Morning Brief

While the latest Merdeka Centre survey saw Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin receiving a 69% approval rating for his performance so far, there are doubts about the long-term future of his party, Bersatu. Dr. Oh Ei Sun, Senior Fellow, Singapore Institute of International Affairs discusses the issues faced by the party to regain political legitimacy. Image Credit: Shuttlestock See omnystudio.com/liste...

Since the closure of national borders, businesses that cater to Singaporeans are struggling in Johor. Jeffrey Goh, a Johor Committee Member of the SME Association of Malaysia paints a dire picture. Podcast image credit: Lisa_AH / Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The redevelopment of KL city has given rise to concerns over the relocation of residents living in the designated areas. Seeing as renters sometimes find themselves in difficult situations when government-owned land becomes due for redevelopment, we speak to Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, MP for Setiawangsa, on the challenges of managing residents involved in a redevelopment. Image Credit: Hafiz Johari / Sh...

Gary Ng, Asia-Pacific Economist, Natixis explains China’s dual circulation strategy of spurring Chinese self-reliance, and its impact on global supply chains and on countries like Malaysia that exports heavily to China. Image Credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Deputy Communications and Multimedia Minister, Datuk Zahidi Zainul Abidin said that the government is planning to impose a new service tax for online shopping at a rate of about 0.02%. Dr Carmelo Ferlito, CEO of the Center for Market Education and Senior Fellow at IDEAS is not in favour of the move and discusses alternatives for the government to generate more revenue. Image Credit: Shutterstock.c...

With longer working hours becoming the norm and increase women's participation in the workforce, eating out has become an important element of life regardless of income level. However, the fact that the recently-revised Poverty Line Income does not take into account the rising cost of eating out, questions have been raised in a Khazanah Research Institute paper over whether absolute poverty levels...

As more people work from home, experts are questioning the need for populations to congregate in big cities. Richard Holt, Head of Global Cities Research, Oxford Economics tells if he expects an exodus of people migrating to smaller cities and towns. Image Credit: Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Political parties are jockeying for seats in the run up to Sabah’s state elections, and while Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal’s Warisan is expected to win, Professor James Chin, Professor of Asian Studies, University of Tasmania says it is still too early to tell. Nomination day is on 12th September. Image Credit: Dolly MJ / Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Syed Azmi Alhabshi, social activist at Persatuan Untuk Anak Kita (PUAKPayong) discusses the merits and downside of Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s proposal to give monthly social aid of RM1,000. Image credit: Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Several proposed changes to the central bank law in Indonesia have raised concerns amongst investors, over the prospect of government ministers having voting rights and monetary policy meetings. Other recommendations include expanding Bank Indonesia's mandate to cover economic growth and employment, in addition to managing the value o the rupiah. To give us a picture of why these proposals are bei...

Unscheduled water cuts since last Thursday due to pollution have affected over 1,200 areas in the Klang Valley causing unnecessary hardship for people and businesses. Charles Santiago, Klang MP and former Chairman, SPAN (National Water Service Commission) discusses the weaknesses in Selangor’s water system, and what needs to be done to deter future water pollution and water cuts. Image credi...

On the occasion of its 12th birthday, BFM 89.9 Founder Malek Ali discusses whether radio remains as relevant and engaging as during its halcyon days, before the Internet emerged to disrupt the global broadcasting and media industries. Image credit: Jonathan Velasquez / Unsplash See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ibrahim Suffian, the Programme Director of Merdeka Centre, dissects his latest poll, which indicates that most Malaysians approve of Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and that Perikatan Nasional has been better-received than Muafakat Nasional or Barisan Nasional. Editorial credit: adam yusof / Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The ethical question facing the Covid 19 pandemic is who deserves the vaccine first? How do we avoid only the rich countries getting first access at the expense of poorer nations? Dale Fisher, Professor of Infectious Diseases at the National University of Singapore tells us that the way forward is mutual cooperation while warning of the failures of vaccine nationalism. Image Credit: Shutterstock S...

Prof Tajuddin Mohd Rasdi, Professor Of Architecture At UCSI University And Social Commentator, discusses Malaysia's stagnant rankings in the Times Higher Education rankings, with with the nation's top institutions Universiti Malaya, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman and Universiti Kebangsaaan Malaysia falling in 300th place or worse. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The country's Entrepreneur Minister wants locals to build and shop at the Malaysian equivalent of Lazada or Shopee, prompting a hailstorm of criticism that this is yet another example of the government trespassing its administrative boundaries into the private sector. Laurence Todd, Director of Research, IDEAS, discusses the pros and cons. Image credit: K X I T H V I S U A L S on Unsplash See omny...

Hong Kong is pursuing voluntary mass testing for all its residents. This initiative has been met with objections from NGOs and activists while some questions over the privacy of data collected. Benjamin Cowling, Professor of Infectious Disease Epidemiology at University of Hong Kong tell us the rationale for this and would this unfortunately lead to a false sense of security. Image credit: Yung Ch...

The April to June 2020 period was the worst-ever for Malaysian retailers, in its worst-ever quarterly performance thanks to a Movement Control Order (MCO) brought on by Covid-19. With spending patterns potentially changing in ways that could well be permanent in nature, how will retailers rebuild after a period that can only be described as a “bloodbath”? Tan Hai Hsin, Group Managing D...

Former Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq has announced the formation of a new youth platform that intends to disrupt Malaysian politics with a lineup of young, multiracial and tech-savvy leaders. There will be a shift towards new innovative policies and a move away from money politics. Jahabar Sadiq, Editor of The Malaysian Insight tell us the viability of this party and will it change the pol...

India announced the worst GDP since quarterly numbers have been available. With a decline of 23.9%, what options are available to restart the economy? Jayant Menon, Visiting Senior Fellow at ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute gives us his views and the possibility of another strict lock down since Covid 19 cases are still on the rise. Image Credit: Laurentiu Morariu on Unsplash See omnystudio.com/listene...

A mere 2.5 million ringgit fine and one day in jail, the sentence meted out to former Transmile Group Bhd CEO Gan Boon Aun for millions lost in white-collar crime committed 13 years ago, has raised necessary questions about the extent of time taken as well as the severity of punishment. Criminal lawyer Sreekant Pillai discusses. Image credit: Tingey Injury Law Firm / Unsplash See omnystudio.com/li...

The Restricted Movement Control Order (RMCO) has been extended till year end and with that our country's borders remains closed. With no foreign tourism, how has the travel industry been impacted? Nigel Wong, Honorary Secretary General of the Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (Matta) gives us an outlook and tell us if domestic tourism is enough to compensate for the loss of foreign t...

The Republican National Convention was held last week with President Donald Trump officially nominated for re-election, along with Vice-President Mike Pence. Despite the threat of COVID-19, the RNC maintained an in-person audience, with the finale taking place on the White House lawn, which was a controversial decision. Joining us to discuss this is Mark J. Rozell, Dean of the Schar School of Poli...

Japan's longest serving Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced last week that he would resign due to health reasons. With his sudden departure what does this mean for the third's largest economy? Jonathan Berkshire Miller, Senior Fellow, Japan Institute of International Affairs discusses. Image Credit: Alexandros Michailidis / Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The outcome of the Slim by-elections was no surprise although the majority attained by the Barisan Nasional(BN)candidate was. Ben Suffian, Programme Director at Merdeka Center gives us the reasons for the strong BN win and the future of the Pejuang party. We also asked whether this win will be reflected in the upcoming Sabah election. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.