat organized crime, targeting criminal groups, secret societies, terrorists, and other threats. We explore whether this is the best approach, with Dr Haezreena Begum Abdul Hamid, a criminologist and Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Law at UM.

· JAWI probes 'noisy' mosque: There have been numerous complaints by residents about a mosque in Kuala Lumpur, for its allegedly excessive loud sermons conveyed through its loudspeakers. The Religious Affairs minister has since responded, saying that a framework exists to handle issues like this. To get a clearer idea on this issue, we speak to Dato Dr. Ahmad Farouk Musa, founder and director of the Islamic Renaissance Front.

· Popek Popek Parlimen: Today's session saw MPs discuss data centres, amidst concerns of high energy consumption hindering our goal to achieve net zero energy by 2050. They also discussed the government's AI program, and a new one 'Rakyat Digital' set to be launched tomorrow. Menstrual health education in schools was also part of today's debate session, with a focus on education to remove stigma.

*Correction: In the podcast, we said that the country's target of reaching net zero energy is by the year 2025. The year that the government has set is actually 2050.


Image Credit: TANAPAT LEK.JIW, Shutterstock

Produced by: Alena Nadia, Dashran Yohan, Sudais Ferhard, Alia Zefri

Presented by: Lee Chwi Lynn, Sharaad Kuttan

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

Tags:  cults,  government ai program,  popek popek parlimen,  asean,  sdgs,  sustainable development goals,  education,  poca,  communications and multimedia act,  jawi,  mosques,  climate change,  gender equality,