The Simon Says Podcast

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.

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

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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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.

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.

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Malaysian politics have always been dominated by Federal Power. With the change in government in GE15, are we finally seeing a fresh wind of change for decentralisation of federal power?

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

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In an era that applauds Artificial Intelligence, are we trading logical thinking away in the name of convenience? A largescale of experiment was carried out worldwide during lockdown, but what if what comes next is an online mind woke virus?

Representative Matt Gaetz became the poster boy in the recent US House Speaker Election. After 15 rounds of voting, consensus was reached when Kevin McCarthy agreed to a whole list of demands by 20 representatives. It set in motion meaningful reforms that essentially make Congress less of a rubber stamping institution but actual ground for healthy policy government discussion, agreement, disagreement, and consensus.

“The pharmaceutical industry is dangerous to health. Further proof with COVID-19.” reads the title of an article published by NIH, UK. In recent times, we have seen an alarming sharp rise in the sudden collapse of young healthy athletes, so much so that a name is been given to it - “Sudden Adult Death Syndrome”.  

Many times in the show, we have talked about developing discernment to navigate through the control of big government and authoritarian system. The global virus was merely an experimental ground for the exertion of totalitarian control. What might be next? Online woke virus? This episode is one to watch as one considers a paradigm shift to navigate through in the days ahead.

Much like the frog in a slowly heating pan of water, history has demonstrated that societies often assume the roles of useful idiots when they are quick to ignore a slow descent into autocracy and fascism all for the “greater good”. In this episode, we see the true colours of a tyrannical leader who regards the unvaxxed with disdain, including his own citizens who are being threatened and blamed for the ongoing COVID crisis.

As you follow this video, you’ll find informative discussion that talks about the ten stages of genocide, and grateful we are to those people that the authoritarian government had us embarrassed, ridiculed, mocked, and torn down, because their perseverance and courage had ended domination by big pharma companies and World Economic Forum.

George Orwell critised the manipulation of citizens by totalitarian regimes in his book “1984”. When the fourth estate failed to hold the present-day government accountable with its evolution into a mere echo chamber of the leftist regime, we see the rise of citizen journalism. For those of you interested to venture into citizen journalism, this is an episode to watch!

Governor DeSantis recently dropped the hammer on the biopharmaceutical medical state when he introduced mRNA accountability hearing. It was nothing short of epic — as he brought in renowned experts like doctors Bhattacharya, Kulldorff, and others to testify against Fauci-ism. 

Find out in this part 2 of the podcast where we explore the moves that Governor DeSantis takes in offering critical assessments of things that bureaucracies like the FDA, CDC, and NIH are doing.

The recent release of Twitter files by billionaire tech mogul, Elon Musk, has had the world dumbfounded by the lies that have been at play. In fact, Twitter was operating a giant political censorship machine applied with brute computer force.

If you’re interested in the geeky side of the US political landscape, you won’t want to miss this first part of our podcast.

With the active push to use the media for ideological efforts in the international platform, we have seen an increase in active consumers of the propaganda of the Chinese Communist Party. A vast effort to get everybody thinking together, aka unity of thought, is in the play. 

We explore independent Chinese media's take on the pursuit of freedom of speech in Malaysia and their unique take on a unity government.

In an increasingly polarizing world with contrasting points of view and often extreme polar opposites in political positions – are we able to draw a clear line between freedom, liberty, and a globalist totalitarian system? What happens when democracy becomes corrupt and controlling or when a dictator becomes benevolent if such a thing is even possible?

An interesting trend was observed among the 6.9 million new voters in this 15th Malaysian General Election. It was not homogeneous, and many's primary source of information was social media. In this episode, we explore how our guests, being first-time voters themselves, came to make an informed decision in spite of the social media frenzy.

Within the first week from the polling day, Malaysians have been treated to interesting political development in the country. Are we finally starting to see the decoupling of the centralised power at the federal level with the formation of a unity government? You’ll find out more in this episode!

Following the 15th Malaysian General Election held on 19th November 2022, we see a turning point in the Malaysian political landscape. While the whole nation is waiting anxiously as to who would emerge as the winner in the race for Putrajaya, we sit down to discuss a few prime takeaways from this GE15.

1. Is GPS really for freedom of religion in Sarawak as claimed by Abang Jo?

2. What is the impact of Undi18?

3. Comparison between Teal and Red Wave in GE15

4. Impact of Anti-Hopping Law

5. What’s next for Malaysia?

While there is an air that smells of doom and gloom out there, we would like to offer a fresh take on the whole GE15 outcome. You won’t want to miss out tuning in to this episode.

Join us as we do a review of the election manifesto for the 3 main coalitions, i.e., Pakatan Harapan, Barisan Nasional, and Perikatan Nasional, in this 15th Malaysian General Election, so that you are better equipped to vote for the formation of the righteous government that’s for nation building. Remember, we are voting for the candidate, party, and coalition in this first-past-the-post system.

As we discussed on the New Realism and the Battle with the Mainstream Media in the last two segments of the final episode of Season 4 of this podcast, the main question boils down to how should we vote in light of the truth that surrounds this nation, particularly on the Razak lineage and the concerned party / coalition. Join us in this episode as we tackle the false narrative that plagues the rural folks – “Najib tak salah, tau?”