Morning Brief

Long queues and waiting lists in government hospitals suggest there is a shortage of medical resources. Despite this, many contract medical officers are unable to secure permanent employment in public service. Dr Ong Siu Ching, Executive Co-chair of the Malaysian Medics International discusses their plight and options to find employment elsewhere. Image Credit: Nabilah Khalil | Shutterstock.com Se...

Living With Covid-19 In The Next Five Years: Early this month, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong had said that Covid-19 would become endemic. We discuss with Dr Paul Tambyah, President of the Asia Pacific Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infection on what this means in policy response, and the readiness of any country to treat Covid as endemic. Image Credit: kandl stock / Shutterst...

Serba Dinamik has filed a civil claim for substantial damages against its auditor KPMG who then subsequently resigned. P. Gunasegaram, Editorial Consultant, at The Vibes discusses if Serba has a strong suit against KPMG and the core issues. Image credit: Pavel Kapysh / Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Morning Run speaks to Dr. James Chin, Professor of Asian Studies at the University of Tasmania, about the pressure on the government to reconvene parliament and his expectations, and also the news around UMNO's leadership tussle and whether this will have longer-term implications for the party. Image Credit: xtock | Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We get the views of Brock Silvers, CIO at Kaiyuan Capital on Didi Chuxing’s valuation of US$65 billion, its growth prospects, and why it chose to list in the US given the anti-Chinese sentiment. Image Credit: rafapress / Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Small urban rivers, such as Selangor’s Klang River, are among the most polluting. It’s part of the more than 1,000 rivers globally that account for 80 percent of plastic waste found in the ocean. So what can we do to clean up the river? What approach is needed? Cha Ly Koh, CEO of Urbanmetry tells us. Image Credit: BadeenFoldy | Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy i...

Following the Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s decree that parliament should reconvene as soon as possible, state assemblies are making plans to reopen, some even ahead of federal parliament. We discuss the implications of the prolonged prorogation of legislative assemblies as well as the political dynamics at play with political scientist Dr Wong Chin Huat. Image credit: Jaggat Rashidi / Shutterstoc...

Democracy and press freedom has taken another hit after China forcefully closed down HK's anti-govt paper Apple Daily. Michael Frank, the Senior Analyst of Public Policy, Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), discusses its ramifications. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The G7 has created momentum for global tax reform, following their historic agreement for broad changes in the international corporate tax regime, including a 15% minimum tax rate. And while the majority of Eurozone countries are expected to benefit from the changes, an Oxford Economics report has singled out Luxembourg, Hungary, Ireland, and the Netherlands as among those that could be negatively...

Dr Vinod Balasubramaniam, Senior Lecturer and and Co-Lead, Infection and Immunity Research Strength from the Jeffrey Cheah School of Medicine & Health Sciences , shares with us the efficacy of mixing vaccines but also raises concerns on the rise of sporadic cases, the lack of testing and the reality of us moving out from Phase 1 Image Credit: Rawpixel.com | Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/...

Shopping malls and retail industries nationwide are appealing to the government to reopen the sector by July, or risk 50% of retail businesses closing down for good. We speak to Sarkunan Subramaniam of Knight Frank on how the current lockdown is affecting the market for commercial properties, as well as policy measures that could alleviate the financial burdens of both landlords and tenants. Image...

Sri Murniati, Senior Manager with the Public Finance unit at IDEAS - The Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs, discusses the gargantuan public cost from a country that continues to suffer from endemic corruption. Image Credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The construction sector is under scrutiny as causing workplace clusters of Covid-19 infections, with the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) revealing that a third of operational sites are flouting SOPs. We discuss the reasons behind this and what’s being done to address violations, as well as the state of the construction sector overall and the forms of support needed CIDB chief...

With the recent restrictions imposed by the Chinese Government, cryptocurrencies especially Bitcoin have taken a beating, returning all their year-to-date gains. Varun Mittal, Global Emerging Markets FinTech Leader at EY tells us if this has long-term repercussions and will there be other regulatory or compliance risks that we should watch out for. Image Credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com...

In the hardline cleric, Ebrahim Raisi, Iran has a new president. With a hitherto-unclear stance on Iranian domestic and foreign policy -- in particular its stalled nuclear deal -- the world waits to see what Raisi does next. Rodger Shanahan, a Research Fellow at the Lowy Institute, discusses. Image Credit: EPA-EFE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Ministry of Education is hiring 19,000 new teachers from all backgrounds to overcome the supply shortage. At the same time, Covid 19 is also proving the greatest disruption to our education system. Should we not take the time to revamp the entire system and what needs to be done? Chan Soon Seng, CEO for Teach for Malaysia tells us. Image Credit: Azami Adiputera | Shutterstock.com See omnystudi...

Prolonged lockdowns and an economy in neutral have sent more than 600,000 households from the M40 income group into the bottom B40 category. Calvin Cheng, Analyst in the Economics Program, Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS) Malaysia, discusses what's at stake. Image Credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the US, some companies like investment banks are compelling their staff to return to the office. Will this be the same in Asia when vaccination rates inch up or is there an alternative? Paul Cooper, Managing Director of Michael Page Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam tells us. Image Credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The government's Jaringan Prihatin program is aimed at helping students study from home though there have been hiccups, not to mention hidden costs like data plans and device sufficiency. Alexander Wong, Managing Editor, at the tech news portal SoyaCincau.com, discusses. Image Credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Globally, mixing vaccines has been more common especially as Covid 19 variants surface. Is this a path that Malaysia should also take? Prof. Dr. Moy Foong Ming, Professor of Epidemiology, Dept of Social and Preventive Medicine, Universiti Malaya weighs in on the argument. Image Credit: Afif Abd. Halim / Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bangi MP Ong Kian Ming has offered his services - pro bono - to businesses and SMEs who desperately need solutions to survive the current lockdown. From golf resorts to chili farmers and a property lawyer, he weighs in on the possible steps that can be taken by businesses to generate income and reflect on the broader policy-making process that’s needed for the economy to thrive. Image Credit...

Despite being allowed to stay open during the current lockdown, F&B outlets have been hamstrung by prohibitions on dine-ins and limited operating hours. After the announcement of the National Recovery Plan on Tuesday, we check in with Jeremy Lim, Vice-President of the Persatuan Pemilik Restoran dan Bistro ​to get the pulse of the entertainment and F&B industry, to see if they hang on until...

A new space race is underway, with companies like SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Virgin Galactic all striving to make space tourism a reality. But right now, access to space appears limited to billionaires- so when can space tourism become a viable industry? We speak to Prof Wendy Whitman Cobb, Associate Professor of Strategy and Security Studies from Air University's School of Advanced Air and Space St...

In efforts to combat the covid crisis, the US embarked on unprecedented monetary and fiscal stimulus to support the economy and markets. With the impending rising debt levels, analysts expected 2021 to be a year of US dollar weakness, but does the recent announcement by the FOMC that 2 rate hikes are expected by end 2023 change that narrative? This report is in collaboration with Standard Chartere...

Yesterday, statements emerged from the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and the Conference of Rulers, indicating support for the reopening of Parliament as soon as possible. What kind of political implications will this statement have? We speak to Dr. Hamidin Abd Hamid, Research Fellow, Ilham Centre to find out. Image credit: C.O / Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.