- 4 months ago
In this Belanjawan 2026 special, YB Amira Aisya, Acting President of MUDA, joins Ibrahim Sani for a candid conversation on fiscal reforms and the nation’s priorities for the youth, environment, and governance. How can Budget 2026 empower young Malaysians, strengthen institutional integrity, and embed sustainability in policymaking? This in-depth dialogue explores accountability, inclusion, and the generational shift needed for a more transparent and future-proof Malaysia.
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NewsTranscript
00:00Thanks for joining us. This is The Economy. I'm your host, Ibrahim Sani.
00:19Very recently, we saw the Sabah State has announced that the election is in the air.
00:23And of course, we're waiting for all the negotiations and perhaps announcements coming in from the various political parties to come across very, very fast as well.
00:32On top of this, tomorrow, the Prime Minister also double-hating as the Finance Minister 1, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, will also be presenting the budget 2026.
00:43Here to discuss this and more is Yang Bohomad, Amira Aisyah Abdul Aziz, the acting president of Muda.
00:51So, Amira, let's talk a little bit more about the current ongoings of the political dynamics.
00:56Of course, Sabah, domestic politics is a little bit different from the rest of, say for instance, Manjong or Peninsula.
01:03But this is, of course, a timely notion considering that the budget is also in the air.
01:08What kind of ideas that you have when it comes to the budget?
01:12Will it be more of a politicized or a political campaign kind of budget or is this more of a BAU kind of thing?
01:18Yeah. I think, first and foremost, thank you so much, Ibrahim, for having me on your show.
01:23First and foremost, when we're talking about the Sabah state selection itself, I found that when it comes to Sabah and also Sarawak,
01:31both state selection are very unique in its own way.
01:34It's very different from what we have in the peninsula Malaysia.
01:37I've been in Sabah during the last state selection.
01:40I was there for close to one month and I've seen the dynamics of political parties in Sabah.
01:45I've seen how the politics was played out in Sabah.
01:48Although I'm not Sabahan, I feel that there's a strong connection.
01:51I feel a very strong connection to the plight of the people in Sabah.
01:54As you know, and we're talking about budget, going into budget as well,
01:58eight of the ten poorest district in Malaysia is in Sabah.
02:02I've been to some of these districts during election.
02:04I've seen, for example, an island called Pulau Bangi, which is one of the biggest island in Malaysia,
02:10and how the people on that island is living in very strict poverty.
02:17The houses do not have excess of water, do not have excess of clean water.
02:21Some of them do not have excess of electricity.
02:24And these are the things that politicians have to think of, whether they are from Sabah
02:29or how even those who are not from Sabah, especially the Prime Minister heading towards
02:34the budget 2026, is how do we, entering into the budget, how do we then close these gaps
02:43between states or regions, regions like Kuala Lumpur, regions like Johor,
02:49that have definitely higher income in comparison to other states.
02:54And coming into Sabah State's election, it would also be very important for political parties
02:59and politicians campaigning in Sabah, and that may also include muda, to start championing
03:06about this and talking about how can they improve the livelihoods of Sabahans in general
03:11and not just playing into political enmity, political fights that have always been a constant
03:18messaging in Sabah.
03:19Let's examine, there's a lot to unpack there actually, so I'll pick up the most important
03:25one that you would have the mandate to speak of, muda.
03:28So where does muda stand when it comes to economic planning and vis-a-vis, say for instance,
03:35muda's position in Sabah, will you be fielding people there?
03:39And I'm, you know, by the way, this is the kind of interviews that I dread to convulate
03:44two different ideas, but it is what it is, you know.
03:46So let's start with that.
03:48Where is muda's positioning when it comes to economic planning and economic prosperity?
03:53What positions would you like to take when it comes to this year's budget?
03:57First and foremost, I think it's very important to admit the fact that we do have some increment
04:04in terms of national income, which is something that we should celebrate.
04:08However, I feel that definitely it's still not enough.
04:12Our fiscal deficit stays around 3.8% of the country's income and what we are targeting so
04:18that by the end of RMK 13 or by the end of Malaysia's Plan 13, that we'll be able to reduce that
04:25fiscal deficit to less than 3%.
04:27And I think this is very, very important because we want to talk about, for example,
04:33progressive wage.
04:33We want to talk about more dignified living.
04:36We want to talk about stronger social security.
04:38We want to talk about better healthcare, better education.
04:41So it is so important at a high level for us to see in the 2026 budget, what is the government's
04:48plan to have a better balance between the country's debts and also the country's income.
04:54All countries have debts.
04:56That's something that we cannot deny.
04:57It's just how do we manage all these things.
05:00When we're talking about Muda's economic expectation in the 2026 budget, I like to focus on five
05:09main things and we can go deeper on all those things.
05:13The first one is in terms when we're talking about income, right?
05:17You cannot run away from talking about taxation and also subsidy.
05:21And it is so important to talk about that right now, especially because government just
05:27rolled out the Budi 95 targeted subsidy.
05:31I would like to preface by saying that I am a supporter of targeted subsidy.
05:36I believe that we do need targeted subsidy so that, you know, the wealth can be better
05:41circulated so that those who really deserve it will get a bigger subsidy than those who might
05:47not necessarily need those subsidies, right?
05:48But what I'm thinking of when we're talking about Budi 95, for example, one of the biggest
05:54question that I have was initially when government was rolling out this subsidy, they mentioned
05:59that this is targeting the maha kaya or the ultra rich.
06:02But once it's rolled out, you can see that it's no longer targeting maha kaya.
06:06It is separating between Malaysians and non-Malaysians, which I'm also not opposing of.
06:10I think it's very important for us to prioritize Malaysians to have that subsidy.
06:15But what is the plan so that our taxation can become a more progressive taxation system so
06:21that we tax higher to the rich, then the less privileged will get more of that.
06:28So when we're talking about taxation, before we go to other matters, Muda has always been
06:34a huge proponent of tax reform.
06:36Among the things that we're really been championing of, for example, during COVID, we've been
06:41Saeed Sadiq, as our only MP in Parliament, has been the proponent and the first person
06:48For the time being.
06:49For the time being, he's the only person there.
06:52But during the COVID era, he was the one who was fighting about the windfall tax.
06:57And that's something we really believe in.
06:58Windfall tax, or in Malaysia, it's called Cukai Durian Runtuk, when a corporation or company
07:07experience unprecedented wealth during certain times, right?
07:13Kekayaan luar biasa.
07:14And we think it's very important for us to still put this windfall tax into the system
07:19because these corporations, these companies are getting this huge wealth because of some
07:28sufferings that have happened to other people.
07:29This has happened multiple times.
07:30For example, the petrol company has experienced this.
07:35Our palm oil company has experienced this.
07:37This is something that is not secluded to only during COVID.
07:41We're not suggesting for that tax to be huge.
07:44It could be between 0.5 to 1%.
07:46Most importantly is that how do you balance between that tax to exist and also for the
07:51people to benefit from it.
07:53That's one thing.
07:53Number two, we've been a huge, huge proponent of capital gains tax.
07:59And if the government is serious into, because this is something that PMX consistently say,
08:04to target the ultra-rich, the government should also be serious into really looking into
08:10capital gains tax in 2026 budget.
08:12So that those who acquire bond, acquire stocks and all these people will be taxed on those
08:20capitals.
08:21You know, you can make it into a progressive way where, you know, if you have a lesser
08:25amount of bonds, a lesser amount of stock, then maybe your tax would not be that high,
08:30right?
08:31And the third one we're talking about, tax also, is about inheritance tax.
08:35And it's not something that is so out of the way from Malaysia.
08:39We've had inheritance tax before and it was suspended in 1991.
08:43And I think that we should reintroduce inheritance tax because at the end of the day, you know,
08:50this inheritance tax should be, have also been accumulated as a, you know, on the benefit
08:59of the community as whole.
09:00So, and you can, you know, the government has all the data, the government has all the
09:05statistics necessary to decide how much is that threshold of inheritance so that the
09:11inheritance tax can be put upon you.
09:13Maybe it's 5 million, maybe it's 15 million, maybe it's 20 million.
09:16That's something that the government can decide based on the data and figures that they want.
09:21Why do I talk so long about tax before we enter other things?
09:24No, no, no, no, we have to.
09:25Yeah, because I think it's so necessary for us to first think about how can the government
09:30increase the country's income and revenue, right?
09:35Before we talk about what pocket should then the budget go to, yeah.
09:41Of course, on top of this, there's the whole notion of SST widening it.
09:46There's also a GST reintroduction.
09:48Where is Muda's position on these two progressive tax systems?
09:52Well, Muda, we've had a very lengthy debate and discussion on this.
09:59And I think at this point, we are more prone towards supporting GST rather than SST,
10:05simply because I think there's a better transparency when it comes to GST than SST.
10:10Because the application of SST right now means that there's a huge room for
10:21misappropriation by other people, like by the sellers, by corporations, by service providers.
10:32It's easier to abuse SST than GST because GST is very clear cut, right?
10:37And I think one of the biggest issue about the previous GST introduction was that it was
10:44so huge at the first introduction itself.
10:47You can start GST at a, you know, also in a progressive way.
10:51You can start by introducing maybe in the beginning just 3% across all levels before you
10:56go into 6%.
10:57And then maybe if you want to look into a more developed country where some of them
11:02even go into 12%, but we're not ready for that.
11:05It's important for us to balance between what the country needs in terms of income and
11:10also the readiness of our people.
11:13Because at the end of the day, if the people are not ready, be it GST or SST, but if the
11:18amount is too big for regular Malaysians that I meet day to day, then, you know, it will
11:26increase their living costs too much and none of that will benefit the country at the end
11:30of the day.
11:30I'm also trying to unpack where your assessment is when it comes to this government's management
11:38of public finances.
11:39And are you rather happy or satisfied with the level of management on the fiscal policy
11:47as it stands?
11:48Or you feel that there are areas of concern that needs to be addressed considering that
11:52now is the budget?
11:54Yeah.
11:54Definitely, I think, well, it's not all, I think one of the biggest role that Muda is
12:00trying to play as an opposition is to not just like oppose everything, but to look at pockets
12:07of improvements that the government can play.
12:09I'm not saying that everything the government has done is bad.
12:12For example, as I've mentioned the targeted subsidy.
12:14But I feel that on this front, I agree with Rafizi in the sense that he mentioned that,
12:20you know, if the government is really serious talking about targeted subsidy, then just bite
12:24the bullet and go for it.
12:25Because now as it stands, you know, the government initially wanted to introduce this RON95 subsidy
12:31so that we can get between RM7 to RM8 billion savings.
12:35But now it's only projected at RM2.5 billion to RM4 billion, which is like a huge difference
12:40altogether.
12:41Secondly, one of the things that I'm very unhappy about is that in the beginning, PMX
12:47has mentioned that this government will not introduce mega project anymore.
12:51And I am for it because I feel that there are a lot of other things that the government
12:56should focus on, especially when the government kept on saying that we have a huge debt.
13:01So the money that we have should be focused on things, for example, like healthcare, for
13:05example, education, in comparison to a mega project like Bandar Madani.
13:11Again, when we're talking about this project, it's not all bad, right?
13:15I understand that there are some pros to the project.
13:18But if you ask me directly in comparison to having Bandar Madani and increasing the wages
13:25for our doctors, I would definitely say increase the wages of our doctors, right?
13:28Because as it stands right now, for example, in Johor, we are struggling with having nurses,
13:34like healthcare workers, because they would rather go to Singapore.
13:38We've experienced and ever since the first time I was elected in 2022, there have been
13:42reports about nurses in Johor going to Singapore because they can get like the wage of a surgeon
13:51over there in comparison to in Malaysia.
13:54And these are the things that the government should be focusing on.
13:57How do you ensure that the healthcare workers are properly compensated?
14:02If you ask me between Bandar Madani and improving our public hospitals, for example, in, you know,
14:08hospital like Hospital Sutana Aminah in Johor that have been, there are so many comments
14:14and also, you know, complaints about the infrastructures in Hospital Sutana Aminah that people have
14:20to look at, the government have to look at, if you're talking about comparing Bandar Madani
14:25in Putrajaya that will only benefit the people of Putrajaya and increasing, having better
14:31social mobility, improving our public transport, not just in Kuala Lumpur but across multiple
14:38other regions in Malaysia.
14:39Definitely, I would say that the government are not getting their priorities right.
14:44I think that is the biggest issue.
14:46So, I hope that in this 2026 budget, the government has their priorities in place and it's not just
14:54a candy budget.
14:56So, let's segue nicely then into from the revenue side to the expense side.
15:05Where do you think or where do you feel that the government should be spending a lot more on?
15:11Perhaps a bit of a wish list, I suppose, coming up from this.
15:14Well, I think I have like four or maybe five big wish list.
15:19The first thing is definitely in terms of increasing, you know, our wage because increasing wage
15:28and ensuring that there's better protection system to our workers would also increase productivity
15:33and consequently, you know, increase our economic revenue in the country.
15:38I think the problem right now is that there are multiple research that has shown that
15:43Malaysia's productivity and its wage is really, there's a huge gap.
15:48Our productivity has been increasing but our wage has not been increasing that much.
15:51I commend the government's effort to increase a little bit the minimum wage from RM1,500 to RM1,700
15:58but far from enough, right?
16:00The World Bank reported that for a young person without a family to live comfortably in Kuala Lumpur,
16:05you need at least RM2,700 per month.
16:08That is RM1,000 more than the minimum wage that we have right now.
16:12I'm going to share with you my experiences as somebody who goes down to the ground daily, right?
16:18Families, for example, I've met a family of seven where the father's still working.
16:26They have five kids.
16:28All five kids are still studying in school.
16:31The mother is not working because she has to be the homemaker.
16:34The father is just working as a lorry driver, which is not even RM1,700.
16:40It's even less than that.
16:41And these are the kids that they are trying to put to school.
16:44They have diapers to pay for.
16:46They have milk to pay for.
16:47They have schools to think of.
16:48When I went to their houses, when I went to their house, for example,
16:52the house was like, there was no furniture at all.
16:56There was just one sofa and then a lot of books for the students to study in my constituency.
17:01In Johor.
17:02In Johor.
17:02But this is not a, unfortunately, this is not an exception.
17:06There are so many other cases like this because our wage is still not up to the power.
17:11I think one of the things that is very important when we're talking about the wage itself is what will the government do in 2026 budget to incentivize private companies to also pay a good minimum wage to others and have a better security to workers, including gig workers.
17:29And I think one of the things that I commend as well for this government is the introduction or trying to introduce the Geek Workers Protection Act.
17:37And this is something that I think is highly needed at this point of time because a lot of young people, especially, are working in the gig industry.
17:48The introduction of RM1,700 is a good start.
17:50But then how do we ensure that private companies can pay, can give a good wage to Malaysians?
18:00That's why I think competition is good in the sense that when you have MNCs coming into Malaysia, for example, when you have outside investors coming into Malaysia,
18:12they would probably pay a lot more to attract talents into their companies.
18:16And that means that Malaysians have choices to stay in their country and work with these MNCs.
18:23But how do you ensure that this is balanced across regions?
18:26As of now, for example, a lot of young people are migrating out of their states because at the end of the day,
18:34if they want bigger wages, they go to big cities like Kuala Lumpur or even maybe Jawa Baru, for example.
18:40And a lot of them moved out of their states, meaning that the income circulation has been in certain regions only.
18:47And that is the reason why when you look at our income or our revenue between states and also productivity between states have a huge gap.
18:57For example, between Kuala Lumpur and Kedah and Perlis.
18:59There's a huge gap between productivity because a lot of the young people go to Kuala Lumpur.
19:05So how do government balance this regional difference?
19:08And this is something that I also talk about a lot in the Johor State Legislative Assembly, for example,
19:13with the introduction of Johor as exec, Johor Singapore Economic Zone.
19:19How does the government of Johor want to ensure that all the investments, all the things that you're introducing is not just happening in Johor Baru?
19:29How is that will be trickle-down effect to Segamat, to MUA, to Mersing?
19:33Similarly in Malaysia, in a larger picture.
19:37Now let's talk about that as well, still on the wage.
19:40There has been a policy paper that has been tabled in the parliament, the Progressive Wage Policy.
19:45And there it outlines a whole series of sets on how to increase wages in a more staggered and structured manner.
19:57That policy has had a few pushbacks, including that from, say for instance, the MEF, or the Malaysian Employees Federation.
20:06A few big companies like Maiden, for instance, are now trying to see how that Progressive Wage Policy can be improved.
20:13Not necessarily pushback, but it's just how they can improve.
20:16As you can see, the mood, especially from business owners, is that they might not necessarily see this as a bad thing.
20:23It's just that they might not necessarily see this way of doing it is the right way.
20:28Have there been any engagements by MUDA or by yourself to talk to business owners and the private sector
20:33on getting them on this side on increasing wage?
20:37Well, we have engaged with multiple workers unions as well on this front.
20:43But I have to admit, most of the time when we engage, we engage with the workers unions rather than the business owners.
20:49And so understanding what kind of protections do they need.
20:52But I also understand the concerns of business owners as well.
20:55Because at the end of the day, that's the reason why I mentioned whatever policies that the government have to introduce,
21:00it has to be balanced so that it protects both sides, right?
21:03If it only protects, for example, the workers, which I think is really important
21:07because at the end of the day, more than 80% of Malaysians are workers, are the labors, right?
21:13And so even if we want to focus our protection around these people,
21:17we also should not forget the protection on the employers.
21:20And how do we ensure that our local companies, our local businesses can still compete against MNCs that come into the country
21:27and they don't lose out simply because, for example, they don't have enough capital to scale up
21:34or they don't have enough capital to pay their workers.
21:37I think the progressive wage is something that is very interesting for us to look at.
21:43But I agree with you, how is that rolled out is something that really has to be discussed a lot more.
21:49There are a lot of efforts that were done by the previous Economic Minister, Rafi Zee Ramli,
21:56that I think is very interesting to look at in terms of, for example, the IPR effort, for example,
22:02or the fact that he's trying to introduce the progressive wage, for example.
22:06IPR is the initiative Pendapatan Rakyat.
22:08Pendapatan Rakyat.
22:09I think these are all very interesting initiative because you can see that it has helped those who were in the initiative.
22:18Similarly, for progressive wage, it can help those who benefited from that progressive wage.
22:25But then there has to be a sort of like a report, even for the IPR, for example,
22:29I wanted to know after one year of introducing IPR, what is the pros of it?
22:36What happened to that?
22:37How can that be scaled up, for example?
22:39Because as of now, it hasn't been scaled up to that, to a more macro level.
22:44So, progressive wage, for example, how can we ensure that we can protect both employers and employees at the same time
22:51and ensuring that our local businesses, especially the SMEs, are protected when we're talking about increasing the wages?
23:00I've had one very interesting forum with the Parti Socialist Malaysia.
23:05And you would have thought that when we're talking about wages, that they would be very hardcore in saying that,
23:13no, whatever, you know, but you have to increase the wage today.
23:17But they're also, in fact, very realistic in the sense that we're thinking a lot about how,
23:23because they've engaged with a lot of workers' unions and they understand that it's important for the government
23:29to also protect the employers so that the employees can also similarly be protected.
23:34So, I think these are the things that we need to look at in terms of the 2026 budget.
23:38And why I think that this 2026 budget is so important to talk about all these things,
23:43because it coincides with Malaysia's 13th plan, 13th Malaysia plan.
23:47So, how can 2026 budget complement the RMK 13 or will it just be, you know, disjointed and introduced as another election budget?
23:59It's something that we want to see.
24:01You were talking about four areas of concern, which is one big thing.
24:04What about the other items on your list?
24:06The second one is education.
24:09I have and always have been a strong proponent for our education system to be improved.
24:18The initial reason why I joined activism in the first place was because of education,
24:25because I feel that Malaysia is not short of talents.
24:29Malaysia is not short of people who are smart.
24:31But our issue is that our education system has been very, like, one-sided.
24:42It's only, for the past decades, it has always been focused on academic only
24:48and not focusing on those who are more TVED-minded, for example,
24:51or those who are more skilled, those who are more interested into arts.
24:55How do we ensure that the Malaysian education system can protect all of our children
25:01with different interests, with different backgrounds?
25:04And how do we ensure that these protections are in place for them?
25:07One of the things that attracted me was that there was this one movement right now
25:12by the arts activists in Malaysia, by the arts practitioner,
25:17where they are trying to push for our education to focus a lot more also
25:22on improving the arts education in schools.
25:25And I think that's not something that is so bad because a lot of Malaysians,
25:28and I've been in MOE for a short moment of time,
25:32and there are research...
25:34When was this?
25:35I was with Padu.
25:36That was actually my first work after I left legal practice.
25:41I was with Padu, which was the organisation responsible to monitor the education blueprint.
25:47And we've made the polling to identify the reasons why students dropped out from school.
25:56And largely, it's because they have no interest in academic pathway anymore.
26:02And so how do you ensure that these people can still access other pathways
26:07and not just academic?
26:09That's first.
26:09Secondly, I think there's a huge, huge responsibility on government
26:14to improve our teachers' training capacity.
26:21We've changed the system so that our teachers right now
26:24are supposed to be the crème de la crème, right?
26:26They're the best of the crop.
26:28It's not very easy for you to get into IPG or UPSI anymore.
26:32People used to think that teaching is like the last option,
26:35but it's not that, right?
26:36It's not easy.
26:37It's actually what people maybe do not know.
26:41It's not that easy to get into IPG or UPSI.
26:43You have to be a very excellent student to go there.
26:46But once you are in the system,
26:48what does the government do to ensure that they are consistently upskilled?
26:52There's a constant and also consistent training for the teachers
26:55to improve their teaching pedagogy.
26:57Because let's face it, education today grows exponentially
27:04in comparison to education like 10 years ago or even 5 years ago
27:08when I was in high school, when you were in school.
27:12You know, with the growth of internet, with the growth of social media,
27:17with the growth of AI, there are so many learning tools
27:20that can help our education.
27:23And so the teachers must also be consistently upskilled
27:26so that they are up-to-date with the kinds of teachings
27:29that you can have in the classroom.
27:31The problem is that if we stick to only whiteboard and desk,
27:36if our education doesn't evolve beyond that,
27:40how are we going to chase after our neighbouring countries?
27:45The sad part is when we're looking at PISA results, for example,
27:48which is the biggest determinant,
27:50like one of the biggest determinant in the country
27:52in terms of students' capabilities.
27:57Unfortunately, Malaysia used to be one of the best in the region.
28:01But right now, we are trailing behind Thailand and Vietnam.
28:04And that is a strong indicator that there's something wrong
28:10with our education system that we need to fix.
28:13Teaching pedagogy, for example, I've covered that.
28:15The second thing that I think we really have to look into
28:18is the early education.
28:20And this is something that I'm extremely passionate about.
28:23I just want to share with you, for example,
28:26I've met students in my constituency
28:28at the age of 15 and 16
28:31who still cannot read or write.
28:34And Malaysians usually don't know this.
28:36They thought that, oh, you know,
28:37membaca is something that everyone knows how to do.
28:39Yeah, it became something that is
28:42obviously everyone can, right?
28:44But it's actually not.
28:45A lot of our students are still trailing behind
28:47in terms of basic literacy and numeracy.
28:50A lot of world studies have indicated
28:52that the first three years of early education
28:54is actually the most important part of education
28:57to ensure that students have basic literacy and numeracy.
29:01So that has to be a very strong investment
29:06into our early education, early childhood education,
29:09and looking into what is the best way to ensure
29:12that at the age of,
29:15if right now in our Sekolah Rendah Primary School
29:17is between the age of seven to nine,
29:19how can we ensure that the students know
29:22how to read, write, count, right?
29:25And this is something that is extremely important.
29:27I remember one of the things
29:28when we were in Padu,
29:33and I think this is something that
29:34consistently ongoing right now as well,
29:36is that thinking about what kind of teaching pedagogy
29:41that can happen in the classroom.
29:43When you're talking about seven to nine years old,
29:47thematic teaching is more important.
29:49Fun-based teaching, fun-based learning is more important
29:51because at the end of the day,
29:52you want to make them feel that education is fun, right?
29:56One of the things that I realised
29:58when I went to my constituency as well,
30:00there are students I recently went to
30:04one of the PPR in my constituency.
30:07I was supposed to visit a different house,
30:09but when I arrived there,
30:11I saw this one young girl
30:12who was playing in front of the lift.
30:14She was playing with the host.
30:15It was a weekday.
30:16It was a schooling day.
30:17And I asked her,
30:19eh, kenapa tak sekolah?
30:21Tak si hat ke?
30:21Why didn't you go to school?
30:22Are you not feeling well?
30:24And she said,
30:25oh, no,
30:26memang tak sekolah.
30:27I just don't go to school.
30:29Then I said, why?
30:31Mak tak ada duit.
30:32That's what she said.
30:33My mother doesn't have money.
30:34And I asked her,
30:34how old is she?
30:35She's eight years old.
30:36This eight years old kid
30:37is missing out on her early childhood education
30:39because her mother...
30:41So, is this in Johor Bahru?
30:42This is in Johor Bahru.
30:43This is in urban area.
30:45And again,
30:46she is not an isolated case.
30:48There have been many cases
30:50where young kids
30:51couldn't go to school
30:52because there's not enough support
30:55for parents,
30:57especially young parents
30:58when they're starting their life.
31:01You know,
31:02support in terms of protection
31:04but also support in terms of
31:06how do these kids go to school, right?
31:09Sometimes,
31:10the mother work,
31:11the father...
31:12In that case,
31:14she's actually taken care of
31:16by her grandmother.
31:17The mother and father
31:18are both out of the picture.
31:20The grandmother has to go to work
31:21and so she didn't go to school.
31:23So, what are the kind of interventions
31:25that the government is doing
31:27to ensure that these kids
31:28who have been trailing behind
31:30can still go to school?
31:32You can talk about...
31:34You know,
31:35because right now,
31:36everyone is arguing about
31:37nak UPSR balik ke tak?
31:38Nak SPM balik ke tak?
31:39People are talking about that.
31:41Fine.
31:41You can talk about assessments
31:42all you want.
31:44But if kids are not in classrooms,
31:46right?
31:47If the pedagogy is not right,
31:48if the teachers are not upskilled,
31:51then assessments
31:52will not help you out at all, right?
31:55It's not the matter of
31:56at the end of the road,
31:57apa yang jadi.
31:57But the journey towards assessment
31:59to how do you improve that?
32:02I think that's the thing
32:03that the government
32:04has to focus on
32:05when we're talking about
32:06education in this country.
32:08We'll go on for one short break
32:09before we continue our conversation
32:11with YB Amirah.
32:12We'll be right back
32:13after these messages.
32:44Thanks for continuing on with us.
32:47I have with YB Amirah,
32:49the acting president of Muda.
32:52We're discussing not just
32:54the budget 2026,
32:55but of course,
32:56the Sabah State elections as well.
32:59We'll get to that second part later.
33:01I still want to go through
33:02with the two other parts of your list
33:04that you think that the government
33:05should be focusing on,
33:06considering that those two,
33:08the first two items that you brought up,
33:09which are wages and education,
33:12quite frankly are the ones
33:14that are also resonating
33:15quite strongly with me,
33:17with my day job.
33:18So, there's not much pushback
33:20on that sense from me
33:22on those two points.
33:24But let's go through your list
33:26still again.
33:27What are the two other areas
33:28that you think the government
33:28should be focusing on?
33:30The third one is something
33:31that I am very passionate about as well,
33:35because this is something
33:37that my constituency face
33:39on a yearly basis
33:42and everyone is facing this
33:43on a daily basis,
33:44which is in terms of climate change.
33:47I think, not just myself,
33:50but I know that there is a lot
33:51of people out there
33:52who's really waiting to see
33:54whether this government
33:55is serious or not
33:56in ensuring that
33:57there is a very strong
33:59climate action plan from Malaysia.
34:01I'm just going to cite,
34:02for example,
34:03a couple of cases
34:04that shows why it's important
34:05for us to have
34:06this climate action plan, right?
34:08The first one was
34:09when we were hit
34:10by the 2021 huge flood.
34:13And that was one of the things
34:14that sort of like
34:15propelled muda forward
34:17was when we execute
34:19the Missy Banjir
34:20because there was a huge flood
34:21in 2021.
34:22And it shows how unready we are
34:25to face such a huge disaster
34:27at such a big scale
34:28at that point of time.
34:30And that has still been
34:31continuing on until today.
34:32For example,
34:33in my constituency,
34:34in Puteri Wangsa,
34:35we face about like
34:36three to four times a year
34:37flooding.
34:39And because we are
34:41an urban area.
34:41I mean, I'm a Johorian.
34:43I'm trying to understand,
34:44you know, Puteri Wangsa
34:45ada flooding lah,
34:47people don't go to school.
34:48What is happening?
34:49Yeah.
34:49Because people usually
34:50do not think,
34:51do not understand
34:52that these kind of things
34:53can happen a lot of times
34:55in urban areas as well.
34:56Urban poor,
34:57sometimes,
34:57I mean,
34:57we're talking about school,
34:58for example.
34:59Urban poor
35:00is something that
35:01people overlook
35:02because people think
35:03that you live in a city,
35:04surely you have money,
35:05right?
35:05But when you live in a city,
35:06your living cost is higher.
35:08If your wage is still the same
35:10as those who live
35:11in rural area,
35:12then it's even tougher
35:13for you to survive.
35:13And when we're talking
35:14about climate,
35:15for example,
35:16because of our terrible
35:20urban planning
35:21that we've inherited
35:23from decades ago,
35:26urban areas are so prone
35:27to flash floods.
35:29Puteri Wangsa,
35:29for example,
35:30in every flood season in Johor,
35:33which I hate to call it
35:34flood season because,
35:35you know,
35:36Malaysians,
35:36we love to see countries
35:38with seasons.
35:39We love to see countries
35:40celebrate winter,
35:41celebrate summer,
35:42celebrate spring.
35:43And then there's us
35:44celebrating,
35:45not celebrating,
35:46but we only have
35:47flood season,
35:48for example.
35:49And in Puci Wangsa,
35:50And it's approaching soon.
35:51And it's approaching soon.
35:53We just went to a briefing
35:55on this Monsunti Mualawat
35:56and we're expecting
35:58between November
35:59till February,
36:00there will be a huge
36:01Monsunti Mualawat
36:01and we're expecting flood.
36:03In Puci Wangsa,
36:04every time this happens,
36:05we open 6 to 9 PPS
36:07because there's a lot
36:08of victims of floods
36:09in Puci Wangsa.
36:10And I consistently have
36:12to do fundraising effort
36:14because of our
36:16unreadiness.
36:17For example,
36:18PPS is Pusat Pembindahan
36:19Sementara,
36:21the,
36:21I don't know
36:22what the translation is,
36:23the temporary relief
36:24centers.
36:25Yes, yes,
36:26temporary relief centers.
36:27And what happened
36:28is that there was
36:29one flood,
36:31there was one time
36:32when I went
36:33to the PPS
36:34and people
36:35were complaining
36:35to me,
36:36oh, YB,
36:37we had to,
36:38obviously,
36:38they had to evacuate
36:39their homes
36:40as quickly as possible,
36:41so they didn't have
36:42chance to bring
36:43anything necessity
36:44and they were like,
36:45we haven't received
36:47our basic sanitary kits,
36:50we haven't received
36:51our toothbrush,
36:52we haven't received
36:52and this was already
36:53the second day
36:54of the flood.
36:55And so I checked
36:55in with JKM
36:56because these are the things
36:57that were supposed
36:57to be provided by JKM.
36:59And JKM told us
37:00is that,
37:01oh, YB,
37:01because flood
37:02has happened
37:03initially in Kota Tinggi
37:05and so we had to bring
37:06all the basic kits
37:08to Kota Tinggi.
37:09So now when it happens
37:10in Johor Bahru,
37:11all the kits
37:11are already being
37:13sent to Kota Tinggi
37:14so we don't have
37:14kids here.
37:15And so when these
37:16kind of things happen,
37:17this unpreparedness
37:19happen,
37:20we have to step in
37:21and do fundraising
37:22or do out of
37:23our own pocket money
37:24to ensure
37:25that the people
37:26have these basic kits.
37:28Now what are the things
37:28that I'm expecting
37:29the government to do?
37:30It's not to just
37:32focus on
37:33what happens
37:34post-flood.
37:35Definitely that's
37:36still important.
37:37But what will the
37:37government do
37:38in terms of mitigation
37:39and also adaptation
37:40as well?
37:42There are
37:43a lot of
37:44rancangan
37:44tebatan banjir
37:45which is trying
37:46to prevent
37:47floods from happening.
37:49But what is
37:50happening right now?
37:51But we're not
37:52supposed to just
37:53talk about
37:54the big projects
37:56when we're talking
37:57about mitigating
37:58flood.
37:58Simple things.
37:59For example,
38:00we know
38:01that the
38:03rainfall now,
38:04the rainfall
38:04collection in
38:05comparison to
38:06three decades
38:07ago is
38:08different.
38:08We have
38:09unusually
38:10huge rainfall
38:11these days
38:12in comparison
38:12to three
38:13decades ago.
38:14However,
38:15in terms of
38:15our urban
38:16development,
38:16in terms of
38:17our local
38:18council requirement
38:19for developers
38:20to develop
38:21drains,
38:23to develop
38:23what is
38:25kolam takungan
38:26in English?
38:27Reservoir
38:27centers.
38:30All of
38:30these things
38:31are still
38:33following
38:34the same
38:35rules as
38:35we followed
38:36three decades
38:36ago.
38:36That doesn't
38:37make sense
38:37because the
38:38rainfall is
38:38no longer
38:39the same.
38:40And so,
38:40the drains
38:40couldn't
38:41afford to
38:42circulate the
38:44rainfall
38:45at its
38:45best possible
38:46way.
38:48Uncontrolled
38:49development,
38:50for example,
38:51you can't
38:51just kept
38:52on handing
38:53out
38:53license
38:54after license
38:55of development
38:56without thinking
38:57of the
38:57effects.
38:59Because at
38:59the end
38:59of the
39:00day,
39:00for example,
39:01when there's
39:01a huge
39:02development
39:02at the
39:03because,
39:05you know,
39:05we are all
39:06connected.
39:07Malaysia is
39:07one peninsula
39:08Malaysia,
39:09for example,
39:09we are all
39:10connected,
39:10right?
39:12From
39:12when development
39:13from Kuala Lumpur,
39:14it can affect
39:15all the way
39:16down to
39:16Johor.
39:18And all
39:18these kind
39:19of things
39:19are things
39:19that the
39:20government
39:20has to have
39:21a large plan.
39:23It's not
39:23something that
39:24you do
39:24local council
39:25by local
39:26council
39:26basis
39:27only.
39:28Because at
39:28the end
39:28of the day,
39:29even,
39:29for example,
39:30in Kuala Lumpur,
39:30what happens,
39:31the development
39:31that happens
39:32in Kuala Lumpur
39:33will affect
39:33PJ,
39:34will affect
39:34Bangsa,
39:35will affect
39:36Serdang,
39:37will affect
39:37all those
39:37things will
39:38be affected.
39:39What is
39:39the government's
39:40urban development
39:41plan to
39:42ensure that
39:43we can
39:43counter
39:44flash floods,
39:45for example?
39:45Speaking of
39:46which,
39:46so there's
39:46the Urban
39:47Development
39:47Act
39:48that was
39:48currently
39:50brought up
39:51for review
39:52before it
39:53was retabled
39:54at the
39:54Parliament.
39:55Where is
39:56Muda's
39:56position
39:57when it
39:57comes to
39:57the Urban
39:58Renewal
39:58Act?
39:59We've
40:00had
40:00multiple
40:01forums,
40:03forums,
40:05podcasts,
40:05debate,
40:06you name it,
40:06on Urban
40:07Renewal
40:07Act.
40:08Our
40:08stance is
40:09that we're
40:09not against
40:10government
40:11trying to
40:12improve
40:13infrastructures.
40:15Because
40:16these are
40:16things that
40:16they're
40:16saying,
40:17right?
40:17we can't
40:18biarkan
40:18old buildings
40:21that are
40:22crumbling
40:22down to
40:22continue
40:23there.
40:23But there
40:24has to
40:25be a
40:26fair
40:26form of
40:27compensation
40:28to the
40:29people.
40:30And we
40:30disagree
40:30when you're
40:32only asking
40:33about
40:3350% to
40:3580%
40:35of agreement
40:36from the
40:37people in
40:38order for
40:38the
40:39building to
40:41be
40:42acquired
40:43and
40:43redeveloped.
40:45The
40:45reason
40:45because
40:46why do
40:47I say
40:47that
40:47fair
40:47compensation
40:48is
40:48very
40:48difficult?
40:49Because
40:49it's not
40:50just about
40:50giving out
40:51houses.
40:51It's not
40:52just about
40:52okay,
40:54keluar
40:54daripada
40:54lembah pantai
40:55for example,
40:56you pindah
40:57to
40:57Serdang.
40:58This
40:59is trying
41:00to sort
41:00of you
41:01are
41:01re-manufacturing
41:02and you
41:03are
41:03re-engineering
41:04their
41:05whole
41:05life
41:06ecosystem.
41:07Would
41:07you
41:07consider
41:07this
41:07as
41:08gentrification?
41:09Yeah,
41:09and I've
41:09said that
41:10multiple
41:10times as
41:10well.
41:11Because
41:11at the
41:11end
41:11already,
41:13this
41:13area,
41:14definitely
41:14the
41:14houses
41:15will
41:15go up
41:15in
41:15prices.
41:17We're
41:17already
41:18seeing
41:18this
41:18in
41:18Johor
41:19for
41:19example,
41:19a lot
41:20of
41:20the
41:20high
41:20rise
41:20houses
41:21cannot
41:21be
41:22afforded
41:22by
41:22Johorians
41:23themselves.
41:24At the
41:24end
41:25of the
41:25day,
41:25a lot
41:25of
41:25the
41:25people
41:26who
41:26bought
41:27these
41:27houses
41:27are
41:28not
41:28from
41:28Johor
41:28and
41:29Johorians
41:29only
41:30become
41:30renters.
41:31So
41:31when
41:31these
41:32redevelopments
41:32happen,
41:33what
41:33is the
41:34safeguard
41:34to
41:35ensure
41:35that
41:36these
41:36people
41:36that
41:36you
41:37asked
41:43maybe
41:43less
41:44than
41:44RM300,000
41:45there's
41:46nothing
41:49in the
41:50act
41:50or
41:51in
41:51the
41:51minister's
41:52explanation
41:52to
41:53show
41:53that
41:54they
41:54are
41:54able
41:55to
41:55do
41:55this.
41:56You
41:56don't
41:56want
41:56to
41:57see
41:57Lembah
41:58Pantai
41:58to
41:59suddenly
41:59lost
42:01its
42:02identity
42:02or
42:03even
42:04in
42:04Johor
42:04Baru
42:04for
42:04example,
42:05you
42:05don't
42:05want
42:05to
42:05see
42:06Johor
42:06to
42:07at
42:07the
42:07end
42:07of
42:07the
42:07day
42:07continue
42:08only
42:09renting
42:09in
42:09their
42:09own
42:10state
42:10and
42:10having
42:11to
42:11sort
42:11of
42:11like
42:11live
42:13with
42:13their
42:13parents
42:13forever
42:14and
42:14ever
42:14and
42:14this
42:14is
42:15the
42:15plague
42:15of
42:15my
42:15generation
42:16because
42:16we
42:17can't
42:17afford
42:18houses
42:18and
42:18if
42:18you
42:18redevelop
42:19these
42:19places
42:19that
42:20our
42:20parents
42:21think
42:22that
42:22I
42:23live
42:24here
42:24my
42:24kids
42:25will
42:25one
42:25day
42:25live
42:25here
42:26where
42:27are
42:27we
42:27going
42:27where
42:27are
42:28young
42:28people
42:28going
42:28you
42:29send
42:30them
42:30off
42:30back
42:30to
42:31the
42:31rural
42:31areas
42:31you
42:32send
42:32them
42:32back
42:32off
42:33to
42:33outside
42:34of
42:35the
42:35urban
42:35areas
42:35what
42:36happens
42:36to
42:37their
42:37livelihood
42:37most
42:38likely
42:39these
42:39places
42:39that
42:39you
42:39are
42:40sending
42:40them
42:40off
42:40to
42:40have
42:41no
42:41LRT
42:42what
42:42happens
42:43to
42:43their
42:43social
42:43mobility
42:43so
42:44these
42:44are
42:44the
42:44things
42:45that
42:45we
42:45are
42:46questioning
42:47about
42:47URA
42:47it's
42:48not
42:48necessarily
42:49the
42:49concept
42:50of
42:50it
42:50but
42:51the
42:51practice
42:51of
42:52it
42:52and
42:52how
42:52do
42:53you
42:53ensure
42:53that
42:54the
42:54people
42:54say
42:55are
42:55there
42:55because
42:56at
42:56the
42:56end
42:56of
42:56the
42:56day
42:56this
42:57is
42:57their
42:58right
42:58following
42:59back
43:00to
43:00flood
43:01mitigation
43:01and
43:02urban
43:02management
43:03where
43:03do
43:03you
43:04see
43:04the
43:04performance
43:04of
43:05say
43:05for
43:05instance
43:05the
43:06disaster
43:09relief
43:09organization
43:10NADMA
43:10as well
43:11as
43:11the
43:12Ministry
43:13of
43:13Natural
43:14Resources
43:15Environment
43:15have
43:17they
43:17been
43:17performing
43:18up to
43:19mark
43:19based
43:21on your
43:21estimation
43:21one
43:23is
43:23mitigating
43:24risks
43:25and dangers
43:25another
43:25one
43:26is
43:26policy
43:27one
43:28of
43:28the
43:28things
43:28that
43:29I
43:30was
43:30unhappy
43:31about
43:32with
43:33NADMA
43:33is
43:33the
43:34fact
43:34that
43:34flash floods
43:36were not
43:37recognized
43:37as a
43:38disaster
43:39in
43:39NADMA
43:39and so
43:40in my
43:40constituency
43:41we've
43:41always been
43:41struggling
43:42with
43:42how
43:43do
43:43we
43:43ensure
43:44that
43:44these
43:44victims
43:45of
43:45flash floods
43:46will
43:46also
43:46get
43:47compensation
43:47because
43:48at
43:48the
43:48end
43:48of
43:48the
43:49day
43:49it
43:49doesn't
43:50matter
43:50whether
43:50the
43:50flood
43:51happens
43:51to
43:51your
43:52house
43:52for
43:53one
43:53hour
43:53or
43:53it
43:54happens
43:54in
43:54one
43:55day
43:55if
43:56your
43:57items
43:58are
43:58rosak
43:59it's
43:59gone
44:00it's
44:02not
44:02about
44:02the
44:02case
44:03of
44:03how
44:03long
44:04is
44:04the
44:04water
44:04there
44:04as
44:04long
44:05as
44:05it's
44:05there
44:05it
44:06affects
44:06your
44:07economic
44:08well-being
44:08it
44:08affects
44:09your
44:09houses
44:09it
44:09affects
44:10your
44:10facilities
44:10right
44:11so
44:12so
44:12this
44:12are
44:12one
44:12of
44:12the
44:13things
44:13that
44:13I
44:13think
44:13we
44:14really
44:14need
44:14to
44:14look
44:15into
44:15and
44:16one
44:16of
44:16the
44:16things
44:17that
44:17I
44:17think
44:17is
44:18also
44:18important
44:18for
44:18us
44:19to
44:19discuss
44:19is
44:19that
44:20are
44:22we
44:22prepared
44:22on
44:23the
44:24possibilities
44:25of
44:26other
44:27forms
44:27of
44:27disasters
44:28and
44:28not
44:28just
44:28talking
44:28about
44:29flood
44:29for
44:29example
44:30in
44:30Johor
44:30recently
44:32for
44:33twice
44:34we've
44:35experienced
44:35minor
44:35earthquakes
44:36and
44:37that
44:37was
44:38a
44:38lot
44:39a
44:39tremors
44:40minor
44:40tremors
44:41but
44:42that
44:42really
44:43shocked
44:43everyone
44:44right
44:44because
44:44we've
44:45never
44:45had
44:45that
44:45we've
44:46never
44:46had
44:46any
44:47class
44:47when
44:47we
44:47weren't
44:50trained
44:50about
44:50what
44:50happens
44:51if
44:51there's
44:51an
44:51earthquake
44:51what
44:52happens
44:52if
44:52there's
44:52a
44:52tremor
44:53we
44:53only
44:54see
44:54in
44:55ads
44:56where
44:56if
44:57in
44:57Japan
44:57they
44:57train
44:58their
44:58kids
44:58if
44:58there's
44:59an
44:59earthquake
44:59you
44:59go
45:00under
45:00the
45:00table
45:00we
45:01haven't
45:01done
45:01all
45:01of
45:02that
45:02so
45:02what
45:03is
45:03NADMA
45:03doing
45:04to
45:04ensure
45:05that
45:05there's
45:06a
45:06preparedness
45:07on
45:08regular
45:09Malaysians
45:09preparedness
45:10in terms of
45:11when it
45:11comes to
45:11banjir
45:12when it
45:12comes to
45:12flat
45:13how do
45:13you
45:13act
45:14when it
45:14comes to
45:15earthquake
45:15how do
45:16you
45:16act
45:16and
45:17all
45:17these
45:17things
45:17are
45:18things
45:18that
45:18are
45:18supposed
45:18to be
45:19provided
45:19since
45:19they
45:19were
45:19young
45:20kids
45:20and
45:21not
45:21something
45:21that
45:22you
45:22just
45:22show
45:23adverts
45:24in
45:24television
45:25a
45:26one
45:26minute
45:26ads
45:26on
45:27langkah-langkah
45:28menangani
45:28banjir
45:28and then
45:29wash
45:30hands
45:30settle
45:30no
45:31that's
45:31not
45:31how
45:32it
45:32works
45:32right
45:32how
45:33do
45:33integrate
45:34that
45:35within
45:35the
45:35education
45:35system
45:36is
45:36something
45:36that
45:36is
45:37super
45:37important
45:38to
45:38talk
45:38about
45:38another
45:39thing
45:40the last
45:41item
45:41that I
45:42want to
45:42go
45:42through
45:42with
45:42you
45:42is
45:43on
45:43the
45:43last
45:43item
45:44of
45:44where
45:44you
45:44think
45:44the
45:45government
45:45should
45:45be
45:45spending
45:45where
45:46do
45:46you
45:46see
45:47that
45:47at
45:48that
45:48point
45:48and
45:49the
45:50final
45:50one
45:50thing
45:51about
45:53the
45:53climate
45:53thing
45:53is
45:54that
45:54one
45:54of
45:54the
45:54things
45:55I'm
45:55trying
45:55to
45:55fight
45:56for
45:56is
45:56a
45:56better
45:56climate
45:57finance
45:57plan
45:58as
45:58well
45:58because
45:58without
45:59a
45:59proper
45:59climate
46:00finance
46:00plan
46:00then
46:01you
46:01can't
46:02fund
46:02all
46:02this
46:02drainage
46:05improvements
46:06and so
46:07what I'm
46:08trying to
46:08introduce
46:08in Johor
46:09is a
46:09climate
46:09budget
46:10tagging
46:10just so
46:11there's
46:11a
46:11better
46:12transparency
46:12on
46:13what
46:13we're
46:13spending
46:13in
46:14terms
46:14of
46:14budget
46:14to
46:15counter
46:15climate
46:15for
46:16example
46:16in
46:16Johor
46:17we
46:17are
46:18building
46:18this
46:18huge
46:18data
46:19center
46:19which
46:19we
46:19know
46:20will
46:21also
46:21affect
46:22water
46:23shortage
46:24there
46:24is a
46:25lot
46:25of
46:25cases
46:25where
46:26when
46:26you
46:26have
46:26data
46:26center
46:27you
46:27have
46:28water
46:28shortage
46:28what
46:29is
46:29the
46:29government's
46:30plan
46:30to
46:30ensure
46:31that
46:31when
46:31you
46:31have
46:31this
46:31kind
46:31of
46:32projects
46:32other
46:33parts
46:34of
46:34our
46:34ecosystem
46:35is not
46:35disturbed
46:36so
46:36that's
46:37just
46:37the
46:37last
46:37part
46:37which
46:38is
46:38the
46:38climate
46:38action
46:38plan
46:39the
46:40final
46:40one
46:40that
46:40I
46:40want
46:40to
46:41touch
46:41on
46:41is
46:42also
46:42something
46:43that
46:43the
46:43government
46:44have
46:44not
46:44be
46:45focusing
46:45on
46:45which
46:46is
46:46our
46:46arts
46:47and
46:47culture
46:47and
46:49this
46:50is
46:50something
46:50that
46:50is
46:50really
46:51huge
46:51and
46:52I
46:52encourage
46:53Malaysians
46:54who have
46:54not
46:54really
46:55been
46:55looking
46:55at it
46:56to
46:56really
46:56look
46:57into
46:57it
46:57why
46:58do
46:58we
46:58have
46:59to
46:59invest
46:59into
46:59arts
47:00and
47:00culture
47:00because
47:01our
47:02arts
47:02and
47:03culture
47:03is
47:04what
47:05unites
47:05Malaysians
47:06together
47:06what
47:07is
47:07the
47:07identity
47:08of
47:08Malaysians
47:08that
47:08shaped
47:09through
47:09our
47:09arts
47:09and
47:10culture
47:10and
47:11I've
47:11spoken
47:12about
47:12this
47:12multiple
47:13times
47:13for
47:13example
47:14we
47:14grew
47:14up
47:14on
47:14Petronas
47:15adverts
47:15and
47:16that
47:16gave
47:16us
47:17a
47:17sense
47:17of
47:17unity
47:18through
47:18our
47:18Petronas
47:19adverts
47:19how
47:20is
47:21this
47:21scaled
47:21up
47:22to
47:22a
47:22larger
47:23platform
47:24arts
47:26and
47:26culture
47:26we're
47:26talking
47:27about
47:27books
47:27how
47:27do
47:28ensure
47:28that
47:29our
47:29local
47:29writers
47:30our
47:30local
47:30artists
47:31our
47:31local
47:34poets
47:36how
47:36are
47:36they
47:36supported
47:37through
47:38the
47:38government's
47:39initiative
47:39because
47:39as it
47:40stands
47:40I
47:41don't
47:41see
47:41a
47:42cohesion
47:42plan
47:43on
47:43us
47:43protecting
47:44our
47:44arts
47:44and
47:44culture
47:45industry
47:45secondly
47:46when
47:46we're
47:46talking
47:47about
47:47arts
47:47and
47:47culture
47:47it's
47:48also
47:48very
47:48important
47:49when
47:49we're
47:50also
47:50attracting
47:51tourists
47:51for
47:51example
47:51look
47:52at
47:53the
47:53K-pop
47:54wave
47:55that
47:55is
47:55the
47:55big
47:56identity
47:56of
47:56why
47:57people
47:57go to
47:58South
47:58Korea
47:58all
47:59the
47:59time
48:00because
48:00of
48:01their
48:01culture
48:01over
48:01there
48:02Japan
48:03for
48:04example
48:04how
48:04they
48:04preserve
48:05their
48:05culture
48:05how
48:06they
48:06preserve
48:06their
48:07traditional
48:08buildings
48:08these
48:08are
48:08the
48:09things
48:09that
48:09help
48:09them
48:09increase
48:10their
48:10tourism
48:11venture
48:11I
48:12am
48:13and I
48:13will
48:14have
48:14to
48:14say
48:14this
48:14here
48:15I
48:15hope
48:15you
48:16allow
48:16me
48:16to
48:16say
48:17this
48:17I
48:17am
48:18deeply
48:18disappointed
48:20with
48:21our
48:21tourism
48:22minister
48:22I
48:23don't
48:23think
48:24that
48:24our
48:24tourism
48:24minister
48:25is
48:25doing
48:25a
48:25good
48:26job
48:26in
48:26promoting
48:27tourism
48:27in
48:27Malaysia
48:28we
48:28have
48:29visit
48:29Malaysia
48:292026
48:30what
48:31has
48:31been
48:31done
48:32to
48:32ensure
48:33that
48:33not
48:34just
48:34we
48:34are
48:34attracting
48:35outside
48:35tourists
48:37what
48:38have
48:38been
48:39done
48:39to
48:39ensure
48:39that
48:39Malaysians
48:40also
48:41are
48:41attracted
48:41to
48:42visit
48:42other
48:43states
48:43in
48:43Malaysia
48:44back
48:46then
48:46for
48:46example
48:47I
48:48can
48:48see
48:48when
48:48I
48:48was
48:48younger
48:49I
48:49can
48:49see
48:49like
48:49a
48:49lot
48:50of
48:50billboards
48:50Melawat
48:51Langkawi
48:51what's
48:52in
48:52Langkawi
48:52melawat
48:52Terengganu
48:53what's
48:53in
48:53Terengganu
48:55but
48:55nowadays
48:56you
48:56hardly
48:56see
48:57that
48:57anymore
48:57and
48:58for
48:58example
48:59when
48:59we're
48:59talking
48:59about
49:00promoting
49:00Malaysian
49:01own
49:01products
49:02Malaysian
49:02own
49:02culture
49:03why
49:04is
49:04it
49:04that
49:04the
49:05Minister
49:05of
49:05Tourism
49:05is
49:06working
49:06together
49:07with
49:07Starbucks
49:07what
49:08happened
49:08to
49:09our
49:09own
49:09local
49:09coffee
49:10what
49:10happened
49:10to
49:10our
49:10own
49:11local
49:11businesses
49:11why
49:12are
49:12you
49:12not
49:12promoting
49:12these
49:13businesses
49:13instead
49:13when
49:14we're
49:15talking
49:15about
49:15arts
49:15and
49:15culture
49:15I
49:16think
49:16it's
49:17also
49:17very
49:17important
49:17and
49:23for
49:23the
49:24government
49:24to
49:24also
49:24have
49:25a
49:25larger
49:26arts
49:27blueprint
49:28for
49:28Malaysia
49:29that
49:29includes
49:30starting
49:30from
49:30education
49:31all
49:31the
49:32way
49:32until
49:32the
49:33protection
49:33of
49:34our
49:34arts
49:34and
49:35culture
49:35workers
49:36Let's
49:36talk
49:36more
49:37about
49:37how
49:38this
49:38will
49:38translate
49:39into
49:39some
49:39of
49:40MUDAS
49:40movements
49:41at
49:42the
49:42electoral
49:45polls
49:45and
49:46we have
49:47to tie
49:47off
49:47this
49:48conversation
49:48with
49:48the
49:48Sabah
49:49elections
49:49considering
49:50that
49:51this
49:52would be
49:52the
49:52first
49:52of
49:53the
49:53many
49:53precursors
49:55to
49:55the
49:55elections
49:56coming up
49:56to
49:56the
49:57general
49:57elections
49:5716th
49:58expected
49:58maybe
49:59towards
50:00the
50:00end
50:00of
50:002027
50:00will
50:02first
50:02of
50:03all
50:03will
50:03MUDAS
50:03participate
50:04in
50:04Sabah
50:04state
50:04elections
50:05well
50:06the
50:08system
50:09within
50:09MUDAS
50:09is that
50:10we
50:11acknowledge
50:12Sabah
50:12and
50:12Sarawak
50:13as the
50:13equal
50:14partners
50:14of
50:15the
50:15peninsular
50:16Malaysia
50:17in the
50:17same
50:17way
50:17that
50:17Malaysia
50:18agreement
50:18was being
50:19drafted
50:19and so
50:20it is
50:20entirely
50:21up to
50:21the
50:21decision
50:22of our
50:23Sabah chapter
50:24whether they
50:25want to
50:26contest or
50:26not
50:26so it's
50:28decentralized
50:29in that way
50:29we've had a
50:31press conference
50:32actually it was
50:33last year
50:34where our
50:35Sabah chapter
50:36did
50:37our
50:39Sabah chapter
50:40chairman
50:40a chairwoman
50:41for Ezra Rizalman
50:42she did mention
50:44that there's an
50:45intention from the
50:46Sabah chapter to
50:47contest
50:47and at the end of
50:49the day
50:49whatever is the
50:50decision of the
50:51Sabah chapter
50:51we full-heartedly
50:52agree
50:53obviously as of
50:54right now
50:55negotiations are
50:56still happening
50:56we're still
50:57talking to
50:57other political
50:58parties
50:59however
51:00the work
51:01still goes
51:02hand in
51:02hand
51:02regardless of
51:03whether or
51:04not
51:04negotiations
51:05were tied
51:06up
51:07whether or
51:07not
51:07there was
51:08any
51:08collaboration
51:09with other
51:09political
51:09parties
51:10or whether
51:10or not
51:11Muda is
51:11going to
51:12contest
51:12Sabah is
51:14still a
51:14very important
51:14chapter for
51:15us
51:15and Muda
51:16will be
51:17there
51:18and I
51:19myself
51:19will be
51:19there
51:20during the
51:21Sabah State
51:21election
51:21I think
51:22one of the
51:22things that
51:22is very
51:23important for
51:24us
51:24when it
51:24comes to
51:25Sabah State
51:25election
51:26is not
51:26just about
51:27securing a
51:28seat
51:28obviously as a
51:29political party
51:30you want to
51:30secure a seat
51:31you don't
51:32become a
51:32political party
51:33without wanting
51:33to secure a
51:34seat
51:34but at the
51:35end of the
51:35day as the
51:36conversations
51:36around Sabah
51:38State's
51:38election
51:38and the
51:39visibility
51:39around
51:40Sabah
51:40State's
51:40election
51:41to talk
51:41about
51:42issues that
51:42are close
51:42to Sabahan
51:43to champion
51:44the plights
51:45of the
51:45Sabahan
51:46for example
51:47when we're
51:48talking about
51:48climate action
51:49there was a
51:50huge flood
51:51in Sabah
51:51but not
51:53enough
51:53chatter
51:54or not
51:55enough
51:55talks
51:55around it
51:56meanwhile
51:56it also
51:57doesn't just
51:58cause economic
51:58loss
51:59it also
52:00cause the
52:00loss of
52:00lives
52:01these are
52:02the things
52:02that have
52:03not had
52:03enough
52:04visibility
52:04towards Sabah
52:05and I think
52:06for Muda
52:07most importantly
52:08than just
52:08who are we
52:09working with
52:10where are we
52:11contesting
52:11how are we
52:13approaching
52:14Sabah State's
52:14election
52:15so that
52:15the conversation
52:16around Sabah
52:17for the people
52:18of Sabah
52:18are being
52:19uplifted
52:19to the
52:20federal level
52:20it's also
52:21important for us
52:22to also
52:22discuss the
52:23alignment
52:23or the
52:23political
52:24alignment
52:24that you
52:25are facing
52:25not just
52:25in Sabah
52:26but with
52:26the rest
52:27of the
52:27country
52:29a few
52:30months ago
52:31there's this
52:33rather loose
52:34collision
52:34of opposition
52:36members
52:36that were
52:37shared by
52:38Tan Sri
52:38Muhyiddin Yassin
52:39and you
52:39were part of
52:40that
52:40meeting
52:41does that
52:43also mean
52:44that
52:44this
52:45loose
52:46opposition
52:47coalition
52:47is still
52:47going to
52:48take place
52:49in some
52:50form
52:50or shape
52:51either at
52:53Sabah
52:53or at
52:54the federal
52:55level
52:55during the
52:56meeting
52:57everyone
52:58was very
52:59conscious
52:59in saying
53:00that we
53:00do not
53:00want to
53:00discuss
53:01election
53:01because
53:02that is
53:02not the
53:02purpose
53:03of the
53:03meeting
53:03it's
53:03not
53:04about
53:04forming
53:04election
53:05coalition
53:05it's
53:06about
53:06forming
53:06a stronger
53:07opposition
53:07to provide
53:08a better
53:09check and
53:09balance
53:10towards
53:10the
53:10government
53:10and so
53:11there was
53:12no
53:12chat
53:13about
53:13what
53:14kind
53:14of
53:15coalition
53:16will be
53:16formed
53:16towards
53:17election
53:17it was
53:18really
53:18about
53:18how do
53:19we
53:19ensure
53:19that
53:20in terms
53:22of example
53:22subsidy
53:23when we're
53:23talking about
53:23economy
53:24when we're
53:24talking about
53:24climate
53:25how do we
53:25ensure
53:26that the
53:26opposition
53:27have
53:27a place
53:29for us
53:29to sort
53:29of discuss
53:30and ensure
53:31that we
53:31become a
53:32strong
53:32chat and
53:32balance
53:32because at
53:33the end
53:33of the
53:33day
53:33a government
53:34is only
53:35as strong
53:36as the
53:37opposition
53:37as well
53:37if you
53:38don't have
53:38a strong
53:38opposition
53:39then the
53:40government
53:40will feel
53:41complacent
53:41and then
53:42you will
53:42not have
53:43the benefit
53:43to the
53:43people
53:44so to
53:45answer your
53:45question
53:45there wasn't
53:46any
53:46conversation
53:47about
53:47coalition
53:47at that
53:48point of
53:48time
53:48and I
53:50am very
53:50well aware
53:50that
53:51political
53:51parties
53:51including
53:52Muda
53:52are talking
53:54to
53:54other
53:55political
53:55parties
53:56on
53:56their
53:56own
53:56Muda
53:56for
53:56example
53:57we are
53:58not
53:58under
53:58any
53:58coalition
53:59you know
54:00this is
54:02not
54:02asked
54:02by you
54:02but I've
54:03had
54:03media
54:04friends
54:04asking me
54:05whether
54:05Muda
54:05support
54:06the
54:07nomination
54:08of
54:08Tan Sri
54:09Muhyiddin
54:09as
54:10the
54:10potential
54:13Prime
54:14Minister
54:14first and
54:15foremost
54:15sorry
54:15why I
54:16hesitate
54:16to ask
54:17is that
54:17I don't
54:17want to
54:18put the
54:18card
54:18before
54:19the
54:19horse
54:20I'd rather
54:21attack
54:21or examine
54:22and study
54:24the
54:24policies
54:25that the
54:26parties are
54:26going to
54:26be bringing
54:27forward
54:27which is
54:28also quite
54:29refreshing
54:29to hear
54:30you presenting
54:30your ideas
54:31and views
54:31here
54:32because
54:32now is
54:33the time
54:34for us
54:34to
54:34perhaps
54:35attack
54:36you
54:36on those
54:37kind of
54:37things
54:37rather than
54:38which
54:39might as well
54:40ask you
54:40which football
54:41club you
54:41support
54:42which I
54:42appreciate
54:43there's
54:44no basis
54:45behind it
54:46you understand
54:46anyway
54:47since we're
54:48on topic
54:48so
54:49does Muda
54:50have that
54:50position
54:50to support
54:51first and foremost
54:52we are not
54:52part of
54:52Perikatan National
54:53and with that
54:55having said
54:56we have
54:57no intention
54:58whatsoever
54:59as of right
54:59now
54:59to be part
55:00of
55:00Perikatan National
55:01in that sense
55:02whoever is
55:03their prime minister
55:03candidate
55:04is their
55:04prime minister
55:04candidate
55:05and it's not
55:06ours
55:06wow
55:07okay
55:07right now
55:08yeah
55:09okay
55:09I guess
55:10that would be
55:11a fantastic
55:12way to end
55:12as you can see
55:14when we have
55:15a guest
55:15like Amira
55:16it's all
55:16about
55:17managing time
55:18because she
55:19certainly does
55:20have a lot
55:21to unpack
55:21but thank you
55:22very much
55:22Amira
55:22thank you
55:23for coming
55:23over
55:24you've just
55:24heard
55:24the young
55:25Bohomat
55:26Amira Aisyah
55:27Abdulaziz
55:27the state
55:29assemblywoman
55:30for the seat
55:31of
55:31Puteri Wangsa
55:34in Tebrau Johor
55:36of course
55:36she's also
55:37the acting
55:38president
55:38of Muda
55:39if you missed
55:40any part
55:40of this
55:41interview
55:42just stay
55:42down to
55:43AstroAwani.com
55:44to find out
55:44more
55:45also
55:45stay
55:46tuned
55:47to Astro
55:47Awani
55:48from 3pm
55:49onwards
55:49where my
55:50colleagues
55:51Asnan
55:55pardon me
55:56as well as
55:56Nina
55:57I'm trying
55:57to figure out
55:57which one
55:57of my colleagues
55:58are going to
55:58be presenting
55:59the show
55:59tomorrow
55:59are going
56:00to be
56:00presenting
56:00the show
56:01live
56:01here
56:01on Astro
56:02Awani
56:03from 3pm
56:04onwards
56:04so stay
56:05tuned
56:05on that
56:06one
56:06as well
56:06until then
56:07have a pleasant
56:08week ahead
56:08my name
56:09is Ibrahim
56:09Sani
56:09catch you
56:10in the
56:10next one
56:10Ibrahim
56:12Ibrahim
56:40You
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