The first Drug Policy Summit conducted in Malaysia brought together stakeholders from the government, law enforcement, civil societies and other communities to ignite conversations on the effective ways to build drug policies in the region. We sit down with Professor Dr Alison Ritter, Head of the Drug Policy Modeling Program at University of New South Wales to break down the findings from the summit and unpack the state of drug reform in Malaysia.

Other stories we covered:

• Malaysia advancing in nuclear power pursuit: Malaysia is looking to engage in a formal partnership with the United States through the 123 Agreement, which is a legal framework that guarantees US exports of nuclear resources and expertise to any partnering countries. While American ambassadors encourage the agreement, there are some terms that still need to be ironed out on the Malaysian front. We get into the pros and cons of this deal with Dr Azrudi Mustapha, deputy president of Critical Mass Malaysia.

• Namewee surrenders to police: The rapper turned himself in after he was named a person of interest in the death of Taiwanese social media influencer, Iris Hsieh. We discuss what this investigation will mean for Namewee's wider controversial reputation.

• Selangor government launches Care Network: This is part of the state’s Selangor Care Economy Policy 2024 - 2030 to address the growing caregiving needs for older adults, children and people with disabilities. It will also serve as a resource for formal and informal caregivers. We hear from Christopher Choong, Deputy Director of Research at the Khazanah Research Institute for his thoughts on the plan.

• Mamdani becomes mayor: Zohran Mamdani, a 34-year-old assembly member from Queens, has just been elected mayor of New York City. That makes him the city’s first Muslim mayor, the youngest in over a century, and a democratic socialist shaking up the establishment. We discuss.

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