CNN poll taken immediately after vice presidential debate shows Vance overtakes Walz with a 12 point shift in Vance’s favour amongst the female voters. How important is vice presidential debate? Tune in to find out more and how US election is really the mother of all elections, affecting even how Malaysia would progress in days ahead.

While much of the voters in the U.S. will be tuning in to watch the vice-presidential debate Tuesday night between Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Sen. JD Vance (R., Ohio), we discussed how several key swing states will likely to impact the election outcome. Even three term London Mayor, Sadiq Khan, couldn’t missed passing a remark in Politico about US Election as he rightly said, “What happens in America is the metronome … that sets the beat of what happens across the globe. It sets the beat for how other politicians behave in an election campaign.”

Recently, an AI image of “All Eyes on Rafah” surges on social media after what the cable news coined as “deadly Israeli airstrike killing dozens of civilians” based on reporting by Hamas-controlled local officials. Other alternative medias reported verified sources from IDF that strikes were conducted outside of designated humanitarian areas.

Increasingly, we are seeing schism caused by media biased which influence our political worldview. In this episode, we attempt to break down our thought processes and present ways to view news objectively without being overly emotional by the reporting.

Credit: Cartoon by Vitaly Podvitski

As controversial as it may sound, join us as our host Simon Yeo walks us through a deeper understanding of the election process, both in the United States of America and in Malaysia, and then decide for yourself what can People do in order to vote for a government who would be held accountable to upload liberty in the land.

In our very first episode, Simon discussed the lowering of the voting age in Malaysia. Joining us this week are two young people who will be voting for the very first time in the upcoming election. Tune in as they discuss automatic voter registration, possible effects of Covid-19 restrictions on the election, government handouts, and rule of law.

Isn't democracy about the majority? The majority rules? That’s mob rule - it can be for better or for worse. The Founding Fathers of the United States of America drew their decision from the French Revolution (a type of mob rule) and designed the constitution as we know today. America is founded based on a constitutional republic. It is crucial as we begin to understand and appreciate the significance of the quote from Benjamin Franklin on democracy. “Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what they are going to have for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote.”  The check and balance system ensures accountability from the government of the day (President), the legislature (Senate), and the judiciary (Supreme Court) with a clear separation of power between the three branches of government.

Both Twitter and Facebook recently took extraordinary censorship measures against The New York Post over its exposés about Hunter Biden’s emails. Responding to other mainstream media outlets’ refusal to cover the new details surrounding Hunter Biden’s pursuit of lucrative overseas deals, Glenn Greenwald, a co-founding editor of The Intercept and a former Guardian columnist, tweeted, “The target of my criticism here is the media for so blatantly repudiating its core function.” This brings us to think – what is the role of media in a free society and how has it been repudiating its core function? What can we learn from here? And how could the People in Malaysia then hold the government accountable through the function of the press and news media which holds explicit capacity of advocacy and implicit ability to frame political issues?

In the Supreme Court of the United States of America confirmation hearing, Judge Amy Coney Barrett delivered a powerful opening statement. Judge Barrett said, “Courts have vital responsibility to enforce the rule of law, which is critical to a free society. The policy decision and value judgments of government must be made by the political branches elected by and accountable to the People.”

We have no illusions that the road ahead of us for a free society in Malaysia will be easy either for the short term or the long haul. But with the People's combined efforts through informed strategic decision makings, be it personally or corporately, we can each make a positive difference!

Learn the power of the voice of the youth to redeem the identity of Malaysia, automatic registration and how that impacts Malaysia in this episode. So we need you, youth - you can make a positive impact for Malaysia!

Welcome on board, Simon Sayers! 

"What can Malaysia achieve?" "What can Malaysia show to the entire world?" - If these are questions that you have thought of, this show is for you.

At the 4th week of hush money trial, Trump decried election interference upon arrival at a Manhattan courthouse. “I should be out campaigning now instead of sitting in a very cold courthouse all day long,” Trump told of the reporters outside the courtroom. “This is a Biden persecution. It’s election interference at a level that nobody in this country has ever seen before.” In this episode, we discuss how Lawfare has limited freedom of speech under the guise of stability and how it’s linked to cancel culture.

Of recent years, there is a voice from Sarawak which has pro-independence stirring but the results over the last few election cycles do not seem to support the rise of a strong call for independence. Drawing parallels from the contentious issues concerning Texas border security, we discuss with Michele on how Sarawak could demonstrate a strong identity yet bringing out the flavours of self-determination and pursuit of happiness in this place we call home.

Some crypto enthusiasts intone the halving like a religious event with near mystical importance which relies on the hard-coded mining mechanics, whereas some detractors argued that it’s merely smoke and mirrors.

But here’s the key thing - so many people look to government for solution in light of falling Ringgit, when the only way out for us is to take accountability and initiative for financial security. In this episode, we have a special guest who is a self-taught Bitcoin enthusiast that challenges our mindset to explore the possibility of self-custody of assets that can’t be inflated away by the whims and fancies of those in power.

In the era of misinformation, where we begin to hear terms such as digital leviathan, how do we navigate through the swampy media narrative? In this episode, we break down the process of dismantling the mainstream media narrative, and take a deep dive into the process of verification at source so that discernment arises to see through any political witch hunt.

Our special guest, David Tiang, made an appearance to discuss with our host, Simon Yeo, the decision delivered by Malaysian Federal Court where 16 provisions of offences in Kelantan Syariah Penal Code (1) Enactment 2019 are deemed to be void and not validly enforced in the state. 9 February 2024, the day which the decision was delivered, was hailed by the Kelantan ruling party Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS) to be “Black Friday”. Is it Black Friday or is it a day we slowly break away from religious control in a secular nation? Tune in for more.

On 21 February 2024, we saw the demise of a notable longest serving head of state in Sarawak, former Governor and Chief Minister of Sarawak, Tun Taib Mahmud. Many obituaries were written; some coined him as the Father of Modern Sarawak, whilst others referred him as The Godfather of Sarawak. In this episode, we discuss the achievements and the controversies that followed thirty-three years of Taib's chief ministership. Is it one that resulted in political stability, social and religious harmony in Sarawak or one that caused schism between the various people groups in Sarawak?

Texas sued to stop federal agents from cutting the border wire, claiming trespass a tort and a violation of Administrative Procedure Act. In this episode, we talk about Texas, borders security, issues of self-determination, balance of power between federal vs state.

Do leave a comment or email us at simon.says.podcast@protonmail.com

“The race is far from over,” said Nikki Haley after losing New Hampshire primary to Trump. In this episode, we discuss Donald J. Trump’s appeal and what we are not getting at?

Trump represents a populist move that demands a shift away from global elite management. What MAGA movement brings about is a fresh take on “no taxation without representation”, which is a lesson that Malaysia could draw parallel from in the areas concerning self-determination.

Former President Donald J. Trump cruised to victory in the Iowa caucuses, and we see the world is having mixed emotions towards the victory and also the suspension of presidential campaign by Ron DeSantis.

With the Iowa win, it is clear, at least to DeSantis, that “a majority of Republican primary voters want to give Donald Trump a second chance.”

Don’t miss out this episode where we discuss the man who rises above every media attack, political lawsuits and old guard establishment effort that tried to destroy and force him out of the election.

Since the declaration of Malaysia Day as public holiday in 2009 by former Prime Minister of Malaysia, Najib Razak, there has been slow but growing awareness to celebrate Malaysia’s formation and diversity. The likes of Merdeka-themed community arts festival such as Peszta has been held to celebrate Malaysia’s culture and community. In this episode, 3 Malaysians sat down to discuss at length what formation of Malaysia means to them.

We learnt the lessons of 2023 and look forward to a brighter 2024 where we see more of these in Malaysia:

1. Self determination

2. Small government

3. Pursuit of happiness and necessity of flourishing Middle class

Despite Speaker McCarthy's shocking victory over the deep state by securing House passage of a 45-day stopgap bill to keep the government open and cut off funding for Ukraine, Rep. Matt Gaetz has filed a motion to vacate House Speaker to which he succeeded with the help of Democrats.

While many Republicans think that McCarthy has been "rock solid" as a leader in the House, Matt Gaetz disagreed and justified on grounds that he "takes no lecture from those who would grovel and bend knee for the lobbyists and special interests who own our leadership, hollow out this town, and borrow against the future of our future generations."

In Malaysia, we see the similar tension and cringe when the incumbent unity government justified the continual advancement of NEP mainly in the name of stability and unity. What can we learn from the US Speaker race so that the nation can move away from affirmative action policies that have been hijacked and weaponised to cultivate a culture of fear and insecurity for politicians to remain in high places?

During his address for the Malaysia Day 2023 celebration here on Saturday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had hailed Sarawak as the nation’s “most advanced state”, underlining the remarkable strides that it has made since the birth of Malaysia. In a viral video, it was seen that Sarawak Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Openg was humbled and bemused that the Prime Minister would request him to give a lecture on the green economy that Sarawak is adopting and leading in the nation.

We were inspired by the Sarawak premier's phrase that Malaysia will be prosperous if Sarawak is prosperous in our pursuit of happiness in the nation that turned 60 on 16 September 2023.

In the article titled "What Malaysia Day means to us" published by The Star, one particular comment aptly describes the confusion between Merdeka on 31 August and Malaysia Day on 16 September, where many thought the celebrations are interchangeable.

"I personally wish we are educated more on the cultures, customs and experiences of people of Sabah and Sarawak. I feel it’s important to celebrate a historical event such as Malaysia Day, as many might not actually know the reason behind the celebration and I think it should be more prominently explained or highlighted on the same level as our National Day. Many in the peninsula are largely unfamiliar with traditions of Sabahans and Sarawakians aside from what we are taught in our Civics textbook."

Though the celebrations for both days have passed, may this song "Malaysia Forever" that was even considered as Malaysia's "unofficial national anthem" spurs your consideration of which day to be celebrated widely by Malaysians.

Over the last week, many Malaysians have joined the bandwagon of those who have expressed great disappointment and even anger at Anwar and his unity government over Zahid’s DNAA.

In this episode, we asked few questions to cause us to think beyond the confines of political games.

1. What are some of the constraints faced by the unity government?

2. Is PMX still the one?

3. Are we placing too much hope on the government?

We are seeing some feisty fisticuffs in a Trump-less Republican debate night. There were some interesting school kids moments of show of hands to see who would support former President Trump as the party’s choice if he is convicted in a court of law, and there were other moments where ChatGPT’s and Obama’s words were being regurgitated by one of the Republican candidates. We give you our post debate view to see who’s the biggest winner and who’s the biggest loser of the fight night.

On the same night, former President Trump was running a counter programme with Tucker Carlson. Here we discussed why we are studying American election cycle closely as we glean useful insights for Malaysian context.

Previously, we discussed American Supreme Court case - Harvard / UNC decision at length whereby the Court reversed a 45 year old precedent on affirmative action on the ground that it violates the Constitution and the Civil Acts Act. In our discussion, our thoughts are frequently turned to the situation here back in Malaysia. We know very truly in the practical reality the existence of affirmation action in Malaysia, across all sectors – economy, education, civil service and others.

Is affirmative action a constitutional foundation of this nation? Or is it simply a policy made by the government of the day? This is what we want to explore in this episode.

In this special episode to analyse the State Elections 2023 results, together with our special guest, David Tiang, we touch on several key issues, such as the legitimacy of Green wave, the Trump-like populist “Sanusi wave”, PAS’ clean sweep in Terengganu, super majority results in most of the 6 state elections, the irrelevance of UMNO, and what it means moving forward for Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s government.

We are just one day away from the polling day where the registered electors in Selangor, Penang, Negeri Sembilan, Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu will be determining the fate of their state legislative assembly away from the general elections for the first time in history.

Will Muda party, led by Syed Saddiq, tank in this state elections, or will they be successful in emerging as the third force to challenge the lack of reforms by the incumbent unity government?

Is green wave narrative a real threat, as propagated by Pakatan Harapan leaders, as well as pro PH media?

Is affirmative actions here to stay following Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's reply to a student that abolishing quota system will cost him the state elections?

Martin Luther King said many years ago, when he said he had a dream…that someday, his children will be judged, not by the colour of their skin, but by the content of their character. However, the victimhood and undealt trauma of the race-conscious generations have resulted in the progressive activism of social racism with government-imposed racism. Simply put, affirmative action in fact prolongs and further promotes systemic racism in a society that should have thrived in meritocracy.

When we are able to look objectively as a nation at the immediate 3R issues (i.e. race, religion, and royalty) at hand in our home turf, Malaysia, we are not succumbing to what Justice Jackson dissented in the landmark case as “let-them-eat-cake obliviousness”. In fact, quite the opposite - we would be moving closer towards becoming a nation that overcomes racial discrimination when we allow the Constitution to be colour-blind, and neither knows nor tolerates classes among citizens.

Supreme Court of the United States: Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College

https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/22pdf/20-1199_hgdj.pdf

On a world stage, Malaysia cosies up to Russia with Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s working visit to Russia in early September 2024 to advance Malaysia’s interest by strengthening ties with Russia. While many has lauded Anwar Ibrahim’s explosive statement on the Israel-Palestine conflict, Prime Minister of Malaysia seems to have taken a liking to threatening his fellow Malaysians to use all of his power and strength to ensure continuation of groupthink and compliance to “Eastern values”.

Malaysia’s position in the World Press Freedom Index tanked 34 places to 107th position this year as compared to previous year, yet the position taken by current administration is that such ranking is still good compared to the previous administration. It’s becoming alarming when Anwar likes to lecture other countries about freedom but believes that Malaysians can do without. In this podcast episode, we discuss such vintage strongman rhetoric that Anwar Ibrahim has demonstrated.

In Thailand, we see the victorious emergence of 3rd force led by maverick Move Forward Party. The centre left party is mostly driven by youth movement. In this episode, we explore the viability of Muda contesting alone in the state polls, after being sidelined by Pakatan Harapan.

Following the big support that Move Forward won from youth voters and the capital Bangkok, it seems like the Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (in short, MUDA) is also following Move Forward’s campaigning strategy that leverages overwhelmingly on social media on an anti-establishment platform.

Is this now a good time for the rise of third force in Malaysia’s upcoming state elections? Tune in to this episode to hear and make a determination for yourself.

Erica Chenoweth, a political scientist at Harvard, observed in The New Yorker that there is a pronounced shift in the global landscape of dissent where people in more countries are using people's power than at any time in recorded history. The primary challenges to the government today are no longer the armed upheaval, but rather nonviolent mass movements.

The former UMNO leader Khairy Jamaluddin suggested recently that the unity government should be worried about a “tsunami of discontent” instead of a “green wave” in the upcoming state polls, and he was quickly backed by Perikatan Nasional chairperson Muhyiddin Yassin who dismissed concerns/issues surrounding race, religion, and royalty.

Is this a rehabilitation of Perikatan Nasional’s reputation as part of Khairy Jamaluddin’s PR project? Watch this episode to see if the tides might have well and truly turned.

This draws us to reference an incident when George Orwell, the author of Nineteen Eighty-Four and Animal Farm, was commissioned by British Council to write an article on British cookery in 1946, as part of the organisation’s efforts to promote British culture overseas, and subsequently being rejected due to reasons being “it was problematic to write about food in a time of strict rationing.”

In times of rising green wave, we wonder if an anytime food has been weaponised to promote fake religion of tolerance, where it was debated that a heritage dish should be something that can be savoured by all races in our country. It seems that the establishment in these days are somewhat po-faced and risk-averse, and was anxious to avoid recognising a non-halal food as heritage food for appeasement of voters in the upcoming state elections.

Driven largely by woke ideology (and in this case, siege mentality), cancel culture is a form of modern banishment whereby the loudest voice tries to signal a public boycott based on certain ideas/perspectives. Comedy, a genre that fundamentally pushes boundaries and pokes fun at the status quo by drawing inspiration from familiar and general experiences to communicate, is no foreign to constant attack where political correctness demands.

In an interview with CNN following the massive backlash from Malaysians and Singapore’s High Commissioner to Malaysia, Jocelyn Chia replied, “We all know in the comedy club context that this is the comedian trying to get a laugh, and there is no actual malice behind it."

In this episode, we discuss the decline of comedy, particularly in the context of the long friendly rivalry between Singapore and Malaysia, and the implications of cancel culture toward freedom of speech.

Despite the PN17 issued by Bursa Malaysia (signifying the financial distress of a listed company), the Health Minister, Dr. Zaliha Mustafa, has nothing but high praises for Pharmaniaga Logistics Sdn Bhd, which was touted to have 98% KPI performance in its fulfillment.

Now, the question is - When are we seeing the reforms that are so promised by the incumbent unity government when we are seeing tremendous aid that is given to a government-linked company in an environment that is very much being monopolised by the political arms?

The Great Never Trump Hope is finally throwing his boxing gloves into 2024 presidential ring, as how Peter Navarro who served in the Trump White House as manufacturing czar and, during the pandemic, as Defense Production Act Policy Coordinator, would describe Florida’s governor’s, Ron DeSantis, announcement of presidential campaign in Twitter Spaces. The event that “broke the Twitter system” or how Elon Musk would passionately called it an event that garnered “massive attention” due to high volume, was plagued by technical glitches and crashes — making it difficult for many users to hear DeSantis’ statements in real-time.

In this episode, we discuss the contrast between the two highest profile Republican presidential candidates in this time of presidential campaign who are the driving force of Maga populist movement, and who our favourite is.

You won’t want to miss out!

Do leave a comment or email us at simon.says.podcast@protonmail.com

Agriculture and food security minister Mohamad Sabu has defended the recent appointments of Pakatan Harapan leaders to statutory bodies under his ministry. The political appointments in federal statutory bodies have drawn strong criticism from the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih).

"It's an abuse of public office and trust, bordering on hidden corruption, if the government simply appoints any party operatives, such as former aides of top leaders, to statutory bodies just to financially sustain their political works," the electoral watchdog added.

Whilst the appointment of board members of the FSBs are governed by their respective regulation act, suggesting that political appointments are right by law, we discuss in this episode is it is right by the court of public opinion.

The radical left, fascists, Marxists, communists, and normal people — have said that the CNN town hall was a total complete victory for Trump. Former CNN employee, Brian Stelter noted that the event garnered 703,000 viewers in the 25-54-year-old key demographic – which is five times better than CNN’s usual performance in the 8:00 p.m. time slot.

You'd definitely want to tune in to this episode to see why CNN was "traumatised" by the event despite the high ratings.

Transcript of CNN’s town hall with former President Donald Trump from CNN politics - https://edition.cnn.com/2023/05/11/politics/transcript-cnn-town-hall-trump/index.html

On the day Singapore officially separated from Malaysia on 9 August 1965 SUPP Founder and then Chairman Ong Kee Hui made the following remarks in Sarawak Legislature. “…We have the feeling that Malaysia will only succeed, if we have a truly Malaysian Malaysia, where every Malaysian will have his rightful place under the sun … now that Singapore is out of Malaysia, what then is the justification for its existence?

In this episode, we explore the very definition of self-determination in this journey of nation building.

Do leave a comment or email us at simon.says.podcast@protonmail.com

In this episode, as a continuation to our last episode on big vs small government, we deep dive the concept of federal vs state powers as stated in Malaysia Constitution, Schedule 9. Questions that are answered are:

1. Is the Federal power supreme?

2. Jefferson vs Hamilton in the American model pertaining to federal vs state rights?

3. Should some of the Federal powers come under the state as we move towards the concept of self-determination?

Do leave a comment or email us at simon.says.podcast@protonmail.com

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What an irony when PMX Anwar Ibrahim kicked off his National Day 2024 themed “Malaysia MADANI: Jiwa Merdeka” address by giving stern warning against any party supposedly sowing disharmony that the government will consider amending related laws if existing provisions are insufficient to snuff out racial tension. Fahmi Fadzil, the Communications Minister, explained that Jiwa Merdeka expresses the freedom of the people from any negative elements in interpreting the patriotic spirit through the aspects of thinking; yet we see grouses from Perikatan Nasional leaders on the restricted freedom of speech in their statements in conjunction with Merdeka Day today.

In this episode, three Sarawakians explored their journey in coming to a reconciled understanding of the significance of both National Day and Malaysia Day, and what we wish to see in days ahead for Malaysia, a rainbow nation in the making.

Just last Monday, we saw the brazen power play by the Murdoch family with the abrupt departure of Tucker Carlson from the cable TV, Fox News. In this episode, we discuss why is Tucker Carlson important in this tussle with establishment.

Do share your comment to simon.says.podcast@protonmail.com

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In this episode, we explore the concept of big vs small government. One of a tough questions that will be answered in this episode is that “is it fair to call a big government marxist and totalitarian?” Is it true that as government expands, liberty contracts?

On Feb 24, 2023, the Federal Court ruled that the investigation by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) against Court of Appeal judge Mohd Nazlan Ghazali was done without regard for judicial independence and protocols.

In this episode, we discuss our opinion on the involvement of the law minister in this case, and the independence of MACC and judiciary.

In this episode, we discussed contents that were discussed in "Keluar Sekejap" podcast hosted by our special virtual guests, former YB Khairy Jamaluddin and Shahril Hamdan.

Three key points that were discussed were:

(i) Stability of Unity Government

(ii) Redistribution of wealth

(iii) Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim - where would he stand in the Political Compass test?

In this podcast episode, we discuss the concept of wokeness which leads to affirmative policies.

In this episode of The Simon Says Podcast, we did The Political Compass test. The result will show where we stand in a quadrant of the matrix - Left, Right, Libertarian, and Authoritarian.

Here's the link to the test for you to assess your values if you are leaning towards extremism or moderation - https://www.politicalcompass.org/test

Many political pundits have considered Budget 2023 as a "state election budget". In this episode, we discuss if this budget is geared towards countering Green wave and if it's effective to address systemic issues, such as entitlement, victim mentality, and critical race theory.

Our Prime Minister started off his speech with a great diagnosis of the Malaysian economy. However, when we compare it with Tengku Zafrul's budget, it did not seem to differ much. In this episode, we discuss our take on the welfare budget and the lack of reform from a Prime Minister who is supposedly big on reform.

Find full episodes of The Simon Says Podcast for free on:

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