In the Dewan Rakyat, Deputy Minister of Women, Family, and Community Development Dato Seri Dr Noraini Ahmad said that 6,144 teen pregnancies were recorded between 2023 and March of this year. She cited several studies that revealed a lack of access to sexual health education, peer pressure, and media influence all as contributing factors to this statistic. With Dr Noraini promising an action plan to curb this issue, we speak to Amanda Tiew, lead researcher with the Reproductive Rights Advocacy Alliance Malaysia for better insights into this problem.

Other stories we covered:

• Malaysian Bar supports proposal to improve child maintenance practices: This proposal seeks to ensure a federal framework to strengthen the enforcement of court-ordered child maintenance. Bar president, Mohamad Ezri Abdul Wahad also called for systemic reform to make the family law process fairer and more accessible. We reached out to family lawyer, Rajashree Suppiah about this legal framework, and some of the challenges that can occur in the child maintenance process.

• Semporna shores marred by overtourism: The Sabah coastal town has solidified itself as a top tourist spot, even being nicknamed, ‘Malaysia’s Maldives.’ But with Semporna being ill equipped for a larger population, the surge of tourists has caused a rubbish pile up and harm to the local marine life. We speak to Julian Hyde, CEO of Reef Check Malaysia, about the waste management issue and the impact of the situation on the marine wildlife in Semporna.

• DAP to file police report on Akmal Saleh: UMNO Youth Leader Datuk Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh organised a protest to condemn the hardware store owner embroiled in the recent upside-down flag debacle. Following the protest, DAP Secretary-General Anthony Loke picked up the case and said police reports will be filed under Penal Code sections to do with intimidation, anti-bullying, and other forms of harassment. We asked Syaza Shukri, associate professor of political science at the International Islamic University Malaysia to weigh in on the situation.

• Kay Elle, our new mascot: Earlier this month as part of their new rebranding, KL Tower revealed their newest mascot, Kay Elle. The mascot has accompanied a campaign in which the public can design a mascot to accompany the new character. We discuss this new rebranding and whether the people of KL really care.

Image Credit: Shutterstock

Produced by: Alia Zefri, Sneha Harikannan, Sudais Ferhard

Presented by: Lee Chwi Lynn, Sudais Ferhard

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Categories:  History/Heritage,  culture,  politics,  Law/Activism,  controversies,  environment,  government,  Family/Parenting

Tags:  akmal saleh,  kl tower,  mascot,  dap,  umno,  semporna,  overtourism,  family law,  13MP,  teen pregnancy,  sexual education,