26-Aug-24 17:00

Dr Syaza Shukri, Associate Professor of Political Science , International Islamic University of Malaysia

Stories we covered today:

1. Our top story: The UMNO General Assembly has just concluded, so we unpack this with Dr Syaza Shukri, associate professor of Political Science at the International Islamic University of Malaysia.

2. A sinkhole has raised alarm bells, after a woman fell into one in front of Malayan Mansion on Jalan Masjid India in KL. Geologist Lim Choun Sian shares his insights on whether this situation indicates a larger danger.

3. The clouded leopard has been in headlines lately, after one was spotted on a CCTV footage, dragging a recently missing cat into a house compound. This raises the question of human-wildlife conflict, as modern development continues to encroach on natural habitats. We hear thoughts from Chrishen Gomez, a researcher at the Wildlife Conservation and Research Unit at Oxford University.

4. Indonesia's national parliament backtracking on an attempt to reverse a decision by the Constitutional Court that would freeze prominent critic of the government, Anies Baswedan, from running for Jakarta governor. This is coming following massive protests accusing President Joko Widodo of undermining democracy. We speak to Andreas Harsono, senior researcher at the Human Rights Watch in Jakarta on this.

5. Telegram's CEO and founder Pavel Durov has been arrested by the French authorities, following accusations that the messaging app failed to cooperate with law enforcement over crimes that include money laundering, drug trafficking, child sexual content and fraud. We hear from Associate Professor Dr Sabariah Mohamed Salleh, Head of Programme at the Centre for Research in Media and Communications about the implications of this arrest, and arguments surrounding content moderation and freedom of speech.

Image Credit: Adam AmrHmzh, Shutterstock