Morning Brief

Singapore's core inflation decreased to 2.4% in June lower than expectation. It was a similar outcome for Malaysia as  CPI came in held steady at 2.0% YoY. Khoon Goh, Head of Asia Research, ANZ Bank tell us what this means for the central bank policy and it's respective currencies. Image Credit: shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs' aim in developing there Malaysia Open Budget Index was to help the rakyat (and by extension taxpayers) understand how the federal and state budgetary process works. With MyOBI into its second year, Nischal Ranjinath Muniandy, senior executive of research at IDEAS helps us understand why all this is important. Image Credit: Shutterstock.com See omny...

The semiconductor industry has become a critical cog of the global economy, with Malaysia playing its part as a major microchip exporter, but how will our country fare moving forward with different pressures bearing down on the industry? Discussing this with us today is Alissa Rode, Senior Manager, Research, Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS). Image Credit: shutterstock.com See o...

China’s recent cut to the seven-day reverse repo rate aims to boost its struggling economy. With the country facing its slowest growth in over a year, there’s a pressing need for immediate economic support. Gary Ng, APAC Economist, Natixis shares his analysis on how China can balance long-term goals with urgent economic needs and the fiscal policies required to complement the rate cut and ensure s...

US Vice President Kamala Harris appears to be on track to secure the Democratic presidential nomination, but it’s far from certain. What hurdles stand in her way and how does this shake up the November elections? We discuss what to watch for with Prof. John S. Jackson of the University of Illinois, Carbondale.  Image Credit: shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information...

Since earlier this month, university students in Bangladesh have taken to the streets to demonstrate against the country’s government job quota policy, which reserves large percentages of civil service positions to descendants of “freedom fighters”. Subsequently, the protests have escalated in intensity, leading to clashes with the  armed forces, resulting in more than a 100 dead from the vio...

President Joe Biden has withdrawn from the presidential race, claiming that he is doing so in the best interests of the party and the country. He has also endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee to the White House. John Zogby, founder of Zogby Strategies takes us through the different scenarios in the lead up to November 5th when Americans choose their President. Image Cred...

Putrajaya wants to review and strengthen existing cyberbullying laws which have been proven to be inadequate, This was after an individual was fined just RM100 for making offensive social media comments, which led to the tragic death by suicide of a social media influencer. Lawyer, Harpal Singh of T Harpal & Associates, gives us an idea what our existing cyberbullying law are like and how they...

The global tech outage on Friday plunged the world into a pre-technology world that felt unfamiliar and primitive, with flights grounded, health services disrupted, payment systems crashing and access to Microsoft services effectively blocked. It was eventually traced back to a cybersecurity firm called CrowdStrike, which provides software to a wide range of industries. CF Fong, executive chairman...

China's Third Plenum, a once-in-five-years conclave of top officials that usually deals with major economic and political policy changes concluded yesterday. We gleam through the statement for clues as to the future economic direction of the country which faces its own set of structural issues with Koh King Kee, President of the Centre for New Inclusive Asia. Image Credit: Shutterstock.com See omn...

SMEs reported a rather good first quarter boosted by strong consumer spending but now report of higher cost pressures whilst sales have slowed. We ask Chin Chee Seong, National Secretary General, SME Association as to how challenging the situation is on the ground and what measures can be taken by the SMEs to overcome these headwinds. Image Credit: shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for...

The Madani government has signalled that it will table a Freedom of Information bill in Parliament by the end of the year. What should an effective FOI law encompass? We discuss the importance and implications of an FOI law with Dr. Benjamin Loh of Taylor’s University. Image Credit: shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Loan sharks have increasingly turned to digital platforms to extend their reach, with Bukit Aman recently uncovering a loan shark syndicate that recruited henchmen via Facebook ads and then communicated tasks via Whatsapp. Dr Zaharuddin A Rahman, a shariah advisor at shariah consultancy firm, Elzar Shariah Solution, shed some light into how this has been happening and how the public can be more vi...

Bersatu President Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has proposed for top posts to be negotiated rather than voted on during the party elections in October. Will this shore up support for the floundering party? We get an analysis from Dr. Syaza Shukri of the International Islamic University Malaysia. Image Credit: shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

So far, the reign of King Dollar continues with markets still waiting for that elusive Fed rate cut. We speak to Stephen Chiu, Chief Asia FX and Rates Strategist, Bloomberg Intelligence for his outlook for Asian currencies for the rest of 2024 whilst taking a closer look at the Ringgit. Image Credit: EyeEm / Freepik.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Republican National Convention opened today in Milwaukee in the immediate aftermath of the attempted assassination of Donald Trump. How will this shape the trajectory of the US elections this year? We discuss the themes with Mark J. Rozell of George Mason University. Image Credit: EPA-EFE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Reports that Attorney-General Datuk Ahmad Terrirudin Salleh is expected to be appointed as a Federal Court judge, with the possibility of later assuming the role of Chief Judge of Malaya, have raised concerns about executive influence in judicial appointments. Ramkarpal Singh, a former deputy minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform), shares his concerns on what th...

The Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) foresees local e-commerce revenue achieving RM1.65 trillion by 2025. This is supported by Shopee's latest data indicating that Gen Zs prefer to shop online versus at physical stores. Ganesh Kumar Bangah, an advisor and former chairman of the National Tech Association of Malaysia (PIKOM), shares his insights. Image Credit: freepik.com See omnystudio.c...

Following the 19th Indian General Elections in June, Narendra Modi has become prime minister for a third consecutive term. However, his National Democratic Alliance, while winning 294 seats in the 543-seat Lok Sabha, still garnered far fewer than they expected. Dr Rahul Mishra, Associate Professor at the Centre for Indo-Pacific Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi shares his analysis....

The US election season has taken a dark turn, after former US President Donald Trump became the target of an attempted assassination at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on Saturday. We get reactions on these developments and what it means for the presidential campaign moving forward from independent pollster John Zogby. Image Credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informat...

Datuk Zaliha Mustafa, Minister for the Federal Territories recently reaffirmed the government's commitment to the River of Life urban rejuvenation project, citing 81% completion. But with the latest Auditor General's report revealing shocking delays and missed objectives, what went wrong and how can this be fixed? We get reactions from Datuk Mumtaz Ali of Save Kuala Lumpur. Image Credit: Shutterst...

China’s top leaders will gather from July 15th to 18th for a highly anticipated meeting known as the Third Plenum, as this once-in-five-years conclave of top officials usually deals with major economic and political policy changes. Richard McGregor, Senior Fellow at Lowey Institute gives his perspective. Image Credit: shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bank Negara Malaysia's Policy Document on Licensing and Regulatory Framework for Digital Insurers and Takaful Operators was released this week. It will no longer limit the number of licences to just 5, but will go to any digital insurer and takaful operator that meets its requirements. Vincent Fong, Chief Editor & Country Manager of Fintech News Malaysia, explains the impact of this on Malaysi...

The 75th anniversary of NATO is being marked by a three-day summit in Washington D.C. with the spotlight on the challenges in supporting Ukraine in the prolonged conflict with Russia, deepening relations with Indo-Pacific partners amid US-China tensions, and how the next US president could shape the future of the body. We discuss these themes with Chong Ja Ian of the NUS.  Image Credit: shutt...

Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Johari Abdul has ruled that the former 6 Bersatu MPs who pledged their support for Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim can retain their seats. Does this then undermine the anti-party hopping law? We get reactions from political scientist Dr. Wong Chin Huat of Sunway University.  Image Credit: Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.