The world’s first and highly anticipated Gig Workers Bill 2025 is set to be tabled in Parliament tomorrow. But with growing concerns that the process is being rushed, coupled with the fact that the Ministry of Human Resources has chosen to forego a regulatory commission, those on the ground wait to see if the bill will accurately address their challenges. We speak to Vishnovarthan Pulainthran, Secretary General of Malaysia E-Hailing & Delivery Organization (MEDO) for his thoughts.

Other stories we covered:

• Najib still vying for house arrest: The Federal Court has dismissed the Attorney-General’s final appeal to block convicted former prime minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s judicial review application. The judicial review, if approved, will allow him to serve his sentence under house arrest. We talk to lawyer Dato Vignesh Kumar about what comes next and the legal hoops Najib’s team may have to leap through to achieve this.

• The housing market for low-income Indians: A dispute regarding this issue took place yesterday at the Dewan Rakyat between Jelutong MP RSN Rayer and opposition chief whip Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan. With concerns that the government only has a plan for developing Chinese and not Indian communities, we speak to AG Sasidaran, Real Estate Negotiator at IQI Global to learn more about the difficulties faced by lower-incomed Indians when buying property.

• Lack of data regarding vape-related diseases: Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad recently said that between 2019 and June 2025 there have been 5 suspected deaths and over 80 reported diseases from smoking products. With the difficulties of proving these connections and Putrajaya now considering a nationwide ban on vapes, we reached out to consultant paediatric pulmonologist Professor Dr Anna Marie Nathan from University Malaya Medical Centre for a better idea of the relevant data that is being collected in Malaysia.

• Two-wheelers at risk on the roads: Experts have been calling for a major overhaul on road designs as they currently favour cars and lorries over motorcycles. We discuss the various solutions that can be implemented and whether or not road attitudes need to change to eliminate risks completely.

Image Credit: Shutterstock

Produced by: Dashran Yohan, Alia Zefri, Sneha Harikannan, Lim Sue Ann, Susan Tam

Presented by: Lee Chwi Lynn, Sharaad Kuttan, Susan Tam

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Categories:  Cars/Motoring,  health policy,  managing disease,  wellness,  economy,  politics,  government,  Law/Activism,  corruption,  controversies

Tags:  motorcycles,  malaysian roads,  vape,  smoking,  disease,  housing market,  low-income groups,  Najib Razak house arrest,  federal court,  gig workers bill,  parliament,