Morning Brief

This week, Parliament passed important reforms to the National Forestry Act, that would make it more difficult for state governments to degazette permanent forest reserves without scrutiny. In addition, the amendments also increase penalties for illegal forest activity. However, given that forests and land matters come under state jurisdiction, how effective can federal amendments be in conse...

Following Putrajaya's announcement sweeping measures to reduce costs and with Minister for Economic Affairs Dato’ Mustapa Mohamed saying that the government would postpone or not continue any project that has yet to commence, we ask Sri Murniati Yusuf from IDEAS what are the implications of this cost-cutting exercise for all stakeholders. Image Credit: zesphiete / Shutterstock.com See omnystu...

Sri Lanka could see its GDP contract by more than 6% this year amid the current political and economic instability, which is also hamstringing key discussions on financial relief with IMF and bilateral creditors. Years of economic mismanagement and poor policy planning have created an untenable situation in the country, with Sri Lankans struggling to source basic needs such as fuel, food...

With the government agreeing to defer implementing the condition that at least 80% of the workforce in manufacturing companies must be Malaysians, before they are allowed to employ foreign workers by two years, we ask Dr Niaz Asadullah if this reprieve is much needed. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Azrul Mohd Khalib from the Galen Centre for Health & Social Policy shares with us on the implications over the launch of a framework for the registration of prescription drugs containing cannabidiol or CBD and plans to enact legislation for a tobacco generational endgame See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Can the factions within PKR bury the hatchet and stage a comeback for GE15? Dr James Chin, Professor of Asian Studies, University of Tasmania shares why the recent 16th PKR National Congress was a missed opportunity for PKR to articulate its vision and strategy for GE15 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Oil prices have been volatile in the last few weeks. Wayne Tan, Oil Analyst at Bloomberg NEF tells us what are the factors behind these price swings and where it is heading. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

All eyes are on US President Joe Biden's trip to Saudi Arabia, which is taking place two years after the president declared the country a pariah state.  Biden has justified his visit as an exercise in realism, but some may see it as the leader having to eat humble pie, amid record US gasoline prices and global tensions arising from the war in Ukraine. We ask Middle East expert Dr. James Dorse...

Indonesia has (again) temporarily stopped sending its citizens to work in Malaysia. Jakarta claims there had been a breach of the MoU signed between both countries back in April. Malaysia's Home Minister Dato' Seri Hamzah Zainuddin's reaction - there are 15 other countries to source from. Khor Yu Leng, Political Economist, Segi Enam Advisors talks to us about the implications of this latest freeze...

Despite the gloomy horizon for the US economy, Finance Minister Tengku Dato’ Sri Zafrul Aziz is optimistic that Malaysia can weather through the storm and that GDP forecasts of growth between 5.3 to 6.3% remain on track. How well-positioned is the Malaysian economy to manoeuvre the global headwinds and can we emerge unscathed? Business commentator Pankaj C. Kumar weighs in. See omnystudio.com/list...

Two subsidiaries of Petronas in Azerbaijan have been seized following a French court order. This comes as heirs to the Sulu Sultanate seek a RM62 billion compensation over land in Sabah leased to their ancestors in 1878. Bunn Nagara, Convenor of the Sabah Malaysia Study Group, helps us put the issue in perspective. Image credit: shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

China's foreign minister Wang Yi was Kuala Lumpur as part of a 5-nation tour around South East Asia after a hiatus of face to face visits due to the pandemic. Angeline Tan, Researcher in the Foreign Policy and Security Studies at ISIS Malaysia gives us her observations of this visit and what the focus was. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Public Services Department (JPA) is cancelling the scholarship bonds of contract doctors, dentists, and pharmacists who successfully apply for release. This means there night be fewer medical professionals in government service. Dr Vijay Ganasan, Chairperson of MMA's Section Concerning House Officers and Medical Officers (SCHOMOS), gives us the latest and what he believes a sustainable solutio...

With life expectancy at birth in 2021 increasing to 75.6 years we ask Dr. Juita Mohamad, Director of Economics and Business and Acting Research Director, IDEAS what does an ageing population means for Malaysia in terms of an economic, social protection and health perspective See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With Perikatan Nasional chairperson Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin announcing that the coalition will be using a new logo for GE15, Adib Zalkapli, Director, BowerGroupAsia helps us understand whether the logo change is an attempt to hold together a breaking alliance. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

3 years into the pandemic and with a week long closure for casinos in Macau, what does this mean for earnings for the operators? Angela Han Lee, Equity Research Analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence gives us her views as to whether value is emerging despite the headwinds of China's zero covid policy. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We discuss the importance of keeping institutions independant with economist Dr Nungsari Radhi off the back of the recent news that the newly created Special Task Force on Jihad Against Inflation has asked Bank Negara to explain its reasons for raising the Overnight Policy Rate by further 25 basis points to 2.25%. Dr Nungsari shares his concerns regarding the possibility of the government med...

On the back of Shinzo Abe's shocking assasination, we discuss the ramification of his death and the legacy Japan's longest serving prime minister is leaving behind. William Pesek in Japan shares his views on this and thoughts on the recent upper house election results which saw the ruling conversative government take on a comfortable majority in parliament. Image credit: Shutterstock See omnystudi...

What can only be described as tumultuous weekend in Sri Lanka, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe have finally agreed to step down after months of public protest as basic necessities such as medicine, fuel and even food became short in supply. What's next for this South Asia country which is a poster child of mismanagement, corruption and nepotism. Dr. Chulanee At...

After around 3 months, Elon Musk announced that he was terminating his 44 billion dollar deal to buy Twitter due to the fake or spam accounts on the platform. But Bret Taylor, the chair of Twitter’s board said the company is still committed to closing the deal at the agreed-upon price and plans to pursue legal action to enforce the agreement. We ask Daniel Ives, Managing Director, Wedbush Sec...

There are reports that some pharmacies and clinics are low on supply for common medicines like paracetamol, cough syrup and lozenges for sore throat, but is this situation short-lived? And a study commissioned by the insurance industry found that medical treatment costs have increased by around 8-9 percent annually between 2013-2018. How worried should we be about all these issues, and what is the...

It has been a month since the arrival of the omicron BA 4 and BA 5 sub variants and Malaysia is seeing increase in number of cases. We ask Dr Vinod Balasubramaniam, Senior Lecturer and Co-Lead, Jeffrey Cheah School of Medicine & Health Sciences on how worried should we be and why should we consider taking the second booster vaccine? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Chinese government is due to report GDP growth next week but can the world's second economy achieve the target of 5.5%? We ask Peiqian Liu, China Economist, NatWest Markets on the impact of Shimao Group's default, PBOC's next move and her outlook. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s been about a month since Rafizi Ramli comfortably won the deputy presidency of PKR and while many were expecting the win to result in more acrimony in the party due to his testy ties with party president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, it seems temperatures have cooled with no signs of any major tension. We take stock of this development ahead of PKR's  two-day convention that begins on July 1...

With more than 45 cabinet members resigning from Boris Johnson's government. What are the chances he will survive and who might inherit a divided Tory party? Patrick Diamond, Associate Professor of Public Policy, Queen Mary University of London gives us the answers. Image Credit: EPA-EFE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.