Morning Brief

For the first time this year, a big tech giant won the coveted Best Picture award at the Oscars with the film CODA distributed by Apple TV+. The pandemic and speed of digitalization has elevated streaming platforms and the balance of power in the movie industry seems to be shifting in favour of the disruptors. We discuss the trends in the media industry with Geetha Ranganathan of Bloomberg Intelli...

BNM has released 3 reports yesterday namely The 2021 Annual Report, The Economic and Monetary Review 2021, and the Financial Stability Review for Second Half 2021. Economists and analyst are reviewing these reports keenly. Firdaos Rosli, Chief Economist of Malaysian Rating Corporation Berhad (MARC) unpacks the data rich report for us. Image credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for...

The MySejahtera saga continues with uncertainty over the ownership of the app. Foong Cheng Leong, Intellectual property and information technology lawyer helps us untangle this complex web, reminding us of the importance of contracts. Image credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Gary Ng from Natixis helps us unpack the latest economic challenges that China is facing as Shanghai, its major financial and trading hub, faces a staggered two-phase eight day lockdown for its 25 million citizens. Image credit: Unsplash.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With PKR having set their elections for May, calls for reformation within the party have been louder especially as GE15 is just around the corner. Although former Pandan MP Rafizi Ramli has announced that he intends to run for the deputy president role, he'll be going head-on with several other candidates who are also eyeing for the same position. What should we expect out of the May polls? Dr. Ha...

The Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has been reviewing the government’s role in administering the MySejahtera app, putting forth a recommendation in December 2021 that the government should take over administering the app and should not pay additional costs. We discuss the governance issues that have arisen on the MySejahtera app since then with PAC Chairman YB Wong Kah Woh. Image cr...

This week Israel played host to a historic meeting with four Arab countries as well as the US in the Negev desert. The UAE, Bahrain and Morocco normalised ties with Israel in 2020 as part of the Abraham Accords brokered under President Trump. Among the issues on the agenda include developments on reviving the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, as well as the impact of plunging wheat prices on the Arab world....

The 2021 Securities Commission Annual Report was filled with a myriad of details which included the growth of the Asset management industry, the value of private equity deals and even the governance of related party transactions. Dr. Liew Chee Yoong, Research Fellow, Center for Market Education highlights the noteworthy points of the report. Image credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listen...

The ownership of the MySejahtera app used by 38 million users has come under intense scrutiny over the past few days. Who is Entomo? Who is MySJ Sdn Bhd? Who is the true owner of the app? We ask Boo Su-Lyn, Editor-in-Chief of CodeBlue, the author of several articles that unveiled many details of this important issue to help us understand this debacle. Image credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio....

Should the government compel developers to control prices to make homes more affordable? Are compliance costs a large part of the high costs of houses and what can we do about this? Michael Kong, President of Association of Valuers, Property Managers, Estate Agents and Property Consultants in the Private Sector of Malaysia (PEPS Malaysia) shares his thoughts. Image credit: Shutterstock.com See omn...

US President Joe Biden amped up rhetoric over the weekend appearing to call for Russian President Vladimir Putin's ouster. Although US officials have tried to walk back on these comments, has this damaged diplomatic efforts for a resolution? We discuss the latest geopolitical dynamics on the Ukraine war, including China's positioning on the issue as well as Russia's military strategy with politica...

The Anti-Sexual Harassment Bill has been put into hiatus as the different stakeholders concluded that it is not robust enough. Betty Yeoh, Co-Founder of All Women’s Action Society (AWAM) and Training Consultant at ENGENDER Consultancy tell us what the gaps are and how the bill can be improved. Image credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

US President Joe Biden’s trip to Europe is said to be one of the highest stakes presidential trips in recent memory as he had back-to-back summits with NATO, the Group of Seven and the European Union discussing on the various issues on Russia and Ukraine. Dr. Adrian Ang, Research Fellow in the US Program at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies shares with us his thoughts on this. Imag...

Earlier this month, Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Dr Noraini Ahmad told parliament that over 38,000 students dropped out of or deferred from courses in public and private higher education institutions. What is the implication of this trend for Malaysia's labor force and the private higher education sector? We discuss the issues at hand with Dr. Premkumar Rajagopal of the Malaysia University...

With Malaysia's last four state elections costing a combined RM420 million, questions are now — rightly — being asked of the presence of fiscal transparency and sources of funding. Danesh Prakash Chacko, Director, Tindak Malaysia, addresses these issues. Image credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Yesterday, the Dewan Rakyat voted against a motion to extend the enforcement period of section 4(5) of the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012, or SOSMA. The provision allows for detention without trial for up to 28 days and must be renewed by both houses of parliament every five years to remain valid. The motion was defeated by 86 to 84, with 50 MPs absent from proceedings. We hear from...

Adrian Pereira, Director of North South Initiative, expands on the implications of Malaysia formally ratifying the International Labour Organisation forced labour convention, also known as Protocol 29 or P29. Image credit: Pixabay.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Krystal Tan, economist with ANZ Bank, expands on the triple whammy of rising Covid cases, inflation, and geopolitical risks, which will likely send Thailand into a back-to-back current account deficit this year, the first time since 1997. Image credit: Zephyr_p/Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Minister for Women, Family and Community Development, Datuk Seri Rina Harun recently said the government did not intend to legislate against child marriage, opting for other measures to curb the practice. We speak to women's rights activist and lawyer Meera Samanther on why legislative reform is necessary alongside poverty reduction efforts to protect children, especially girls. Image cre...

2022 has had an ominous start with the war in Ukraine uprooting the optimism that this was the year of global economic recovery. Julia Goh, Senior Economist at UOB tells if global growth will be impacted by the war and the subsequent price shocks that have followed as a consequences. Image credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the face of it, the amended Employment Act does seem to improve workers' rights since there is an increase in length of paternity and maternity leave. However, Donovan Cheah, partner at Donovan & Ho gives us the details of this Act and its shortcomings. Image credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Aaron Tang, Country Manager at Luno Malaysia weighs the pros and cons of adopting crypto as legal tender and helps us understand how easy is it for a country to implement, as well as whether Malaysia is ready for such a move in the first place. Image credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Recently, Bank Negara Malaysia and the World Bank published a report on nature-related financial risks for Malaysian banks. We speak to Rekha Reddy, Senior Financial Sector Specialist at the World Bank as to the significance of the report and the consequences if these risks are ignored. Image credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Replacing Howard Lee, Bandar Kuching MP Dr Kelvin Yii has been elected the new chief of DAP Socialist Youth or DAPSY. What role will DAPSY play in DAP’s new future? Dr Kelvin Yii speaks to us and shares his thoughts and plans. Image credit: Dr Kelvin Yii See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dr James Chin, Professor of Asian Studies at the University of Tasmania, helps us navigate the outcome of DAP's central executive committee (CEC) election and what DAP's new leadership team needs to do to reverse its fortunes for GE15. Image credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.