Morning Brief

At the recent Global Education Conference and Postgraduate Colloquium hosted by UNIRAZAK, Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Aziz the finance minister said that the government has to consider unorthodox economic solutions to respond to extraordinary situations like the pandemic. We deep dive with Professor Geoffrey Williams at Malaysia University of Science and Technology on possible unorthodox prescription...

We ask Loong Kok Wen, Head of Regional Property Sector at RHB Investment Bank to dissect how property counters performed this 2Q and get her take on outlook, as well as whether she expects to see the sector consolidate in these challenging times. Image credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Finance Minister Tengku Dato’ Sri Zafrul Aziz recently commented on the important role that development financial institutions (DFIs) play in Malaysia’s post-pandemic economic recovery. But how much development progress has been made by the 18 DFIs in the country so far? We discuss how to make DFIs more effective with Dato’ Sri Nazir Razak, Chair of Bank Pembangunan. Image credit...

Dato' Thavalingam Thavarajah, Managing Partner at T Thavalingam & Co discusses legal and non-legal options available to employers to create a safe and comfortable working environment. Image credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

El Salvador recently became the first country to adopt bitcoin as its national currency, replacing the dollar. Professor Antonio Fatas, Professor of Economics, INSEAD discusses the readiness of bitcoin as legal tender, and the case for digital currencies going forward. Image credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz proposes to raise the debt ceiling from 60% to 65% of GDP to have more buffer to fight the pandemic. Carmelo Ferlito, CEO, Center for Market Education discusses why borrowing more is a bad idea and the alternative including fiscal measures. Image credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How much control does PKR leadership exert over state governments, and how does this affect policy-making and governance? We discuss the ramifications of PKR infighting in Negeri Sembilan, as well as the uproar over the Kuala Langat North Forest Reserve degazettement with political scientist Dr. Wong Chin Huat. We also ask him for his prescription for the opposition to show that they're a viable a...

As approval ratings tank in the aftermath of the Tokyo Olympics and poor pandemic management, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has announced that he will not stand for re-election. This has opened up a race within the Liberal Democratic Party for the top post. We discuss the potential candidates with Jonathan Berkshire Miller, Senior Fellow at the Japan Institute of International Affairs. Im...

Following dissatisfaction amongst grassroots in Negeri Sembilan, and the Selangor state’s decision to degazette the KL North Forest Reserve land, Fahmi Fadzil, Communications Director, PKR discusses internal factionalism within the party and the bigger question on succession. Image credit: msyaraafiq / Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Langkawi is expected to open for interstate tourists starting from Malaysia Day. Nasaruddin Abdul Muttalib, CEO of the Langkawi Development Authority (LADA) discusses the island’s readiness and projected number of visitors. Image credit: Safiamycentrio / Pixabay.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

All eyes will be on whether Prime Minister Dato' Sri Ismail Sabri opts to hold a confidence vote when Parliament reconvenes next week, as recommended by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong. The initial indications aren't reassuring, especially as the Attorney-General has come out to say that a confidence vote is not necessary. What would be the potential implications for Ismail Sabri's government if they fo...

Global automakers expect to grapple with chip shortages for another two years. How are they responding in the meantime? And if shortage normalises in 2023, what’s the likelihood of excess supply as the US, Europe and China commit billions of dollars to ramp up fabrication capacity? James Teo, Asian Equities Analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence discusses. Image credit: Jeremy Waterhouse / Pexels...

Apple has loosened its restrictions on in-app payments, by allowing some developers to direct users to alternative methods of payment and offer lower prices through channels outside the App Store. We discuss with Daniel Ives of Wedbush Securities whether this move will alleviate the regulatory pressures faced by Apple. Dan also weighs in on expectations for Apple’s fall launch event, with th...

Nigel Wong, Honorary Secretary-General, The Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA), discusses Langkawi's soon-to-occur travel bubble in terms of expected arrivals, SOPs and success rate, as well as the tourism sector's Budget '22 wishlist. Image credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Affin Hwang Asset Management discusses the challenges and safeguards of digital payment systems. This interview is in collaboration with Standard Chartered Malaysia. Image credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Singapore’s GDP projection has been adjusted upwards to 6.6% this year as analysts are banking on reopening borders to international travel, and the effective containment of the Covid-19 outbreak. Geoff Howie, Market Strategist at the Singapore Exchange tells us what sectors might benefit. Image credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Newly minted Minister of Health, Khairy Jamaluddin held his first press conference where he outlined a number of things his ministry will be carrying out. Azrul Mohd Khalib, CEO of Galen Centre for Health & Social Policy gives us his views on these initiatives. Image credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As Malaysia's turns 64, we ask if GLCs and GLICs still have a role to play in Malaysia's economy. Dato' Rauf Rashid, Managing Partner at Ernst & Young Malaysia tells us how and why. Image credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Angeline Tan, researcher for ISIS Malaysia, helps us understand President Xi Jin Ping's Common Prosperity agenda and what it means to China's broader society and economy as children from primary school age will begin learning “Xi Jinping Thought” as part of the national education syllabus. Image credit: pcruciatti / Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

PwC Malaysia is bringing back the Building Trust Awards this year and it is the first to be held virtually. Participating companies will be assessed on the quality of companies’ corporate reporting, and how they are perceived by their stakeholders. This year, all constituents of both the FBM KLCI 30 and FBM Mid 70 on Bursa Malaysia are qualified for the shortlisting stage. In addition, the g...

The Ministry of Finance issued a Pre-Budget Statement (PBS) for Budget 2022, the first in our country’s history. With this, specific metrics can be tracked such as the economic outlook, tax revenue performance status and the public expenditure status for 2021. It also revealed the priorities of Budget 2022. Julia Goh, Senior Economist from UOB gives us her views on this maiden report. Image...

We talk to Petaling Jaya MP, Maria Chin Abdullah on the recent Selangor State Government's decision to de-gazette half of the Kuala Langat North forest as a permanent reserve which has been met with heavy criticism for the lack of transparency. Image credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Andrea Chloe Wong, a Philippines’ political analyst helps us understand the twist and turns as well as the leading contenders in the upcoming 2022 Philippines elections as President Rodrigo Duterte is poised to step down after 6 years in office. Image credit:  EPA-EFE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Adrian Ang, Research Fellow from the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies helps us unpack how the US Afghanistan pullout has short term and long term ramifications on US foreign policy and how will this impact Joe Biden's popularity in the US. Image credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dr Vinod Balasubramaniam from the Jeffrey Cheah School of Medicine & Health Sciences provides detailed explanation on the rationale, process and approvals required if Malaysia does begin manufacturing its own vaccines as the pandemic lingers on. Image credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.