Morning Brief

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is the first global leader to be hospitalised after contracting Covid-19, giving rise to questions over how effective the UK government will be while its leader is indisposed. For insight on how the UK has been handling the pandemic, we speak to Patrick Diamond, Associate Professor of Public Policy at the Queen Mary University of London, about Downing Street's respo...

Indonesia has reported relatively few cases of Covid 19 despite global cases hitting more than a million. Is this pure luck or a case of under testing? We ask Aaron Connelly, Research Fellow at International Institute for Strategic Studies for his view on what the real situation on the ground is for Indonesia and is their health care system prepared for a pandemic? See omnystudio.com/listener for...

Internet usage has surged since the start of the MCO and Malaysians experienced slowdowns in download speeds. However, a survey has shown that consumers are happy with how the telcos have managed their bandwidths. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dr. Oh Ei Sun, Senior Fellow at the Singapore Institute of International Affairs gives us his views on the recent appointments, resignations and also dismissals of key positions in government linked agencies. He says that the moves are unsurprising as this was also the case when Pakatan Harapan came into power in 2018 and that despite the health and economic crisis we are facing, more such moves a...

Twenty five million aviation related jobs are at risk globally during this covid-19 pandemic while the survival of Malaysia Airlines is still in question although there may be a white knight. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Singapore goes into a 1-month "Circuit Breaker" period starting today after a recent rise in local Covid 19 infections. In response to this which affects as much as one third of all employment, the government has announced the 3rd stimulus package. Lee Ju Ye, Economist at Maybank Kim Eng in Singapore breaks down the details of this package and why was it necessary. See omnystudio.com/listener for...

The retail sector in the U.S. was already suffering from an "apocalypse" as mall traffic declined and department stores around the country were forced to close. Now, with the COVID-19 outbreak, things just got a lot worse. How will the retail sector emerge from this crisis? Will any of them escape unscathed? We speak to Morningstar analyst David Swartz for insights on the troubled industry. See om...

The Movement Control Order has affected Malaysians from all walks of life but for some, this has had an even more negative impact. Dr. Bridget Welsh, Honorary Research Associate at the University of Nottingham Asia Research Institute tells who these vulnerable groups are and how should we be responding to them in these times whilst also looking at things more holistically to solve the issues in th...

The Perikatan Nasional government has been replacing leadership at various state agencies like Khazanah Nasional, MARA and the Human Resources Development Fund, replacing those appointed by Pakatan Harapan. Meanwhile, Bersatu party elections have been postponed due to COVID-19. The Morning Run crew discusses the top business and political news of the day. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy in...

The government has recently unveiled an additional RM 10 bil. stimulus, aimed at addressing the concerns of small and medium enterprises as they navigate the struggles of staying above water during the movement control order. Is the package enough and will it be effective? We turn to Michael Kang, President of the SME Association of Malaysia for his thoughts and reactions. See omnystudio.com/liste...

01:40 - MTUC asks to ensure that the wellbeing of employees are still considered when the additional stimulus package is announced by the government. 06:06 - MAVCOM says that a bailout for airlines should only used at a last resort while the priority is connectivity for Malaysian and the 50,000 employees in the aviation industry. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

China is restarting its engine, as the coronavirus outbreak in the country dies down. The question on everyone's mind is, how quickly will they recover, particularly as the rest of the world suffers through the Covid-19 pandemic? For insight, we speak to Tommy Xie, Head of Greater China Research at OCBC Bank, about whether a V-shaped recovery is still realistic. See omnystudio.com/listener for pri...

With flattening the Covid 19 infection curve a priority for the Malaysian government, we speak to Kahlil Anwar, Member of the MIER Health Financing Group to talk about the whether the MCO has achieved the objective. We also ask when the cases will peak based on their projections and whether our figures are better than global averages. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As expected, Bank Negara has lowered the country's growth target from 0.5% to -2%, highlighting the risks to the economy from Covid 19. Julia Goh, Senior Economist at UOB Bank provides a deeper analysis on the central bank's Economic Monetary Review report whilst giving their house view on the economy and warning of a new twin risk. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The economic repercussions of Covid-19 has led to a downgrade of Malaysia's banking sector, according to Willie Tanoto, a Director in Fitch Ratings’ Asia-Pacific Banking Team, which continues to monitor the impact on all sectors of the economy. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With cases and mortalities rising daily, it's clear that America's fragmented, complex and overlapping healthcare system is unprepared for what has rapidly spiralled into a global pandemic, says Gustav Ando, Head of Life Sciences and Industry Services at IHS Markit. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In its early days, the Movement Control Order (MCO) led to closure of farmer markets (pasar tani) and disrupted the agriculture supply chain, resulting in food wastages. Since then, the Federal Agriculture Marketing Authority (FAMA) has announced the re-opening of these informal markets with precautions in selected locations. We discuss with Azulita Salim, Director-General of Farmers' Organisation...

Malaysia to contract 0.1% in 2020 if conditions persist, says World Bank's Richard Record See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

P. Gunasegaram, Editor-in-Chief, Focus Malaysia talks about his version of a Makcik Kiah and alternative ways to support the B40 community. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

P. Gunasegaram, Editor-in-Chief, Focus Malaysia talks about his version of a Makcik Kiah and alternative ways to support the B40 community. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Global oil prices are in a free fall. Rob Barnett, Senior Energy Analyst, Bloomberg Intelligence helps us make sense of what’s going on and when might prices recover. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Financial Times reports that almost 630,000 retail outlets in the US have been forced to close due to Covid-19 fears. As further shutdowns are implemented across the US and people are staying home, there is little to no income coming in for non-essential retailers. The National Retail Federation calculates that the industry could lose $430 billion in revenues over the next three months. How ma...

Under the Movement Control Order (MCO), the government has imposed roadblocks and closures, deployed drones, and arrested people for not complying. Melissa Sasidaran, Director, at Lawyers For Liberty, talks about what is happening on the ground. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As fasting month looms during Covid-19, the national dialogue shifts to the Ramadan bazaar, mass gatherings which have traditionally offered pretty traders and low income households sustenance and wages. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Datuk Michael Kang, President of the SME Association of Malaysia, feels short-changed by the govt stimulus program, saying the sector, which employs some 10 million people and accounts for 38% of national GDP, has insufficient aid to sustain beyond the immediate term. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.