Asean leaders are warning of rising online child exploitation, driven by rapid digital access and weak cross-border enforcement. At the ASEAN ICT Forum which took place this week, governments and NGOs called for tougher laws and better coordination. We speak with Srividhya Ganapathy, co-chairperson of CRIB Foundation, on what meaningful protection should look like.

• DBKL aid rules hurting the homeless?: DBKL now requires all food distribution to go through three centralised centres, a move soup kitchens say creates bottlenecks and ignores ground realities. We speak with Justin Cheah, marketing and operations manager of Kechara Soup Kitchen, about how the policy is affecting displaced communities.

• Malaysia rolls out new toilet standards: Ahead of Visit Malaysia 2026, businesses must meet upgraded toilet requirements, including a 2:1 female-to-male ratio. We discuss this approach and our experience with public toilets (good and bad).

• "Take your rubbish home" policy for marine parks: From 2026, visitors to marine parks must bring their waste back to the mainland. With pollution still overwhelming reefs and coastlines, Julian Hyde, CEO of Reef Check Malaysia joins us to assess if this approach can shift behaviour.

• Boiler Room faces boycott: Boiler Room’s KL event arrives amid backlash over its parent company KKR’s links to Israeli defence and surveillance investments. Local artists have launched boycott calls and a counter-event, raising questions about accountability in cultural spaces. We get into the controversy.

Image Credit: Pixaby

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

Presented by: Lee Chwi Lynn, Susan Tam

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Categories:  politics,  government,  international,  environment,  controversies,  education

Tags:  online child safety,  marine waste management,  boiler room,  child protection,  soup kitchen,  world toilet day,  waste management,  boycott,