Morning Brief

Mass test or target test? Lockdown or don't? Target more or less? And do alternatives exist? Professor Dr. Sanjay Rampal Lekhraj Rampal, Public Health Medical Specialist at the University Malaya Medical Centre, discusses. Image credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi is on a charm offensive in Southeast Asia at a time when the pandemic savages the region's economies and its biggest rival, America, faces a period of uncertainty with its polls. Dr. Ngeow Chow Bing, Director of the Institute for China Studies at University Malaya, explains what this means for Malaysia and the region. Image Credit: EPA-EFE See omnystudio.com/listen...

Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim finally had an audience with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong yesterday morning, 3 weeks after he first announced that he had the support of a “convincing majority” of MPs.  However his bid to become the Prime Minister of Malaysia is far from certain as after the press conference, it was revealed that the Agong would be meeting with the respective political...

The Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO) in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya has started and will be on until 27th October. When first announced, there was confusion especially for the food and beverage industry. Jennifer Ong, Founder and CEO of HAPA Group tells us what issues this industry faces and will these new SOPs affect their business. image credit: AhBoon. Net / Shutterstock See o...

Apple had a big launch overnight as the entered the 5G fray with 4 new iPhones. The focus was the flagship iPhone 12, which will start at a whopping $829 dollars. Apple has generated relatively little sales growth from its iPhone in recent years since consumers are holding onto their phones for longer. But many are expecting this launch to spur a major upgrade cycle. Sure, Apple isn’t the fi...

With an economy heavily dependent on tourism contributing as much as 15% to GDP, what are the implications to the economy when visitor arrivals are only estimated at 9 million compared to 40 million in 2019. Marcus Wong, Emerging Market Macro Strategist at Bloomberg Editorial tells us how negatively impacted the Thai economy will be but what fiscal and monetary measures the government can take to...

Yesterday evening, the government announced that it would be reimposing the Conditional Movement Control Order in Selangor, Putrajaya, and KL due to the recent spike in Covid-19 infections. The announcement comes at a time when consumers were just becoming more confident about emerging from their homes, so we're tackling the question of how this new measure will affect SMEs in particular, with Dat...

The Institute of Democracy and Economic Affairs has made the case that the government should ratify the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, better known as the CPTPP. The think tank argues that Malaysia's GDP could be boosted by as much as 1% if the government ratifies the deal- So we reached out to Tricia Yeoh, CEO of IDEAS, to ask her about this, and more. Imag...

After seeing a spike in Covid-19 cases across the country, the government imposed a two week conditional movement control order (MCO) in various areas in Klang from 9th October until 23rd October. However, those living in the area were left confused with the directives and the last minute implementation, and have since received little clarity. For more on the situation on the ground, we have with...

Despite the state elections being over, Sabah continues to throw up new political surprises. The appointment of PAS State Secretary Ali-akbar Gulasan to the legislature has been met with objections from other parties in the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah coalition. For some analysis on these developments we speak to James Chin, Professor of Asian Studies at the University of Tasmania. Image Credit: Shutter...

With the US election impending, how much impact will it have on Asian equities and does it matter who wins the Presidential elections? Lorraine Tan, Regional Director of Equity Research in Asia, Morningstar tells us who are the sectoral winners in the last quarter of the year and what other risks are on the horizon. Image Credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information...

In conjunction with World Mental Health Day, we discuss with Annie Tubadji, Cultural Economist, Swansea University on the definition of psychologically resilient society and the impact of public policies. Image credit: F Armstrong Photography / Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the past week, Malaysia's daily new cases of Covid-19 have hovered consistently in the three digits, a worrying surge from the single digit reporting we were seeing a month ago. However, Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has stressed that a second nationwide lockdown would be costly. So, to get a sense of whether we could afford a second MCO, we speak to Lau Zheng Zhou of the Economics an...

Following the passing of former law minister Datuk Liew Vui Keong, Malaysians are faced with yet another by-election in Batu Sapi, Sabah. But after Covid-19 cases rose dramatically in the wake of the Sabah state elections, are we ready for more polls? To find out, we speak to Thomas Fann, Chairperson of election watchdog Bersih 2.0, for thoughts on how to hold an election during a pandemic. Image...

Increased interest in sustainability has bolstered the demand for ESG bonds. In ASEAN, green bond issuances doubled to $8.1 billion in 2019, from just $3.9 billion in 2018. To find out how Malaysia's nascent sustainable bond market compares to its regional peers, we speak to Winson Phoon, Head of Fixed Income Research at Maybank Kim Eng. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

China's Golden Week has just ended, with as many as 550 million people expected to hit the road during the period. However, subsequent data reported that tourism revenue still fell more than 30% compared to last year, indicative of weak consumer demand. We speak to Tommy Xie, Head of Greater China Research at OCBC Bank for his thoughts on if this weak consumption trend will throw a spanner in the...

There are over 1,000 active Covid-19 cases in prisons involving inmates and staff nationwide. Jerald Joseph, SUHAKAM Commissioner discusses potential improvements and prison reforms. Image Credit: Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin is undergoing a 14-day home quarantine and has assured that he will continue to perform his duties. It does however raise questions about succession planning as it is unprecedented that Malaysia does not have a designated Deputy Prime Minister. Lim Wei Jiet, constitutional lawyer discusses the constitutional conventions and the possible scenarios. Image Cred...

Workers in Indonesia are protesting against the major omnibus bill that was passed on Monday to amend 73 laws. They argue that those wide sweeping changes violate worker rights and relax environmental protection. Bharat Joshi, Investment Director, Aberdeen Standard Investments discusses the merits of the bill, its timing and his outlook for equities. Image Credit: TomoTaro / Shutterstock.com See o...

Malaysia trails behind countries like Indonesia and the Philippines when it comes to open data. Ashraf Shaharudin, Research Associate at Khazanah Research Institute discusses what needs to be done to close the gaps. Image Credit: Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Local university students were left stranded when they could not attend orientation due to a last minute order to close universities. Dr Sharifah Munirah Alatas, Senior lecturer in Strategic Studies and International Relations of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, shares her views on how the situation could have been saved. Image Credit: Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy...

Local university students were left stranded when they could not attend orientation due to a last minute order to close universities. Dr Sharifah Munirah Alatas, xxxx, shares her views on how the situation could have been saved. Image Credit: Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New Zealanders head for the polls on October 17th. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is widely expected to win. Grant Duncan, Associate Professor, Massey University discusses her track record and the challenges ahead. Image Credit: EPA-EFE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the wake of the Sabah state elections, eyes are now on neighbouring state Sarawak, to see when they will decide to go to the polls. How will the Sarawak state government balance the fragility of its coalition against Covid-19 concerns? Dr. Arnold Puyok, Political Analyst at Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, weighs in. Image credit: Hazreen Mohd / Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy...

Malaysia's Covid-19 new cases are back in the triple digits, with Sabah and Kedah now leading the country in numbers of infections. The Morning Run team discusses sustaining our healthcare system, internet backlash against politicians perceived to have spread the virus, and the sudden decision to postpone this semester's student intake at universities. Image credit: Shutterstock See omnystudio.com...