BFM 89.9

HIGHLIGHTS 
Podcast  >  Evening Edition  >  Top 5 At 5  >  Top 5 at 5: Seven Decades Later, Still No Apology for Batang Kali

Top 5 at 5: Seven Decades Later, Still No Apology for Batang Kali

Dato' Quek Ngee Meng, victims' family lawyer and coordinator, Action Committee Condemning the Batang Kali Massacre | Ankit Sanghvi, victims' family lawyer

13-Mar-25 17:00

Top 5 at 5: Seven Decades Later, Still No Apology for Batang Kali

It has been 76 years since the Batang Kali Massacre which saw British soldiers kill 24 Malayan rubber tappers after accusing them of supporting communist insurgents. We speak to Angkit Sanghvi and Dato' Quek Ngee Meng to discuss the apology that was demanded by the victims' families and what it would take to achieve broader post-colonial reparations.

Other stories we covered:

Updates on Orang Asli land rights lawsuit: The Temiar Orang Asli community in Kampung Kelaik have now urged the Kelantan High Court to visit their village in order to witness the damage left behind by corporations as well as the Kelantan state government. This is all part of an ongoing customary land rights lawsuit which could see the community regain ownership of their ancestral land. We speak to lawyer Rajesh Nadarajan to learn more.
• Fake birth cert syndicate busted: Authorities have arrested 26 individuals tied to a number of fake birth certificate schemes. We reach out to Sumitha Shaanthinni Kishna, Director of Our Journey, a civil society organisation focussed on advocacy for migrant rights to find out the lasting impact these falsified documents will have on families.
• Man gets terminated for strenuous activity while under medical leave: The court ruled in favour of a company who terminated a man's employment after he was caught playing sepak takraw and climbing a tree while he had taken four months of medical leave. Employment lawyer Lim Zi Han weighs in.
• Forest in the Amazon cleared to build highway for climate summit: We discuss the irony of the Amazon forest being felled to make way for environmental talks, as well as the various costs of human activity.

Image Credit: Shutterstock

Produced by: Sudais Ferhard, Sneha Harikannan, Lim Sue Ann, Alia Zefri

Presented by: Lee Chwi Lynn, Sharaad Kuttan


This and more than 60,000 other podcasts in your hand. Download the all new BFM mobile app.

Categories:  economypoliticsgovernmentinternationalenvironmentcorruptionLaw/ActivismcontroversiescultureHistory/HeritagemanagingCorporates

Tags:  british soldiersmalayan rubber tapperscommunist insurgentsfake birth certificatemedical leavebatang kali massacrekelantanorang aslitemiarKampung Kelaiklawsuitancestral landsyndicatemigrant rightssepak takrawemployment lawamazon forestclimate summit





Play / Pause

Listen now : BFM 89.9 -- The Business Station

Today’s Shows



6:00 AM

The 6AM Stretch

Thought-provoking discussions on ideas, people and events shaping our lives.

7:00 AM

World Market Watch

Brian Arcese, Portfolio Manager & Equity Analyst, Foord Asset Management, tells us where international markets are heading.

7:15 AM

Morning Brief

We recap global and local headlines from today's papers and portals.

7:30 AM

Morning Brief

George Chen, partner and co-chair of the Digital Practice at The Asia on the future of the tech industry.

7:45 AM

Morning Brief

Hafiza Abdul Samath of Women Aid Organization (WAO) discusses teenage pregnancy and what more can be done to support at-risk teens.

8:00 AM

The Breakfast Grille

Jason Fong of Invest Hong Kong discusses the department’s strategy for attracting family offices to the territory.

8:30 AM

Morning Brief

Dr. Amit Ranjan, National University of Singapore gives us an update on Bangladeshi politics.

8:45 AM

Morning Brief

(REPEAT) We dive into the local and international news that matters to you.

9:00 AM

Opening Bell

(REPEAT) Brian Arcese, Portfolio Manager & Equity Analyst, Foord Asset Management, tells us where international markets are heading.

9:15 AM

Opening Bell

(REPEAT) We take a look at the FBM KLCI as well as regional capital markets.

9:35 AM

What's The Focus

We wrap up the week’s biggest conversations to keep you in the know.

10:05 AM

Open For Business

Yoann Gueguen & Onno Pfeiffer, Co-founders of Diolko, on building Southeast Asia’s first urban logistics-on-rail system to cut delivery emissions and congestion.

11:00 AM

Mattsplained

Matt Armitage, Founder, Kulturpop

12:00 PM

Enterprise Explores

Kiranjit Singh, Regional APAC Lead at Ipsos Strategy3, on why Malaysians are redefining “old age” and showing greater optimism about later life.

1:00 PM

The Breakfast Grille Repeat

Jason Fong of Invest Hong Kong discusses the department’s strategy for attracting family offices to the territory.

2:05 PM

Discovery Hour

3:05 PM

Front Row

Award-winning playwright Adriana Nordin Manan's "Wacky Double Bill: Borong & Encyclopedia" explores the wit, warmth, and weirdness of two scenarios: colleagues vying for their boss's approval and a cross-cultural encounter gone wrong. We speak with Adriana and producer/designer Sidhart Joe Dev.

3:20 PM

Front Row

"Fragments of Tuah," a new documentary theatre work, deconstructs the historical figure of Hang Tuah through music, performance, and archival research, exposing gaps and contradictions in the familiar tale. Co-creators Mark Teh and Faiq Syazwan Kuhiri discuss their collaborative process.

4:05 PM

Health & Living

Are MRI machines safe? We explore the unusual death of a man sucked into an MRI machine and how to improve safety.

5:00 PM

Top 5 at 5

6:00 PM

Popcorn Culture

This week we review the latest creepy-child horror film to hit the scene, Zach Cregger’s Weapons, followed by a discussion about the different types of horror movies out there.

7:00 PM

Just For Kicks

The 2025/26 Premier League kicks off with Manchester United hosting Arsenal amid blockbuster signings across the top clubs, as Liverpool reload, City splurge, Chelsea splash out, and Spurs reboot—all covered in this week’s Just For Kicks.

8:00 PM

Bar None

Lauren Hoh Ruyi joins us to share her football journey so far and her observations of the women's game here.

9:00 PM

The Selector

Covering all styles of music from indie, dubstep, folk, soul, electro and everything in between.