S2E55: From Zara Qairina to Harimau Malaya: A gripping 2025 for Malaysia

Malaysia’s 2025 was marked by a stormy PKR election, school violence, and a scandal rocking its football team. Synopsis: Every fourth Friday of the month, The Straits Times analyses the hottest political and trending talking points, alternating between its Malaysia and China bureaus. For our December episode, ST’s Malaysia bureau chief Shannon Teoh and host Zurairi A.R. are joined by Nik Nazmi, a member of Parliament from PKR, and former minister of natural resources and environmental stability. We look back at the Malaysian stories that shook 2025, from Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s Cabinet vacancy and the death of Zara Qairina amid rising school violence, to the scandal engulfing Harimau Malaya’s heritage players. Highlights (click/tap above): 5:18 Cabinet vacancy and unity government leadership 11:13 Who leads PKR next? Is it Nurul Izzah's turn? 16:07 Are authorities failing to protect Malaysian children? 19:51 Band-aid solutions to solve school violence 25:41 Criminal case for footballers' citizenship spoofing 28:08 Can Harimau Malaya recover its football credentials? 32:21 Rolling back the time zone to UTC+7 for an extra hour of sunrise Read more: The curious case of four missing Cabinet ministers in Malaysia https://str.sg/A9fZ  Death of student in Sabah raises hurdle for Malaysian PM Anwar as he faces tough state polls soon https://str.sg/hpptQ  Malaysia fans fear Asian Cup blow as Fifa probe casts doubt on naturalised players https://str.sg/p62X   Malaysia faces renewed calls to rewind the clock, 40 years after shifting to UTC+8 https://str.sg/qnuM  Read Zurairi A.R.’s articles: https://str.sg/DCfr  Read Shannon Teoh's articles: https://str.sg/wzyK  Sign up for ST’s weekly Asian Insider newsletter: https://str.sg/sfpz  Host: Zurairi A.R. ([email protected])   Produced and edited by: Fa’izah Sani Executive producer: Ernest Luis Follow Asian Insider Podcast on Fridays here: Channel: https://str.sg/JWa7  Apple Podcasts: https://str.sg/JWa8  Spotify: https://str.sg/JWaX  Website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts   Feedback to: [email protected]  SPH Awedio app: https://www.awedio.sg  --- Follow more ST podcast channels: All-in-one ST Podcasts channel: https://str.sg/wvz7 Get more updates: http://str.sg/stpodcasts  The Usual Place Podcast YouTube: https://str.sg/theusualplacepodcast --- Get The Straits Times app, which has a dedicated podcast player section: The App Store: https://str.sg/icyB Google Play: https://str.sg/icyX  --- #STAsianInsiderSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.