Morning Brief

In a recent TV interview, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin chose not to comment on politics, preferring to focus on the fight against Covid-19. Wong Chin Huat, political scientist, at Sunway University, tells us what he thinks of this comment as political machinations have produced the politically weakest government Malaysia has ever had. Wong also thinks the opposition needs to step up and do more. See o...

Malaysian property stakeholders are bracing for the unavoidable economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the property sector. Prior to the Movement Control Order (MCO) and the pandemic, property sales for residential and commercial were already slow amid a mismatch between supply and demand although affordable housing was still a growing segment. So how bad will the fallout be for the property...

The presence of China’s warships in the resource-rich South China Sea is increasingly cause for concern, more so with the absence of America from its waters. Ridzwan Rahmat, Principal Defence Analyst, Jane's by IHS Markit, discusses. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Despite being one of the regions worst hit by the pandemic, there has been a frustrating lack of unity among European Union members in handling the economic fallout from the crisis. Simon Baptist, Global Chief Economist from The Economist Intelligence Unit tells us whether there is going to be a resolution to this. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ahmad Yazid Othman, CEO of the Malay Economic Action Council (MTEM) tells us why he opposes political appointments at GLCs but acknowledges that moving away from it, will be a challenge as this has been practised since our independence. He also weighs in what sectors should be allowed to operate in phase 4 of the MCO as revival of the economy is critical. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy in...

With the movement control order extended to mid-May, 2020's Ramadhan month will be unlike any other. Nurliyana Yahaya, Manager at Nielsen Commercial and Thought Leadership joins us in discussing how consumer behaviour has changed amid the festive season during this MCO. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin announced that the MCO will be extended until May 12th. We go through some of the key points of his speech and what does this mean for the country. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The coronavirus outbreak has hit economies around the world hard, and Malaysia is no exception. But with these new parameters, should the Shared Prosperity Vision mooted by the previous government be reconfigured to meet the current circumstances? For some insight, we speak to Nizam Mahshar, CEO of Institut Masa Depan Malaysia, about the SPV2030 plan, and how it can be adapted to help weather the...

The European Commission is floating a 2 trillion-euro plan for economic recovery but will 27 countries agree? Or will the rich Northern states still say no to their poorer Southern neighbors? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With some countries starting to ease their lockdown restrictions, we speak to Miquel Oliu-Barton, Associate Professor, at the Université Paris Dauphine and Bary Pradelski, Associate Member, Oxford-Man Institute at University of Oxford to see if mathematical modeling based on red and green zones is a viable option. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As Singapore struggles with a surge in coronavirus cases, stemming from it foreign worker communities, we ask the question if Malaysia is doing enough to restrict the spread of the virus within our own migrant communities? For insight, we speak to Dr. Tharani Loganathan, Public Health Medicine Specialist at Universiti Malaya's Faculty of Medicine, for her thoughts on migrants' access to healthcare...

Australia has managed to keep infection rates down by closing its borders early but the continuous 28 years of growth has now ended. The government has responded by announcing the most aggressive stimulus last seen in WWII. So we speak to Catherine Birch, Senior Economist, at ANZ Research to find out if this is enough and what other plans the Australian government has to cushion itself from fallin...

Peck Boon Soon, Chief Economist at RHB Investment Bank tells us the importance of oil revenue to the country while giving us the lowdown on the ability of the government to repriorities expenditure. He also weighs in what should the government's strategy should be to revive the economy in the post MCO era. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

10:11 - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has reportedly undergone cardiovascular surgery, throwing the country's succession plans into the limelight. 15:23 - Singapore has extended its Circuit Breaker until June 1st. 19:15 - Oil prices have edged higher, following the collapse seen earlier this week. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The decision to hold Malaysia's first parliamentary sitting of the year for only one day - on May 18th, has drawn much criticism. In light of that, we speak to Lim Wei Jiet, Constitutional lawyer, about whether this will fulfil the constitutional recommendation for Parliament to meet every six months, and if it violates the spirit of the law itself. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy inf...

Trouble continues to brew in Hong Kong as more people are arrested over pro-democracy protests while its unemployment rose to the highest level in nearly a decade. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The World Health Organisation has released guidelines for countries looking to end extended lockdowns and ease restrictions. But as the conversation turns to a post-coronavirus world, the question still remains of whether we're ready to return to business as usual. For more on this, we speak to Benjamin Cowling, Professor of Infectious Disease Epidemiology at the University of Hong Kong, about cur...

Mohamed Zamri Mohammed, Secretary General, Federation of Malay Hawkers and Petty Traders Association of Malaysia tells us why Ramadhan Bazaars are so important from an income perspective, especially for the many petty traders or Makcik Kiahs. He also tells us what initiatives have been provided as alternatives, including e-commerce platforms and whether they are viable. See omnystudio.com/listener...

With Germany starting to open up while Spain and Italy continue their lockdown, we ask what model is the best way forward as questions still remain over the trade off between life, health and the economy. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Apple's CEO Tim Cook is confident that Apple will be able to come out of the global pandemic strong, much as it did after the 2008 Global Financial Crisis, and near-bankruptcy in the 1990s. Poised as the company is on the tip of a super-cycle, we speak to Daniel Ives, Managing Director for Equities Research at Wedbush Securities, about Apple's supply chain, efforts to monetize their services segme...

Covid-19 has affected many legal contracts with individuals and companies in limbo as they are unable to fulfill their obligations. We speak to Lee Shih, a corporate lawyer to find out if a Covid-19 Bill similar to the one that Singapore has passed, is a solution. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dr Shankaran Nambiar, Senior Research Fellow at the Malaysian Institute of Economic Research gives us his views on what post MCO exit strategies the government should consider if and when the MCO is lifted. He also weighs in the practicalities of social distancing in essential services and how can it be enforced in certain sectors. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With many countries now barring travel save for exceptional circumstances, sailors who man the sea lanes transporting 90% of the world’s trade now find themselves unable to return to their home countries. We speak to Guy Platten, Secretary-General, International Chamber of Shipping about the issues this might cause, as well as the importance of maintaining maritime trade amid the g...

The coronavirus outbreak has impacted working life for most of us with most people now forced to work from home, with the MCO estimated to affect 2.4 million jobs, according to the Malaysian Institute of Economic Research (MIER). With the reality that work-from-home arrangements are likely to persist for many even after the movement control order is lifted, what does this mean for us? How much wor...

Is a leadership change at Bursa Malaysia now the right time especially when capital markets are facing an unprecedented crisis. We discuss if there are other more important priorities. Meanwhile, the Securities Commission releases their 2019 Annual Report while providing details on how they plan to support capital markets during these challenging times. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy info...