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Top 5 at 5: Orang Asli Land Dispute Leads to Arrests

Dr Colin Nicholas, Founder, Centre for Orang Asli Concerns

11-Feb-26 17:00

Top 5 at 5: Orang Asli Land Dispute Leads to Arrests

Earlier this week, police detained 21 Orang Asli villagers in relation to an alleged trespass on plantation land owned by the Sultan of Pahang in Kampung Jemeri, Kuala Rompin. The Pahang Jakun Tribe Association strongly condemned the arrests, asserting that the 21 individuals arrested were defending their customary land from encroachment. We get to the bottom of the story with Colin Nicholas, founder of the Centre for Orang Asli Concerns. (Starts at 21:07)

• A second chance for ex-convicts: Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution announced the SPENT mechanism, which allows convicts to exempt certain criminal records. We reach out to Dobby Chew, CEO of Hayat, for his reaction to the initiative. (Starts at 15:00)

• Olympic medals are falling apart: Two Olympians chipped their medals after it unlatched from the metal cord on its own, prompting organisers to launch investigations into the fragility of the prizes. We discuss the value and allure of Olympic medals. (Starts at 11:05)

• S'pore measures wealth inequality for the first time: And the report by the Republic's Finance Ministry shows that it's much higher than income inequality. We ask Lee Hwok-Aun, Senior Fellow at the ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute, about what wealth inequality tells us about a country's economy; and from Calvin Cheng, director of the Economics, Trade, and Regional Integration Division at ISIS Malaysia, whether Malaysia has enough data to make similar measurements. (Starts at 04:53)

• Birdsongs can soothe your soul: A German study found that listening to birdsong for just 30-minutes can reduce blood pressure and cortisol levels, and paying more attention to the birdsong itself can improve overall well-being. We talk about the birds around us, and whether we feel better listening to the noises they make. (Starts at 00:23)

Image Credit: Center for Orang Asli Concerns (COAC) Facebook

Produced by: Alia Zefri, Sneha Harikannan, Susan Tam, Sudais Ferhard

Presented by: Sharaad Kuttan, Susan Tam


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Categories:  Law/Activismenvironmentcontroversiesinternationalsportsfinancial wellnesswellness

Tags:  birdsongwellness in natureitaly 2026 winter olympicsSPENT programmeorang asli customary land





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