The Breakfast Grille

Les' Copaque Production built one of Malaysia’s most recognisable animation franchises in Upin & Ipin. Now, the company is expanding beyond content, into education, F&B, and even a theme park, as it looks to evolve into a full-fledged IP-driven business. Datuk Burhanuddin Md Radzi its founder and managing director shares how he plans to fulfil his lifelong dreams. See omnystudio.com/listen...

IKEA has been part of the Malaysian retail landscape for 30 years and as consumers become more cost-conscious and e-commerce reshapes retail, it is evolving beyond its traditional megastore model. Malcolm Pruys, Country Retail Director of IKEA Malaysia discusses affordability, omnichannel retail and expansion for the IKEA experience in Malaysia. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

UCSI University, which in 2024 found itself at its highest position in the QS World University Rankings since its inception, slipped slightly in the 2025 list. Datuk Dr Siti Hamisah Tapsir, the university's Vice-Chancellor, discusses whether UCSI University can sustain its position as competition intensifies and weighing in on Malaysia’s higher education system. See omnystudio.com/listener for pri...

Telco tower veteran Suresh Sidhu launched EdgePoint Infrastructure in 2020, scaling the regional venture to over 16,000 sites across Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines, with backing from DigitalBridge, and then later the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority. However the infrastructure model now faces a more complex reality: carrier consolidation and a higher for longer interest rate environment th...

Pharmaniaga officially exited PN17 status in March, having taken three years to complete its regularisation plan. The firm is now vying to become the most valuable pharmaceutical company in Malaysia by 2030 leveraging on its ongoing government concession in logistics and biopharma manufacturing capabilities. We catch-up with Managing Director Dato’ Zulkifli Jafar to find out how he intends to achi...

Still fresh from his re-entry into UMNO, we ask the former Minister and Youth Chief what role he sees for himself in the party ahead of GE16, and his views on the Barisan-Pakatan cooperation and what the Malay community wants. We also tap him for his views on great power rivalry, the US-Israeli attack on Iran and the global crisis it has created. Are our political elite up to the task of navigatin...

How is the US-China geopolitical rivalry affecting other countries also involved in the semiconductor space, like the Netherlands and Malaysia? We discuss the Dutch approach to semiconductor advancement and lessons that can be learned by Malaysia in growing its domestic industry with Michiel Sweers, Vice Minister for Foreign Economic Relations of the Netherlands. See omnystudio.com/listener f...

Putrajaya has been laying out strategies to deal with what is being called a “supply-side crisis” sparked by the American and Israeli attack on Iran on February the 28th. From the Iranian blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, to the impacts on crude oil supplies and agriculture, leading to shortages of petroleum derived products and disruptions to manufacturing supply chains, to geo-political realignm...

The European Union has not been spared geopolitical whiplash under the Trump administration as US-China competition, the war in Ukraine and the crisis in the Middle East upends the global order. How is the bloc navigating these challenging times and how is this shaping its relations with Malaysia? We catch up with H.E. Rafael Daerr, EU Ambassador to Malaysia on the eve of Europe Day. See omnystudi...

Is the world on the brink of a recession? 10 weeks into the paralysis of the Strait of Hormuz, the global market is still missing between 10 to 15 million barrels of oil daily, and the longer this goes on, the darker the economic scenarios look. Dr. Gaurav Ganguly, Head of International Economist at Moody’s Analytics, joins the Breakfast Grille to unpack Asia’s ‘Two-Part Story’, where Asia’s weakn...

MARA Liner Group has been connecting rural communities across the country for decades, but with rising costs and low margins, can that model hold? New CEO Wan Agyl Wan Hassan discusses the challenges of transforming a legacy bus operator through digitalisation, diversification, and operational reform while navigating thin margins. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Warisan Kuala Lumpur initiative, which was launched in April last year with a RM600 million funding injection from Khazanah Nasional, is beginning to reap rewards with the reopening of heritage buildings in the city centre. We catch up with Dato' Hamdan Abdul Majeed of Think City on KL urban regeneration efforts and the potential economic multiplier of the upcoming Kuala Lumpur Festival beginn...

The Strait of Hormuz has been effectively closed for over two months following the outbreak of war in Iran. What are the implications of this prolonged closure for international trade, shipping, and the lobal legal maritime regime? We explore these themes with Prof Dr Jason Chuah, Chairman of the Board of Research with the Maritime Institute of Malaysia (MIMA). See omnystudio.com/listener for priv...

It has been two months since the start of the Iran War and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital artery carrying 20% of the world’s oil and 40% of Malaysia’s crude imports. Despite early optimistic projections of a four-week resolution, the deadlock has entered its ninth week, with global supply losses reaching 1 billion barrels. So, is this still just a "temporary shock"? Brian Coulton, Ch...

Islamic banking now makes up nearly half of Malaysia’s financial system but as it matures, questions around differentiation, sustainability, and global competitiveness are coming into sharper focus. Rafe Haneef, president of the Association of Islamic Banking and Financial Institutions Malaysia (AIBIM) talks about challenges going forward maintaining Malaysia's lead in this space. See omnystudio.c...

Southeast Asia’s real estate markets have long been seen as a growth story. But in a world of higher interest rates, shifting supply chains, and rising geopolitical tensions, that narrative is being tested. Michael Glancy, Managing Director for Southeast Asia at the international real estate advisory JLL, shares his insights. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Systech Bhd has undergone a major shift following its acquisition of Wilstech Sdn Bhd, driving strong revenue growth and a new push into AI and GPU-as-a-Service, and with a new man at the helm. That person is Dr Wilson Low, the founder of Wilstech and now the MD for Systech. He discusses his ambitions and plans to turn Systech into a profitable business again. See omnystudio.com/listener for priva...

Japan already sells more adult diapers than baby diapers, a stark harbinger for a rapidly aging Malaysia. By 2040, the national support ratio is projected to collapse to just five working adults for every senior, signaling a fiscal crisis unless longevity is reframed as a frontier marketplace. Michael Hodin, CEO of the Global Coalition on Aging (GCOA), joins the Breakfast Grille to discuss the $22...

World Book Day was established by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) dedicated to promoting reading, literacy, and the joy of books worldwide. This year it is being celebrated under the shadow of several high profile and inexplicable book bans and seizures. While Malaysia boasts a literacy rate of over 94% and the government estimates that the average num...

The New START Treaty between the U.S. and Russia expired in February 2026, marking the end of the last, major nuclear arms control agreement. Alarm bells went off with the United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres noting that “for the first time in more than half a century, we face a world without any binding limits on the strategic nuclear arsenals.” So how do we re-institutionalise rest...

What happens when Malaysian unicorn Carsome stops chasing "growth at all costs" and starts chasing the bottom line? After raising over $800 million and hitting a peak revenue of RM5.6 billion (pertaining to Carsome Sdn Bhd), the regional automotive e-commerce platform made a surprising move: it got smaller to get fitter. Group CEO Eric Cheng joins the Breakfast Grille to explain the revenue contra...

What happens when Malaysian unicorn Carsome stops chasing "growth at all costs" and starts chasing the bottom line? After raising over $800 million and hitting a peak revenue of RM5.6 billion (pertaining to Carsome Sdn Bhd), the regional automotive e-commerce platform made a surprising move: it got smaller to get fitter. Group CEO Eric Cheng joins the Breakfast Grille to explain the revenue contra...

The European Union and ASEAN will mark 50 years of diplomatic ties next year - but the pathway to the anniversary is fraught with geopolitical and economic uncertainties. How might the current Middle East energy crisis shape the trajectory of EU-ASEAN economic relations in the months to come? We discuss this with Chris Humphrey, Executive Director of the EU-ASEAN Business Council. Image Credits: S...

Few companies endure for more than a century. So, as Royal Selangor, one of Malaysia’s oldest and most recognisable brands, turns 141, we ask if a heritage, craft-driven business model can still scale in today’s economy. Dato' Yong Yoon Li, Royal Selangor's MD shares his thoughts on leading this family business now into its fourth generation and into the future. Image Credit: Shutterstock See omny...

With Whitman’s move on the LEAP market, a fundamental question emerges: Can you scale a 'trust-based' business without losing its soul to shareholder pressure? After 25 years of organic growth, Whitman Holdings’ public listing signals a shift from dividend payouts to expansion mode, potentially driven by an M&A appetite to consolidate Malaysia’s fragmented retirement advisory market. Founder a...