Morning Brief

Gig workers are set to receive stronger protections under the newly passed Gig Workers Bill. Dato’ Freddie Fernandez, President of the Malaysian Artistes’ Association (Karyawan), welcomed the move, highlighting the tripartite council established to determine income and working conditions as a key benefit for workers in the entertainment sector. Image Credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/lis...

The EU-ASEAN Business Council has just released the latest iteration of its Business Sentiment Survey, which showed that ASEAN remains a bright spot in the eyes of EU businesses. Chris Humphrey, Executive Chairman of the Council joins us to discuss some of the survey’s findings. Image Credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nepal’s Prime Minister Sharma Oli has been forced to step down after fierce protests left 22 people dead and more than 100 injured, with roads blocked and parliament along with other government buildings set on fire. We’ll be speaking to Dr. Amit Ranjan, Research Fellow at the Institute of South Asian Studies, National University of Singapore, to discuss the political situation in the Himalayan na...

Last year, PTPTN launched the Lestari Pendidikan Campaign to encourage borrowers to repay their higher education loans via restructuring programs. Ahmad Dasuki bin Abdul Majid, Chief Executive of PTPTN tells us about how the campaign works, and how successful it's been. Image Credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) remains at the heart of Malaysia’s retirement system, but with RM145bn withdrawn during the pandemic, many Malaysians are ill prepared for retirement. We speak to Dr. Paul Anthony, Senior Lecturer,  Faculty of Business & Law, Taylor’s University to find out what measures can be taken to overcome this issue against a backdrop of an aging population. Image...

The Digital Ministry and Transport Ministry have announced plans to introduce new legislation for autonomous vehicles (AVs), aimed at ensuring safety and establishing clear standards before driverless cars are allowed on Malaysian roads. Dr Law Teik Hua, Associate Professor, Universiti Putra Malaysia tell us the challenges of drating and implementing this legislation. Image Credit: Shutterstock.co...

The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) remains at the heart of Malaysia’s retirement system, but with RM145bn withdrawn during the pandemic, many Malaysians are ill prepared for retirement. We speak to Dr. Paul Anthony, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Business & Law, Taylor’s University to find out what measures can be taken to overcome this issue against a backdrop of an aging population. Image Credi...

Thailand’s new Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul steps in amid weak growth, with just four months before voters return to the polls. With GDP forecasts at only 1.8% to 2.3% this year, what can he do to revive the economy within a short timeframe? Krystal Tan, Economist at ANZ Bank, weighs in on what lies ahead. Image Credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Bersatu AGM was overshadowed by a scuffle during party President Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin's policy speech, which revealed frictions over the leadership of the party. Despite this, Muhyiddin Yassin was retained as the President and Prime Minister candidate for Bersatu. Does he represent the PN coalition overall? We discuss this with political scientist Dr. Azmil Mohd Tayeb. Image Credit: Shutte...

On Sunday, Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba announced his resignation after less than a year in office following election losses. Who will emerge as the next leader, and what does this mean for Japan’s political landscape? We speak with Prof. Alexis Dudden, Visiting Professor, Department of Japanese Studies, National University of Singapore. Image Credit: Shutterstock.co m See omnystudio.com/...

In France, Prime Minister François Bayrou has become the fourth to fall in just three years. This marks a deepening of a crisis that threatens President Emmanuel Macron’s ability to steer the country through mounting economic and geopolitical pressures. Dr Benjamin Barton, Associate Professor, University of Nottingham Malaysia tells us what to expect next and is France doomed to repeat this politi...

Google dodged a major penalty last week as a US court stopped short of breaking up the company in the case regarding its search engine monopoly. We speak to Dr. Rob Nicholls, Senior Research Associate in Media and Communications from the University of Sydney, about what this ruling means for parent company Alphabet and the wider tech industry. Image Credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/list...

Malaysia’s two pre-university pathways — STPM and matriculation — may need reform, as the tougher and longer STPM syllabus puts its students at a disadvantage. Bayan Baru MP Sim Tze Tzin suggests short-term solutions such as introducing a common entry exam for both streams or giving greater weighting to STPM results. Image Credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informatio...

The Urban Renewal Bill 2025 has sparked debate as it may concentrate too much power in the minister, favour developers, and leave homeowners vulnerable. Acknowledging these risks, seven PKR MPs have called for the Bill to be reviewed and only retabled when the Dewan Rakyat reconvenes in October. We speak to Dato' Muhammad Bakhtiar Wan Chik, MP for Balik Pulau, who is among the MPs that co-signed t...

Bank Negara Malaysia has kept the overnight policy rate unchanged at 2.75% in its second-last review of the year, as widely expected. The decision follows a pre-emptive 25-basis-point cut in July, the first since July 2020. Firdaos Rosli, Chief Economist, AmBank Group tells us his monetary policy expectations and also the economic outlook for Malaysia. Image Credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio...

Paetongtarn Shinawatra became the latest casualty of Thai politics in her family after she was removed as Prime Minister by the Thai Constitutional Court last week. What does this mean for the once-powerful Shinawatra dynasty and can the new Prime Minister, Anutin Charnvirakul of the BJP steer the country to steadier waters? We discuss this with Dr. Greg Raymond of ANU. Image Credit: Shutterstock....

Digital Minister Gobind Singh Deo has announced that all liabilities of Digital Nasional Bhd (DNB) will be fully borne by its three shareholder telcos — CelcomDigi, Maxis, and YTL Power International — once the government divests from the company. To unpack the implications of this move, we’ll be speaking with Ng Zhu Hann, CEO and Founder of investment firm Tradeview Capital. Image Credit: Shutter...

China has hosted world leaders including Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un for its 80th Victory Day parade in Beijing, marking the end of World War II and Japan’s surrender. It was intended to showcase China's military might and global influence. Richard McGregor, a senior fellow at the Lowy Institute, talks about what a potential Beijing-led new world order might look like. Image Credit: Shutterstoc...

Second Finance Minister Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah announced that the government is drafting a new tax incentive framework to attract more high-value investments. Dr. Veerinderjeet Singh, Senior Adviser on Tax Policy at KPMG. With the shifting global order and intense competition among governments for capital, are tax incentives the best tool for Malaysia to position itself as a preferred investment d...

Widespread protests in Indonesia have stretched on for a fortnight, while uncertainty over who will lead Thailand after Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra was removed last week, have rocked these two nations' economies. Rena Kwok, a credit analyst for Asian financials at Bloomberg Intelligence, shares her insights into how financial institutions in this region are reacting. Image Credit: Shutte...

The Indonesian government is moving to ease public concerns over economic hardship and lawmakers’ housing perks. Lavanya Venkateswaran, Senior ASEAN Economist at OCBC, expects the economy to stay on track with 4.7% growth, supported by another policy rate cut from the central bank. Image Credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As Malaysians face rising living costs, the government has rolled out the SARA cash aid program and is set to introduce a targeted RON95 petrol subsidy for eligible households and motorists. Are these initiatives enough to ease the economic burden? We speak with Prof. Emeritus Datuk Dr. Norma Mansor, Director of the Social Wellbeing Research Centre at the University of Malaya. Image Cred...

President Donald Trump is taking a sledgehammer to the notion of Federal Reserve independence by putting immense political pressure on the central bank to cut interest rates. How might the loss of an independent Fed affect the US economy and market sentiment? We discuss this with Mark Spindel, Chief Investment Officer of Potomac River Capital. He co-authored the book "The Myth of Independence: How...

Despite having an estimated 16.1 million metric tonnes of rare earth elements, Malaysia has struggled to build a competitive industry. With China offering technical assistance, can the country boost its position in the global REE market? To explore this, we speak with Trung Ghi, Partner and Head of Energy & Utilities at Arthur D. Little Asia Pacific. Image Credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystud...

Protests have broken out in different parts of Indonesia and have grown increasingly violent and chaotic, even deadly. Erin Cook, a journalist for Southeast Asian Affairs based in Jakarta shares her views on how demonstrations over the government's spending policies escalated after the accidental death of a food delivery rider and where we are today. Image Credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.c...