Since its inception, ASEAN has never appointed a female Secretary-General. With current SG Kao Kim Hourn's term coming to an end in 2028, we speak to Sharon Seah, Senior Fellow and Coordinator of the ASEAN Studies Centre and Apichai Suchindah, Former Executive Director of the ASEAN Foundation to discuss the possibility of appointing a female to head on this role in the future.

Other stories we covered:

· Najib succeeds in royal addendum appeal: The court made this decision today, after former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's defence team submitted a letter that proved the validity of a royal addendum to allow him to spend the reminder of his jail term at home. Advocate and solicitor Dato' Vignesh Kumar explains what happens next.

· Malaysian man poisons monkey: This action was captured in a recent video, where the man was feeding poison-laced ice cream to monkeys. He later said that this was to tackle the issue of crop destruction that farmers have been facing. This has sparked renewed conversation on human-life conflicts. Animal rights lawyer Rajesh Nagarajan weighs in on this.

· University Malaysia Medical Centre defends fee hike: The hospital attributes their decision to the rising cost in equipment and operational costs. We hear thoughts from two experts: Former Health Minister, Tan Sri Dr S. Subramaniam and Prof Dr Sharifa Ezat Wan Puteh, Health Economics professor at the Hospital & Health Management at UKM Medical Centre.

· Suspension of concert permits in Selangor following Pinkfish deaths: The New Years Eve concert organised by Pinkfish saw 4 individuals die due to alleged consumption of ecstasy. Selangor police then announced a temporary suspension on all concert permits until investigations conclude which sparked backlash from music and youth groups.

Image Credit: shutterstock.com

Produced by: Sudais Ferhard, Alia Zefri, Juliet Jacobs, Dashran Yohan

Presented by: Sharaad Kuttan, Tee Shiao Eek

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Categories:  politics,  government,  international,  Law/Activism,  controversies,  environment

Tags:  asean secretary general,  monkey poisoning,  animal wildlife conflict,  rising medical costs,  concert permits,  pinkfish concerts,  asean,  female leadership,  najib razak,  royal addendum,  house arrest,  university malaya medical centre,  drug use,