Morning Brief

The Morning Run speaks to Daniel Bernbeck, CEO of the Malaysian-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Malaysia's economy and how attractive is Malaysia in attracting foreign direct investments. We also ask him how the current political instability shape business sentiment. Image credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Consultant Paediatrician, Dato' Dr Musa Mohd Nordin, weighs the benefits and risks of vaccinating teenagers and children, school reopening strategy, and whether unvaccinated children should be allowed to dine in with their vaccinated parents. Image credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Tokyo Olympics just ended on a positive note but questions arise over the costs and was there an economic benefit. William Pesek, Columnist at Nikkei Asia gives some insight into how the economy will fare in the coming quarters. Image credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We ask Ross Tapsell from Australian National University what does the world thinks about the latest political developments in Malaysia and whether there is a grave concern of political instability or acceptance that this is part and parcel of the messiness of a parliamentary democracy. Image credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A total of 114 MPs will be meeting the Agung today, is this a sign that Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri will be PM9? And is this game over for Pakatan Harapan? We also ask Dr. Hamidin Hamid, Research Fellow, Ilham Center on the future of Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin on the Morning Run. Image credit: msyaraafiq / Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Under phase 1 of the national recovery plan, 11 business activities were restarted which has been much welcomed by retailers. But is this enough and too late for mall operators? We ask Tan Sri Teo Chiang Kok, President of the Malaysia Shopping Malls Association for views and also what the industry would like to see from Budget 2022. Image credit: Kevin Khoo / Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listen...

As Indonesia celebrated its 76th anniversary of independence and President Jokowi announcing the 2022 budget, we ask Krystal Tan from ANZ Bank how the region’s biggest economy plans to navigate through the pandemic Image Credit: Bimo Pradityo / Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Amidst rising covid cases, parliamentary and public censure on the Prime Minister, and a weakening economy, we speak to Marcus Wong, Emerging Market Macro Strategist at Bloomberg on Thailand's grim outlook. Image credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Deputy Health director-general Datuk Dr Chong Chee Kheong says that despite the political developments, his ministry's mission of vaccine rollout and testing is on track. We also ask him about the vaccine progress in NRP Phase 2. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Facebook and Google have just unveiled a new undersea cable project, called Apricot. This will connect Singapore, Japan, Guam, the Philippines, Taiwan and Indonesia but Malaysia is absent. Is our cabotage policy the reason? Nabila Hussain, Policy Communications Lead at Social & Economic Research Initiative (SERI) gives us her view. Image credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for...

Azrul Khalib from the Galen Centre shares his thoughts on how the rapidly evolving political landscape might or might not impact how the country manages this pandemic and what would be in the in-tray for the new government. Image Credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Last week, the outgoing Perikatan Nasional government announced the launching of ‘Perkukuh’, a three-year programme that targets to reform and future-proof six GLICs (PNB, Khazanah, EPF, LTAT, LTH and KWAP). We ask economist, Dr Nungsari Ahmad Radhi on the urgency and purpose of this programme, and what will happen now with the collapsed PN government. Image credit: Shutterstock.com Se...

We turn to James Dorsey to get his perspective on the recent United States withdrawal from Afghanistan resulting in the Taliban seizing Kabul paving the way for them to take control of the country after 20 years in exile. Image credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Felicia Ling, Economist from Hong Leong Investment Bank shares her perspective as Malaysia's GDP for the second quarter came in at 16.1% year-on-year although BNM has revised their 2021 growth estimates of between 3 to 4 percent, compared to its previous forecast of between 6 to 7.5%. Image Credit: Ismail Sadiron Pictures / Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As Malaysia labors through yet another political quagmire with Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin's Perikatan Nasional govt on the ropes, Oh Ei Sun, Senior Fellow at the Singapore Institute of International Affairs, discusses the political permutations and ramifications for Malaysia's long-suffering population. Image credit: Abdul Razak Latif / Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informatio...

With many media reports saying that Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin is resigning, the question of who will be the 9th Prime Minister arises. Ong Kian Ming, MP for Bangi tells us what is DAP's position on the matter, and can they form the next government with their allies? Image credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With China's release of a five-year blueprint calling for greater regulation of vast parts of the economy, we speak to Gary Ng, Asia-Pacific Economist from Natixis to get their perspective follows the recent clampdown on industries ranging from internet platforms and bitcoin to ride-hailing giant DiDi Global and tutoring. Image credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy infor...

The Ministry of Home Affairs announced this week that the Malaysia My Second Home programme will resume in October, more than a year after it was suspended due to the pandemic. However there will be updated conditions that apply for all applicants, including higher financial thresholds. Will the new rules serve to attract the desired foreign demographic to make Malaysia their second home, or will...

If lockdowns continue on to Q3 and Q4, what is the likelihood of Malaysia falling into a technical recession? And as Malaysia recovers from the pandemic, what does it need to prioritise to tackle structural challenges like deindustrialisation? Ridzuan Mohamed, Senior Vice President of Research at Khazanah Nasional discusses. Image credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy in...

A few days ago, some hackers stole US$613 million worth of digital coins from Poly Network, and only returned US$260 million worth of tokens after less than 24 hours. So we ask Varun Mittal, Global Emerging Markets FinTech Leader of EY what are the impacts of this incident and will we be seeing more regulatory oversight on cryptocurrencies. Image credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listene...

Unsurprisingly, Malaysia's unemployment rate grew to 4.8% in June, reversing a downward trend in the first half of the year, due to the latest round of pandemic restrictions. Similarly, graduate unemployment is also increasing, resulting in graduates opting for jobs that are below their qualifications. What broader impact will this have on the Malaysian economy, and what policy measures are needed...

Xue Gong, Assistant Professor of the China Programme of S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies discusses China’s engagement with Southeast Asian countries through the BRI (Belt & Road Initiative) as Western countries consider funding a BRI equivalent. Image Credit: Gil Corzo - Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A sobering report by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warns that human activity is unequivocally changing the climate in unprecedented and irreversible ways. But is this adequate to influence the goals of COP26 in November? And how well is Malaysia doing in tackling climate change? Alizan Mahadi, Senior Director of Research, Institute of Strategic and International Studies (...

A sobering report by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warns that human activity is unequivocally changing the climate in unprecedented and irreversible ways. But is this adequate to influence the goals of COP26 in November? And how well is Malaysia doing in tackling climate change? Alizan Mahadi, Senior Director of Research, Institute of Strategic and International Studies (...

The current UMNO internal wrangling is reminiscent of the schism in the 1980s, which saw a splinter party form under the banner of Semangat 46. However, analysts say the present infighting is worse than previous occasions, with the party split between those who think UMNO should go at it alone and those who want to remain in government under Perikatan Nasional. How will these dynamics play out in...