Morning Brief

The Housing & Local Government Ministry is looking to set up escrow accounts for housing projects to ensure payments by homebuyers are used solely for the properties they have bought. The current practice allows a developer to use purchasers' funds for any of their projects. Adriana Abu, the legal advisor of the National Homebuyers' Association Malaysia shares her views on this proposal. Image...

Today marks the last day of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Illinois. As Kamala Harris will be making an appearance later, most likely to close out the event, we speak to Mark Rozell, Dean, Schar School of Policy and Government, George Mason University to discuss what issues he might touch on. Image Credit: shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has just wrapped up a three-day official visit to India, holding meetings with his counterpart Narendra Modi. Both leaders have also agreed to elevate their relationship from an enhanced strategic partnership to a comprehensive strategic partnership. Rahul Mishra, Associate Professor, at the Centre for Indo-Pacific Studies of Jawaharlal Nehru University shar...

Malaysia is investing RM10.7 billion in 62 new passenger trains for Keretapi Tanah Melayu Bhd (KTMB). Transport Minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook confirmed that no KTMB staff will lose their jobs, with costs covered through a 30-year lease with China. Professor Muhammad Zaly Shah, Professor of Transportation Planning and Logistics, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia discusses the impact of this investmen...

The government has announced that a carbon tax will not be introduced in Budget 2025. However, Investment, Trade, and Industry Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz says Putrajaya is considering implementing the tax in the future and is currently studying the rollout mechanism. How should Malaysia balance efforts to reduce emissions without compromising the financial health of local compani...

The Public Accounts Committee has proposed that the government implement a salary cap for federal statutory bodies. This is to prevent agencies from paying excessive salaries to their top executives and reduce discrepancies in pay across different bodies. Dr Muhammad Mohan, the President of Transparency International Malaysia shares his views. Image Credit: shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/list...

The 2024 Democratic National Convention this week will conclude on Thursday, Aug 22, with Kamala Harris formally nominated as the party's presidential candidate. Speakers included president Joe Biden, former president Barack Obama and the party's 2016 presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. Adrian Ang, Research Fellow at the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies shares his assessment of the m...

Thailand’s new Prime Minister, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, is inheriting a country that has seen a lower level of economic growth compared to its peers in the region for the past few years. Nonetheless, the Thai economy has been perking up as seen in data from the second quarter of 2024. What sort of policies might her government implement to sustain the apparent positive signs in Thailand’s economy,...

China's uncertain economic growth has led to a rally in the bond market as investors look for safe haven assets. However regulators are concerned about a bubble but will their measures to curb this market be effective. Alex Muscatelli, Director of the Economics Group at Fitch Ratings tells us whilst weighing in on the impact a China slowdown will have on Asian sovereigns. Image Credit: shutterstoc...

The Nenggiri state by-election in Kelantan saw Barisan Nasional beating Perikatan Nasional with a 3,352 vote majority in a straight fight. Political scientist, Dr Azmil Tayeb, associate professor at Universiti Sains Malaysia analyses the results with PN marking its worst by-election performance since GE15 and whether or not this signals a resurgent BN and Umno. Image Credit: shutterstock.com See o...

Last Friday Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim announced salary increases ranging from 7 to 15 percent for the civil service. We speak to Dr Lee Hwok-Aun, Senior Fellow at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute whether the pay hikes are justified and the possible implications for economic growth and productivity.   Image Credit: shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy info...

China has been exerting its influence in the South Pacific where nations like Kiribati, Nauru and the Solomon Islands have switched their alliances from Taipei to Beijing. Graeme Smith, a senior fellow at the Department of Pacific Affairs of Australian National University shares his analysis on what China is doing in the global geopolitical scheme of things. Image Credit: shutterstock.com See omny...

Malaysia’s top two banks were fined a combined RM5 million for prolonged service disruptions that breached financial services laws. We discuss the implications of the penalties imposed on service delivery with Ling Kay Yeow, Partner at Ernst & Young Consulting.  Image Credit: shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In January this year, Malaysia and Singapore signed a MOU on the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (SEZ), which aims to boost cross-border economic connectivity. However, talks of incentives are still ongoing, with the Johor government proposing that the Forest City Special Financial Zone (SFZ) be included within the SEZ. We speak to Francis Hutchinson, Senior Fellow, Institute of Southeast As...

The World Health Organization has declared a global public health emergency due to the Mpox outbreak in Africa, with over 14,000 cases reported this year. Due to the limited availability of doses, vaccination campaigns are expected to be delayed until October. We’ll dive into the details of this disease with Prof. Paul Ananth Tambyah, President of the International Society for Infectious Diseases....

Thailand’s Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin has been removed from office after a court ruled he had violated the constitution, in a shock decision that plunges the kingdom into further political uncertainty. This move was a surprise to many including Thai observers as Thavison had only been in power for slightly less than a year. Michael Montesano, Associate Senior Fellow, ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institu...

Last month, Indonesia raised the minimum age to purchase cigarettes from 18 to 21 in a bid to lower the prevalence of smoking and curb underage smokers. Should Malaysia consider a similar policy? We discuss initiatives to combat nicotine use with healthcare policy expert Azrul Mohd Khalib. Image Credit: shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announcing his resignation in September, his early departure concludes his leadership of the LDP. Despite his efforts to enhance Japan's defence and US ties, his tenure has been marred by a major corruption scandal. We discuss the implications of his resignation on Japan's future with William Pesek, Columnist, Nikkei Asia Image Credit: shutterstock.com See omnystu...

Underlying US inflation as measured by the core CPI is at its slowest pace since 2021. Is this the confirmation that the Federal Reserve needs to cut rates in September? Tony Nash, CEO of Complete Intelligence tells us his view. Image Credit: shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Digital Minister Gobind Singh has reported that Malaysia lost a total of 3.8 billion ringgit to online scams involving more than 98,000 people from 2021 to April 2024. With that, the government will be introducing new legislation to protect data whilst banks will be beefing up their account opening procedures. Raymond Ram, Certified Fraud Examiner and Anti-Money Laundering Specialist, Graymatter F...

The government recently announced that it is looking to enhance protections for intimate partner violence (IPV) beyond the Domestic Violence Act 1994. We speak to lawyer Nooradila Abdul Aziz about the gaps in the current law and recommendations to strengthen action on domestic violence, IPV and stalking. Image Credit: shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Despite Indonesia’s outgoing president Joko Widodo convening is first Cabinet meeting in the country's planned new capital on Monday, Nusantara is still some way away from being completed. Made Supriatma, Visiting Fellow, Indonesia Studies Programme at the ISEAS Yusof Ishak Institute shares his insights into the challenges this ambitious project to carve a new city from the jungles of Borneo and t...

The Malaysian contingent has returned from the Paris Olympics with only two bronze medals. We speak to Haresh Deol, Editor of the online portal Twentytwo13 for an objective post-mortem on the performance of our athletes and more importantly, what needs to be done differently for us to win our first gold medal at the 2028 Los Angeles games. Image Credit: shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener...

Three Malaysiakini journalists were questioned by the police last week to reveal their anonymous sources in their report on high-profile transfers in the police force. What does this signal about the government's stance on media freedom? We speak to Premesh Chandran, Malaysiakini co-founder and also the chairperson of the Malaysian Media Council pro-tem committee about the laws protecting journali...

Singapore’s three domestic banks, DBS, UOB, and OCBC, are facing a shift in their earnings trajectory, as they grapple with narrowing net interest margins and slower lending growth. Sarah Jane Mahmud, a senior analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence shares her outlook for the sector amid a potential US rate cut, the recent market volatility and ongoing geopolitical tensions. Image Credit: shutterstock.c...