Morning Brief

US has imposed a ban on imports of palm oil and palm oil products from FGV over allegations of forced labour practices. We speak with Khor Yu Leng, political economist, Segi Enam Advisors, on why Malaysian companies do poorly in protecting their foreign workers. Image Credit: ayarx oren / Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With the collapse of global travel demand amidst Covid-19, the aviation industry has come to a grinding halt. The International Air Transport Association does not expect air travel to return to pre-Covid levels until 2024- it therefore was surprising when Bloomberg reported that the founders of Lion Air are planning to start a new airline. So, for a check-in on the airline industry, we speak to Ja...

The Beijing Auto Show is the first industry event to take place since the pandemic hit. This is where big Western companies like Ford and Volkswagen, as well as their Chinese rivals, showcase all the latest and greatest of what they have in store. But will there be enough demand out of China to support to auto industry? We speak to Bill Russo about what to watch out for from the event as well as w...

Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has said that the Shared Prosperity Vision will continue to take shape under his administration, with the aim to provide a decent standard of living to all Malaysians in 10 years time. Firdaos Rosli, Director of Economics, Trade and Regional Integration at the Institute of Strategic and International Studies Malaysia speaks to us about bridging the income ga...

Physical distancing measures have forced people and companies around the world to turn to technology, in order to keep the gears turning. But with the spotlight now on digital transformation and the necessity of digitisation initiatives, how competitive are we as a country, compared to the rest of the world? We speak to Christos Cabolis, Chief Economist at the IMD World Competitiveness Center, abo...

The Secretary General of the Ministry of Environment and Water, Datuk Seri Zaini Ujang recently remarked that the government would update the Environmental Quality Act 1974 to include climate change and sustainability policies. One such policy that being mooted is a carbon tax on emissions, which has been adopted by several countries around the world. How would such a tax look like in a Malaysian...

With the blanket loan moratorium having come to an end in September, how are businesses faring? Koong Lin Loong, SME Chairman of The Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia (ACCCIM) tells how his 100,000 members are faring and whether more help is required for them. He also tells us which sectors in particular are facing challenging times despite the relaxation of the move...

The first presidential debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden took place yesterday, and it was anything but presidential. Globally, the debate has been labeled a joke, with observers calling it “another sign of the degradation of the American democracy”. And Americans were left disappointed with what they’re calling “the worst debate in history”. That said, in and...

Although research shows that 90% of voters have made up their minds at this stage, the US Presidential debate provides a rare opportunity for candidates to been side by side, and could still influence the 10% of undecided voters, especially swing states. We discuss the expectations for both incumbent Donald Trump and challenger Joe Biden, with analysis from Dr. Mitchell McKinney. Image Credit: Yal...

The World Bank has revised Malaysia’s 2020 GDP forecast to a contraction of 4.9% from the previously estimated 3.1% decline following the country's sharper-than-expected GDP contraction in Q2 due to the pandemic. However, despite the revision, Malaysia seems to be on track for recovery and will likely see growth in Q4 or 2021. We speak to World Bank economists to get their view on Malaysia's...

The government has recently launched a career advancement programme under the national economic recovery plan, Penjana. The programme has the aim of providing young graduates with more marketable skills. But how effective is this and what more needs to be done? We take stock of the state of unemployment in Malaysia and the measures taken to curb it. Image credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.co...

Sabah’s Bersatu Chief Datuk Hajiji Mohd Noor was unanimously elected by the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah alliance yesterday as the new Chief Minister of Sabah. Dr Oh Ei Sun, Senior Fellow at the Singapore Institute of International Affairs gives a glimpse of what to expect of his leadership. He also gives us his views on the dynamics between Bersatu and Umno especially since the former has fewer se...

Not all gaming companies will recover from the pandemic in the same way. But who gets to go first? And which ones are best-placed? Erlin Salim, Director, Fitch Ratings, explains. Image Credit: ChameleonsEye / Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sabah is Malaysia's newest pandemic epicenter, so what are health professionals and the govt doing about it? Dr Khor Swee Kheng, Health Policy Specialist, discusses. Image Credit: Abdul Razak Latif / Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In a closely contested state election, the opposition coalition of Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) emerged as victor, winning 38 out of 73 seats at stake. Political analyst Dr. Bridget Welsh discusses the factors that tipped the scale to GRS' favor, and the ongoing tussle for the post of Chief Minister. She also warns that the tight results indicate a period of instability for Sabah politics. Image Cr...

As economies reopen and businesses resume from the widespread lockdowns in the second quarter, what is the pace of recovery for the ASEAN-6 countries? Chua Hak Bin, Senior Economist at Maybank Kim Eng weighs in on the efficacy of regional stimulus policies, and the economic impact of a potential vaccine. Image Credit: YuriAbas / Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informa...

After clinching a simple majority victory win on Saturday’s Sabah state election, there seems to be a stalemate now in the discussions for the position of Sabah Chief Minister within the winning Gabungan Rakyat Sabah alliance. We speak to political commentator Professor James Chin for his views on why support for Warisan withered in Sabah, how this affect's Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyid...

Who will win when Sabah votes tomorrow? With 447 candidates contesting 73 seats, with some fierce 9 to 11 corner fights, tomorrow's election promises to be an interesting one. For an understanding of Sabah politics, a look at how peninsular politics plays into it, and who is expected to win, we speak to James Chin. Image credit: Dolly MJ / Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy...

The UK has introduced further measures to cushion the economic blow of the Covid-19 pandemic, as the country heads into a fearful winter. This comes as Prime Minister Boris Johnson imposed fresh curbs on the public just this week. If the Bank of England deploys another round of monetary stimulus at its upcoming November meeting, will this be enough to keep the UK afloat? Image credit: Loveandrock...

Palm oil futures topped RM3000 last week, as economies reopened and demand for the commodity recovered. However, the sector still isn't out of the woods. We speak to Alvin Tai, Soft Commodity Analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, about whether there is still an upside to palm oil. Image credit: Mohd Erwin / Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim declared yesterday that he has majority support from MPs to seize control of Putrajaya. While the PKR President is still waiting to have an audience with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, we reached out to Dr Hamidin Abdul Hamid, Research Fellow at the Ilham Centre, to help us answer some of the many questions we now have, most importantly: what comes next? Image credit: YuriAbas...

This week, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and affiliated media organizations issued a series of reports on how financial institutions were allegedly facilitating suspicious money flows amounting to more than 2 trillion US dollars. Several Malaysian banks were also mentioned. Thorsten Beck, Professor of Banking and Finance, at The Business School (formerly Cass), City, Un...

Covid 19 turned out to be the black swan event for 2020. A virus that shut down most of the world as the race to flatten the pandemic curve became a priority. With that, companies scrambled to adapt, making the need to transform especially on the digital front a priority so as to be able to work remotely and continue with operations. But what were some of the gaps? What did businesses find they ne...

Less than 10% of the candidates fielded in the upcoming Sabah state elections are women. Nurul Izzah Anwar, MP of Permatang Pauh explains why it is so difficult for women to rise in politics. Image Credit: Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

President Donald Trump is expected to nominate an ideologically conservative successor to the late Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Kathryn Dunn Tenpas, Senior Fellow with the University of Virginia, discusses the implications. Image credit: bakdc / Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.