Morning Brief

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a 3-week national lockdown which began on March 25th. However there has been much criticism of the initiative as many people buy food with the money they earn each day, and many more fall into poverty under the lockdown. So much so that #ModiMadeDisaster was trending on Twitter in India on Sunday. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Denis Low, President of Malaysian Rubber Glove Manufacturers Association (MARGMA) warns there will be a chronic global shortage of medical rubber gloves, which could result in higher infections among frontline medics. We speak to him on the severity of the situation and whether there will be enough gloves in Malaysia. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Last Friday, the Perikatan Nasional government unveiled a RM250 billion stimulus package against the social and economic fallouts from the pandemic, the largest stimulus package the country has unveiled ever since the Global Financial crisis of 2008/2009. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Last Friday, Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin unveiled his next round of stimulus package to bring it to a total of RM250 billion. Christopher Choong, Deputy Director of Research, at Khazanah Research Institute talks about what else the government could do. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Khoon Goh, Head of Asia Research, at ANZ Bank unpacks the Resilience Budget by Singapore, and how Malaysia’s stimulus package stacks up. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Indonesia's infection rate looks unbelievably low as does its stimulus package. Singapore has been able to lead the way in crisis management owing in no small part to its accumulated wealth. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

0:06 -  Ahead of the Second Economic Stimulus Package set to be released today, all eyes are on Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, to see how much the package will contain, and where it will be targeted. To give us some thoughts, we speak to Hamdan Abdul Majeed, Managing Director of Think City, about measures needed to alleviate Malaysians' economic burden. 04:31 - We also speak to Prof...

The tourism and hotel industry has been badly hit by the Covid-19 outbreak, more so now with the declaration of the Movement Control Order, which is set to last until mid-April. Some reports have placed the industry's potential losses at over half a billion ringgit in revenue during the MCO- and to speak about this and more, we reached out to Yap Lip Seng, CEO of the Malaysian Association of Hotel...

Following the extension of the Movement Control Order by another two weeks to April 14th, many industries are now questioning whether they will be able to survive this period of forced inactivity. The Food and Beverages sector has appealed for economic contingency plans to protect their livelihoods, as they cope with diminished sales on top of ongoing payment obligations. For more on this, we spea...

The outlook for the aviation sector has not been good, amid travel restrictions brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic. Following the International Air Transport Association's decision to cut its 2020 revenue forecast dramatically, we speak to Jonathan Root, Senior Vice President at Moody's Investor Service, for his thoughts on the global airlines sector, and whether there are any bright spots to...

Bank Negara granted an automatic 6-month loan moratorium to many sectors including housing loans. We ask whether the B40 or M40 will benefit from this. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With education institutions from kindergartens to universities all closed under the Movement Control Order, students have had no choice but to stay at home and find other ways to keep their education going. But if the order is extended, how much more will this affect students from all walks of life? We speak to Chan Soon Seng, Programme Director of Teach For Malaysia, about the impact this will ha...

00:00 - Bank Negara Malaysia has instructed banks to implement a 6 month loan moratorium for all loans, except credit cards. The Morning Run team explores what kind of an effect this will have, and whether or not this just kicks the problems down the road. 03:50 - Malaysia ranks 40th out of 113 countries tracked in the Global Food Security Index, due to its heavy reliance on imported foods. But wi...

As coronavirus anxieties rage on, US President Donald Trump may end lockdowns to save businesses. Playing God accompanied with ladling out generous stimulus money might be just what the doctor ordered to win an election. Or maybe not. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The coronavirus outbreak has brought business continuity plans or BCP into staple corporate speak. We check out whether BCPs work during a coronageddon. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The COVID-19 outbreak has tested healthcare systems around the world. With public healthcare in countries like Italy buckling under the new influx of patients, we speak to Milena Izmirlieva, Life Sciences Director at IHS Markit, about the current limitations of healthcare systems, as well as how to mitigate them. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There are concerns that the government's policy to stimulate the economy with EPF savings kicks the retirement can down the road. YB Wong Chen tallies up the tab from other possible sources of stimulus funding. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

00:29 - The Morning Run team brings you a quick round-up of all the Covid-19 news that happened over the weekend. 03:20 - AirAsia, which was embroiled in corruption allegations as a result of the UK inquiry into Airbus, has cleared its co-founders Tan Sri Tony Fernandez and Datuk Kamarudin Meranun, after the results of an independent inquiry. We speak to P. Gunasegaram, editor-in-chief of Focus Ma...

In conjunction with World Water Day, which is celebrated on March 22nd every year, this morning we take a look at a crucial aspect of the battle against the coronavirus: access to clean water. To do this, we speak to former Minister of Water, Land, and Natural Resources, Dr. Xavier Jayakumar, who has also been a consistent advocate of these issues, for a sense of the situation on the ground, as we...

With the Covid-19 pandemic, will the Summer Olympic games in Japan happen? For the moment, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe looks set to hold the games in July despite the obvious health risks. We speak to Jonathan Berkshire Miller, Senior Fellow at Japan Institute of International Affairs for the reasons behind that mindset while discussing while asking why the country seems to have such low infection r...

Dr Chua Sook Ning, Founder of Relate, recommends what employers can do to support the mental health of their staff and how we can all stay sane in this current time. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With its global reserve currency and safe-haven status, the US dollar has been hitting fresh highs on a daily basis. Saktiandi Supaat, Head of FX Research, Maybank, discusses what this rally means for the Ringgit among other emerging-market currencies. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Majority of e-hailing drivers and food delivery riders have minimal savings. Darryl Chong, Chairman of the Malaysian E-Hailing Drivers Association talks about what we can do to protect its members in this difficult time. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

To battle the economic blow of COVID-19, US President Donald Trump’s administration has backed a $1.3 trillion stimulus package, the stimulus package passed in 2009 was $787 billion, but will this be enough to support the US economy and mitigate the likelihood of a downturn? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Workers’ rights are particularly vulnerable when the govt-imposed Movement Control Order throttles consumption and employers feel the pinch of vastly reduced (or no) cashflow. Some clarity on this critical area comes from Mohan Ramakrishnan a Labour and Industrial Relations lawyer. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.