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With over 30 years in tech, Verena Siow, President & MD of SAP Southeast Asia, shares her powerful call to action this International Women’s Day. From pushing for gender parity to championing women in leadership, she reflects on how true change demands bold action — not just acknowledgement. Discover how SAP SEA is accelerating progress with nearly 50% female workforce and leadership, and why diversity is the future of resilient, high-performing organizations.
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Shaping the Future of Hospitality: John Burke’s Vision for M’sia
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Affira Affendi, a passionate entrepreneur and Lazada trainer. From banking to building her brands NSA Glamorous and D’Songket, she’s preserving Malaysia’s traditions while empowering local sellers.
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Explore the inspiring story of an entrepreneur navigating life through a Ramadan Bazaar business with hopes of turning passion into a primary source of income. A story of family, tradition, and ambition.
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Somali refugee who came to Malaysia alone after the civil war, navigating the challenges of survival, employment, and family separation. She teaches mathematics, runs a beauty salon, and dreams of empowering other refugee women.
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Meet a dedicated Ramadan vendor who shares wisdom on being human, the joy of Hari Raya, and the importance of family bonds in Negeri Sembilan. A heartfelt story from Humans of Kuala Lumpur.
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After 17 years of working in the Malaysian Government, where I’ve seen public services steadily improve, I’ve always believed there’s room for growth. This mindset led me to apply for the Cross Fertilisation Programme (CFP), which allows government officers to spend a year working in the private sector and learn best practices to bring back to public service.
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“I have been a refugee my whole life.
My parents fled to Iran when Russia attacked Afghanistan. My siblings and I were all born in Iran. In 2004, we moved back to Afghanistan. For about 10 years, I lived in Afghanistan; I was studying Spanish Literature at Cavard University. In 2013, I had to move to Malaysia because of the war that happened in my home country.
As a refugee, I face many challenges because I don’t have any rights. I always live in fear and I can’t ask the government for help because I don’t exist. But I still need to make a living. I need to eat. I do work but we are underpaid. Sometimes, some bosses don’t want to pay me in the end because I don’t have any documents. And I can’t do anything about it.
I met many refugees who came to tell me that they have worked for their bosses for more than a few months, and yet are not getting paid. Sometimes they get injured during work and they don’t have insurance to cover it. They have to pay their own medical bills, and healthcare services are expensive.
Sometimes I get tired but I know that I’m not living for myself. I am also living for my parents and siblings. I need to be alive to take care of the people in my life. That is why I am still here. But at least we are trying. We are trying our best and when our applications are not successful, we still keep trying.
My only plan now is to wait for UNHCR to get me resettled to a place where I can have my proper documentation, get health insurance and study in a university.
I want to thank all the Malaysians I have met. They don’t care where you are from and they are very kind and friendly. I want to also say that there is a large group of refugees living in Malaysia. They need help and support because they are living in a very bad condition.
27 years now, I’m still a refugee, I’m already getting used to it.”
Photostory by Victor Raj and Samantha Siow
Edited by Sydrah M
My name is Rachel and I’m a Chin refugee from Myanmar. I came to Malaysia with just my sister and we were looked after by our aunt on our way here. It took us 7 days to reach here as we travelled by car, by boat and on foot. That was 9 years ago. I was only 6 and my sister was 7 years old. The one thing I miss about Myanmar is this sour fruit called saimitu, which you can only find in that country.
My most memorable moment in Malaysia was the time we performed at a concert organised by the CSO (Chin Students Organisation). We did our cultural dance and we also danced to K-Pop music. We had a fashion show, too, where we dressed up in our traditional dress.
In this coming Hands of Hope musical, I play a character who’s also named Rachel. She’s very kind and always helps people in need. She’s quite different from who I am in real life because I’m very rude (laughs).
It’s sad that I was told I can’t go to a local school here in Malaysia. I really enjoy learning Math and I want to keep learning it. My ambition is to become a Math teacher one day, as I’d like to share my knowledge and educate others.
Photostory by Samantha Siow and Aiman Mustafa
Edited by Sydrah M
*Hands of Hope Charity Musical Theatre 2019 aims to raise awareness about the humanitarian issues happening in Malaysia. This musical theatre shares the journey of two refugee brothers from Chin to Malaysia and also the struggles that they face when they are in Malaysia. For more information, please visit: https://www.facebook.com/
I’m Papi Zak, I’ve been doing stand-up comedy for about 10 years now. If you don’t know what stand up comedy is, it’s when a person stands up in front of a group of people, and share their personal life stories, views and opinions.
The difference between the guy speaking on the stage, and the guy sitting as the audience – is that this person can make a person laugh by telling jokes (he better!).
I studied in the US, so my first exposure to stand-up comedy was when I watched Eddie Murphy’s live comedy show – he is my inspiration.
I always knew him as an actor, but when I saw him on stage, he was such a great comedian and made the whole ninety minutes of the show feel like it passed by in minutes. The way he engages with the audience, the way the audience was wrapped around his stories – that amazed me.
I was also shocked when I realized there’s a stand-up comedy scene in Malaysia. I mean, Harith Iskandar is actually a standup comedian, and in 2013 when I met him, he recommended me to give it a try by performing at an Open Mic show.
And stand-up comedy is the hardest thing to do in the world. It was never about being famous, it was that feeling, that people really want to hear of my stories.
When people laugh at my jokes, it’s the most gratifying feeling ever. It’s like a drug, and you want to keep that laugh going and going. Stand up comedy helped me build my confidence.
And biasalah, my family thought stand-up comedy as my full-time job was a joke. They were the traditional Asian parents, so when I changed to work in comedy, from being in TV production and as a radio host, they weren’t happy either.
For them, the importance of my job was stability. But now that I have more gigs to do, they’re more okay.
I’m not as famous as Harith Iskandar or as big as Jen Han, but I’ve come to understand comedy is what you make of it. No matter how poor or rich you are, as long as people know that you’re genuine, they’ll buy into it.
And let me tell you – it is the greatest feeling in the world when the audience laughs at, and with you”.
Check out Papi Zak‘s page for his latest shows!
Photostory by Mushamir Mustafa
