Morning Brief

Ahead of its 72nd Muktamar in Kota Bharu, PAS has formally invited top UMNO leaders while closing the door on long-time ally Bersatu. Following months of warming ties and joint momentum across recent state elections, the Islamist party is attempting to balance grassroots frictions, seat allocation battles, and its own image as a ready-to-government national party. Dr. Azmil Tayeb, Political Scient...

Ahead of Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh’s debut Jackson Hole address, financial markets remain obsessed with categorising him as either a hawk or a dove. But framing his monetary policy through conventional labels misses a much larger structural shift underway at the Fed. Dr. Ray Choy, Chief Economist at MARC Ratings, joins BFM’s Morning Brief to explore the policy philosophy driving Warsh's de...

With less than ten weeks to go before the US midterm elections, all 435 House seats and one-third of the Senate are on the ballot. Against a backdrop of sliding approval ratings, persistent inflation, high interest rates, and foreign policy challenges, the elections are shaping up to be a critical referendum on President Donald Trump’s second term. Ambassador Robert Blake, Senior Managing Director...

Following Selangor’s overall victory at Sukma 2026, the state government declared September 1st a special public holiday, leaving private sector employers scrambling on short notice and workers unsure of their legal rights. Victor Gan, CEO of E2 Workforce Consulting, joins BFM’s Morning Brief to clear up the legal confusion for both employers and employees. Tune in to discover: Are private sector...

A glacial collapse on the Nepal-Tibet border sent flash floods tearing through villages last Wednesday — but what actually triggered it, and were there warnings that went ignored? Search teams are still working, with hundreds of bodies recovered, more than a thousand people still missing, and Wisma Putra confirming 55 Malaysians among those unaccounted for. It's at least the third glacial lake or...

Bitcoin has surged more than 20% over the past week, crossing back above the US$80,000 mark before settling just below it. Is this simply a reactionary rebound, or something more durable amid the so-called debasement trade? Hann Liew, Founder and CEO of Halogen Capital, joins BFM’s Morning Brief to explore how a coiled crypto market was ignited by policy headlines, Treasury intervention, and recor...

Is the AI infrastructure race creating a dangerous subprime-style debt bubble? While Wall Street worries over massive CAPEX and corporate debt issuance among big tech hyperscalers, new growth engines are rapidly opening up across sovereign clouds, neo-clouds, and Southeast Asian optical hardware suppliers. Jonathan Curtis, Portfolio Manager at Franklin Equity Group, joins BFM’s Morning Brief to ex...

Satellite imagery reviewed by Reuters this week shows new Chinese installations on an islet near Antelope Reef in the disputed Paracels, shortly after Beijing completed the first phase of an artificial island at the reef — infrastructure analysts say could eventually support a larger military presence. Confrontations with the Philippines are growing more frequent, and Manila is responding by expan...

Malaysia welcomed over 21 million international visitors in the first half of 2026, a 2.5% rise on last year. But the headline growth masks a harder story: geopolitical tensions in West Asia forced the cancellation of more than 4,000 scheduled flights, pulling seat capacity below projections, even as arrivals from Singapore, China and North America held the numbers up. With Visit Malaysia Year now...

The government is reportedly fast-tracking a new e-Commerce Bill to replace the Electronic Commerce Act 2006, arguing that the current legislation no longer meets the needs of today’s digital economy. Ganesh Kumar Bangah, Executive Chairman of Commerce. Asia, joins BFM’s Morning Brief to explore what a modernised regulatory framework must address and deliver. Image Credit: Shutterstock See omnystu...

Bursa Malaysia and FTSE Russell are expanding the FBM KLCI from 30 to 50 constituents in its biggest index overhaul in 17 years. Peter Kong, Head of Research at Kenanga Investment Bank, joins BFM’s Morning Brief to explore: Whether this expansion materially changes Malaysia's capital market appeal or if it is largely symbolic. How reducing banking sector dominance lowers overall index volatility w...

The US and Canada have one of the world's most deeply integrated trading relationships, but tariff threats and tensions over sovereignty have pushed the two neighbours into an escalating trade war. Steven Okun, Founder & CEO of APAC Advisors, discusses how the negotiations broke down and what this means for the future of USMCA and the world. Image Credit: Pexels See omnystudio.com/listener for...

The US has launched a fresh wave of sanctions against Iran, warning countries they must choose between doing business with Washington or Tehran. Nader Habibi, Professor of the Economics of the Middle East at Brandeis University, talks about whether the latest campaign can really squeeze Iran's economy, and how Tehran is coping as the war drags on. Image Credit: EPA Images See omnystudio.com/listen...

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s remarks that Taiwan is part of China have raised questions about Malaysia’s long-standing One China policy, and if Putrajaya is moving closer to Beijing’s position. Chong Ja Ian, Associate Professor of Political Science at the National University of Singapore shares his perspectives on this. Image Credit: EPA Images See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy...

Shein is expected to debut on the Hong Kong stock exchange next Tuesday (Sept 1), seeking to raise up to US$1.8 billion in its long-awaited IPO. Reports from Bloomberg point to a target valuation between US$25 billion and US$27 billion, marking a steep decline from its peak US$100 billion valuation in 2022. So why has Shein’s valuation fallen so drastically? Catherine Lim, Senior Industry Analyst...

Today August 24 is Ukraine' Independence Day, its fifth amid its ongoing war with Russia. His Excellency Dr Hennadii Nadolenko, the Ambassador of Ukraine to Malaysia, shares with us what its like for his country to celebrate such a significant day in the thick of war. He also shares the latest developments of the conflict. Image Credit: EPA Images See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informatio...

Calls for reforming constituency development funding are gathering pace, and the recent additional RM1 million fails to fix the underlying issues of executive discretion and unequal funding. Ngeow Chow Ying, Co-Convenor of Projek SAMA, joins BFM’s Morning Brief to discuss why legislating a fair, transparent Constituency Development Fund (CDF) framework is essential for closing local development ga...

US President Donald Trump’s directive to scale back the annual Ulchi Freedom Shield military exercises with South Korea marks a significant tactical shift in Washington's foreign policy approach. Dr. Gabriela Bernal, Korean Affairs Analyst and Non-resident Fellow at the European Centre for North Korean Studies, joins BFM’s Morning Brief to analyse this development. She addresses critical questions...

The Strait of Hormuz remains effectively contested following the expiry of the US-Iran ceasefire agreement, while renewed Houthi activity is threatening shipping through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. Despite some tankers continuing to navigate these critical waterways, Brent crude has climbed above US$91 a barrel as markets weigh the risk of deeper supply disruption. How much oil is still getting thro...

Foreign investors pulled RM5.6 billion out of Malaysia's bond market in July — a sharp reversal from the RM4.9 billion they put in just a month earlier. The selling was concentrated in longer-dated government securities, driven largely by surging US Treasury yields, even as corporate bonds kept attracting foreign money for a fifth straight month. It's a useful reminder of how tightly Malaysian yie...

The Malaysian Cabinet has tasked the Finance Ministry to study a hybrid approach to GST and SST, but what could merging these two tax frameworks actually look like in practice? Dr. Veerinderjeet Singh, Senior Advisor on Tax Policy at KPMG Malaysia, joins BFM’s Morning Brief to explore whether a hybrid tax model can fix existing SST inefficiencies and criticisms, without adding new administrative l...

Parti Bersama Malaysia is making another bid for electoral relevance, fielding 15 candidates in the Melaka state election after failing to win a seat in Johor. The party argues that voters need an alternative to Malaysia’s established political blocs, but it still faces questions over where its support will come from and whether it risks further fragmenting the opposition vote. Can Bersama turn Me...

Six of ASEAN's biggest economies just reported second-quarter growth, and the split is stark. Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam and Indonesia all beat consensus on the back of the global AI supply chain — Singapore's full-year forecast was hiked from 2–4% all the way to 4.5–5.5%, and Malaysia clocked 6%. Thailand and the Philippines went the other way, caught on the frontline of the energy crisis. We s...

Think tank IDEAS released its Malaysia Open Budget Index 2026, evaluating all 13 states. Ahmad Abi Shifa Mohd Hassan, Assistant Manager for Research at IDEAS, joins BFM’s Morning Brief to unpack why Terengganu led in transparency while Selangor topped legislative oversight, and how a methodology overhaul affected overall state scores despite broader improvements in document disclosure. He discusse...

The government is reviewing the RM1,700 monthly minimum wage to determine whether it still meets workers’ needs. Dr Geoffrey Williams, an economist, founder and director of Williams Business Consulting, shares his views on this and if the latest proposal have its desired effect of raising workers’ wages without harming businesses. Image Credit: Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy...