Morning Brief

The Lynas rare-earth processing plant in Kuantan has had its license renewed for another 3 years, subject to conditions including relocating the “cracking and leaching” facility, which produces radioactive residue out of Malaysia before July 2023.  Do these conditions adequately address concerns over health and environmental safety? Mageswari Sangaralingam of Sahabat Alam Malaysia breaks down...

Malaysia's property market continues to face headwinds. An issue which is seldom focused on is the level of property overhang in Malaysia. According to the National Property Information Centre (Napic), the residential overhang at the end of 3Q22 stood at 30,000 units worth RM20 bn. More worrying is Napic's revelation on ageing of the total overhang numbers where 71% of the properties have not been...

Last year, record high inflation spelled trouble for economies, capital markets and governments. After losing the transitory-vs-sticky debate, the Fed delivered a cumulative of 4.25% increase in rates last year. Asia Pacific meanwhile did not escape unscathed from elevated prices. In Malaysia, to shield households and firms from higher prices, it was estimated that the total subsidy bill and cash...

Last year saw the incredible reversal of fortunes of high-profile Southeast Asia tech start-ups. At the end of 2022, the combined market cap of Grab, GoTo and BukaLapak fell by USD51 billion, a far cry from the lofty valuations the trio commanded when they each made their IPO debuts. How might 2023 play out for the regional tech sector - can companies reverse the decline in share price and im...

How is humanitarian aid being channelled to those affected by the earthquake in Turkey and Syria? We get updates from Dato’ Dr. Ahmad Faizal Perdaus, President of Mercy Malaysia of the situation on the ground. Image credit: Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Six states are heading to state elections this year. Will this be the first test for the unity government? Dr James Chin, Professor of Asian Studies, University of Tasmania gives us his views on how seats will be allocated and will there be a green wave for PH controlled states? Image credit: Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Malaysia’s GDP in 2022 recorded the highest annual growth rate in more than 2 decades at 8.7%, which was higher than the median estimate of 8.6% in a Bloomberg survey. As for the last quarter of the year, the economy expanded by 7% y-o-y. The services sector recorded the highest growth in 2022 at 10.9%. Can Malaysia be shielded from a challenging global environment and what growth can we expect fo...

Despite Malaysia ‘s efforts to be carbon neutral by 2050, solar players had a challenging 2022 with the intense competition and rising panel prices. We speak to Sean Lim, Regional Oil & Gas Head from RHB Investment Bank for an outlook and who are the winners in this growing sector. Image credit: Pixabay See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim arrived in Thailand yesterday for a two-day official visit to elevate bilateral ties between Malaysia and Thailand. The focus areas of the visit include economic cooperation, border area development and key connectivity projects crossing the land borders. Will this trip be fruitful as Anwar’s previous diplomatic visits to our neighbours? For some answers, we...

The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) released its 2022 Democracy Index recently, which showed that despite a broad easing of pandemic-era restrictions, the status of global democracy remains at similar levels to the prior year. What impacted trends in democracy over the past year, and is the world heading in the right direction? Syetarn Hansakul of EIU shares insights from the report. Image credi...

The public healthcare system is in crisis, with many healthcare workers contemplating leaving the service. What urgent policy measures are needed to prevent the system from collapsing? Dr. Khor Swee Keng of the Malaysian Health Coalition weighs in on this debate. Image credit: Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Parliament will reconvene next week on Monday for its first full sitting since GE15. Dr. Wong Chin Huat, political scientist, Sunway University tells us why parliamentary reform is essential to ensure that democracy thrives in this country. Image credit: Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With the threat of a global recession looming overhead, what does this mean for consumer sentiment, especially in the Asia-Pacific region? We discuss consumer trends with Liyana Yahaya, Senior for Regional Analytics & Insights, NielsenIQ. Image credit: Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As the world shifts towards renewable energy, the decommissioning of fossil fuel asset becomes a primary consideration. Are there standardised regulations to ensure this is done correctly and what are the complexities involved, William Attwell, Associate Director from Sustainable Fitch tells us. Image credit: Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Prime Minister Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim announced last week that development allocations for MPs would be reduced by 65% to RM1.3 million as part of efforts to control government finances. What are the implications of this move for MPs and their constituents? Two-term former MP Ong Kian Ming explains the potential consequences. Image credit: Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy inf...

The Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport in Subang is going to be brought back to life under the Subang Airport Regeneration Plan announced by Transport Minister Anthony Loke on Monday. The minister said the plan would be a major game-changer for the airport, and includes bringing back narrow body jets to the facility for both commercial and cargo flights. What are the implications of the S.A.R.P. for M...

We’re continuing to see the fallout of UMNO’s mass purge of members last month, with former prime minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri saying he is ready to retire from mainstream politics. Separately, Noh Omar said he has no intentions to join any political party, but he is open to telling “the truth” be it for PN or UMNO. What does all this mean for the future of UMNO or politics in general especial...

Minister for Digital and Communications Fahmi Fadzil last week announced the Unity Fixed Broadband package which provides high-speed broadband for RM69 per month targeted towards the B40 income, people with disabilities and senior citizens. How far will this go in addressing the digital divide in the country? Alexander Wong of SoyaCincau weighs in on this and other digital policy initiatives....

On Saturday, the US shot down the Chinese surveillance balloon that had been making its way through US airspace  with the Navy and Coastguard collecting the debris to look for clues as to its actual purpose. China said the balloon was for meteorological research. Chong Ja Ian, Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, National University of Singapore tell us what the political rep...

With rising inflation hitting the lower-income segments doubly hard, what can the government do to alleviate cost-of-living burdens beyond economic theory? We assess government action with economist Dr. Shankaren Nambiar, senior research fellow from the Malaysian Institute of Economic Research. Image credit: Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Local university UCSI released rather alarming research recently which found that 73% of close to 1,100 Malaysians aged between 18 and 40 are in debt. The key driving factors for taking on more leverage were financial constraint (42%), inflation (22%) and luxurious lifestyle (21%). This would imply that three-quarters of Malaysian youths do not have sufficient capital for financial commitments. Fo...

The Narendra Modi government laid out a slew of measures in the federal budget tabled this week to bolster job creation and attract investment ahead of elections due in the next 15 months. However overshadowing the budget tabling is the ongoing market rout of Adani Group, one of India’s largest conglomerates; billionaire founder Gautam Adani is known to have close ties to Modi. We discuss the impl...

Transparency International released its 2022 Corruption Perception Index (CPI) report on Tuesday, in which Malaysia dropped in score to 47 out of 100. This year marked the third year of decline for the country, after reaching a high of 53 in 2019. Prime Minister Dato’ Sri Anwar Ibrahim has pledged to reverse the declining trend, and said he would not compromise on any form of corruption. How close...

The Prime Minister warned that the government had debts and liabilities of some RM1.5 trillion ringgit. So as we head to the tabling of Budget 2023 on 24 February, what should the economic priorities of this Unity Government be? P. Gunasegaram, independent business writer weights in whilst telling us the other priorities to be considered. Image credit: Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for...

Trump kicked off his campaign to reclaim the White House in 2024 last weekend, visiting two early-voting states, New Hampshire and South Carolina and brushed aside criticism that his run was off to a slow start. Also, an increasing number of elected officials have expressed concerns about Trump's ability to beat Democratic President Joe Biden, if he decides to run again. Will Trump be able to moun...