Malaysia’s halal import restrictions and requirements for bumiputera equity in foreign-owned companies have been flagged by the United States as non-tariff barriers, which is viewed as a lack of reciprocity in the bilateral trade relationships between the two nations. In this episode, we explored various topics, such as “Will the conclave elect a Pope that is different from the late Pope Francis who placed a heavy focus on social justice issues?” and “Will Malaysia, particularly under the leadership of PMX, choose right instead of the continual hold onto decades-old ineffective bumiputera policy?”
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43:54
Desperate China on ASEAN Tour to Rally Support Against US Tariff (Ep.120)
A master class in negotiation, Trump recognised a reality and perhaps predicted Beijing's belligerent approach to Trump's call for fairness in trade deals. In this episode, we discussed the recent trip that President Xi has made to Malaysia, and if Malaysia would remain neutral in trade deals with US and China despite the belligerent approach taken by China against the US.
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1:11:29
Desperate China on an ASEAN tour to Jointly Resist Unilateral Bullying of Trump Tariffs (Ep.119)
Since the Liberation Day on 2 April, the world has been thrust into introspection of the unfair “free trade policies”, which is seemingly “without economic sense” as American Enterprise Institute bluntly declared.Ahead of the scheduled visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to Malaysia on 15 April, we discussed in this episode if Southeast Asia countries will remain truly neutral in the trade war as it grows in influence as emergent key market for China’s manufacturing powerhouses.
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51:02
Affirmative Action & Preferential Policies in Malaysia (Ep.118)
In this episode, we have a guest speaker, Ch’ng Xin Ying, with whom we discussed the nuanced assertions and counter-assertions on group preferences and quotas. Innumerable principles have been used to justify affirmative action programs, but are we able to hope for a better alternative to affirmative action in this rainbow nation of Malaysia?
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44:54
Turning Point for DAP? (Ep.117)
The recent CEC election results have signaled a generational change with the rise of new crop of party leaders. In this episode, we discussed with our guest speaker, David Tiang, on the directional shift within DAP that would be more palatable to the voters before the next general election.
“Simon Says” is a deep dive into the topsy-turvy world of Malaysian politics and why it matters. Follow host Simon Yeo as he gives his perspectives and decodes current political and government news for you.
If you have ever wondered about some of the following, this show is for you!
“Why does boring history matter to politics?”
“What’s Malaysia’s future going to be like? Should I even start a family?”
“How can I tell if what the media is telling me is true or not?”
“How can we, the people, get more involved?”
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