Morning Brief

In the wake of the Sungai Bakap by-elections, former Penang deputy chief minister and Urimai chairman, P Ramasamy wrote in a Free Malaysia Today article that the level of support among Malaysian Chinese for the Democratic Action Party (DAP) and the ruling government in general has fallen. Discussing this issue with us today is James Chin, Professor of Asian Studies, the University of Tasmania. Ima...

Is China’s consumer spending showing signs of recovery or is it still beholden to a sluggish economy? We discuss what the trends in the e-commerce sector indicate about the health of the Chinese consumer and its major online retail platforms with Catherine Lim of Bloomberg Intelligence. Image Credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Perikatan Nasional retained the Sungai Bakap state seat in Penang with an increased majority over the Pakatan Harapan candidate during last weekend's by-election, during which voter turnout was 63.45%. Ibrahim Suffian, Programme Director at Merdeka Centre analyses the outcome of the election and its impact on Malaysia's political landscape going forward. Image Credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystud...

The second round of voting in the French elections resulted in a surprise outcome: the left-wing coalition, the New Popular Front, was the biggest winner, followed by the centrist alliance of Emmanuel Macron, with the far-right National Rally coming in third. However, with no bloc winning a majority of seats in parliament, what does this mean for the formation of government? We get an analysis fro...

The ASEAN Express, a new international freight train service connecting Malaysia, Thailand, Laos and China, was launched this week to improve trade connectivity between the nations. How much could this contribute to economic growth? We discuss the impact with Dato Prof Dr Ahmad Farhan Mohd Sadullah, Vice Chancellor, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM). Image Credit: shutterstock.com See omnystudi...

The Singapore government seeks to strengthen money-laundering enforcement with the new Anti-Money Laundering and Other Matters Bill being tabled in parliament. Do the amendments go far enough to deter illicit crime? We discuss the implications of the bill with Cliff Lim of Dow Jones. Image Credit: shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As ballots are being tallied in the UK, what do early results tell us about the outcome? We catch up with Patrick Diamond, Professor of Public Policy at Queen Mary, University of London on whether projections of a Labour landslide are hitting the mark. Image Credit: EPA-EFE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

All projections for the UK elections indicate that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and the Conservative party are on the cusp of defeat - but the question is, will it be a wipeout? Ahead of the polls, we catch-up with Philip See who’s in London to gauge the mood of UK voters. Image Credit: freepik.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week the Transport Minister Anthony Loke announced a crackdown on tour buses after a fatal bus crash in Genting Highlands that killed two Chinese tourists. We speak to transport consultant Wan Agyl Wan Hassan about why it had to take a tragic accident to expose the lack of  regulatory oversight on tour buses. Image Credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informat...

Malaysia is among the few countries that have yet to ratified the United Nations Convention Against Torture (UNCAT), despite its endorsement by 173 nations. The official explanation is due to conflicts with existing local laws. We ask Jerald Joseph, Chair of CSO Platform for Reform if this is indeed an impediment and what are the repercussions from this. Image Credit: fabrikasimf / Freepik.com See...

Residents of Tokyo will be voting for their governor this week and the choice is down to incumbent Yuriko Koike of the Liberal Democratic Party, who is hoping to win the post for a third time, and Renho Saito from Japan’s main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party on the seat. William Pesek, a columnist with Nikkei Asia, helps us unpack what might happen in a very significant two-woman race i...

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim announced that SPM students who score 10As, regardless of background, will be guaranteed entry to the matriculation programme without affecting the 90% Bumiputera quota. Will the lifting of restrictions for top scorers improve meritocracy in the education sector? We discuss meritocracy and fairness in pre-university pathways with Dr. Lee Hwok-Aun of the ISEA...

The first round of France's snap parliamentary election has concluded with Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally leading with 34% of the vote, the left-wing New Popular Front coalition with 29%, and President Emmanuel Macron's centrist Ensemble third with 20.5%. Professor Peter McPhee, Emeritus Professor of History at the University of Melbourne, analyzes what might happen when the second round...

The first presidential debate between incumbent Democrat Joe Biden and his Republican challenger Donald Trump has concluded. Biden's performance was less than stellar as Trump spewed lie after lie, addressing few policy issues. Wendy Schiller, a professor of political science at Brown University, reviews what happened and what it might mean for the November presidential race. Image Credit: shutter...

China responding to the tightening restrictions on advanced technology exports from the US and Europe by increasing its self-sufficiency. But are there limits to how much it can build its own advanced tech sector without outside input? We speak to Yoko Kubota of the Wall Street Journal to find out more. Read her exclusive report here:  The Goal for China’s Chip Giant: Cut Out the U.S.  I...

In May 2023, the Inland Revenue Board (IRB) made the decision to withdraw Assunta Hospital’s tax exemption status, because the agency believed that the hospital had violated several conditions of its tax exemption status. Dr Veerinderjeet Singh, Senior Advisor on Tax Policy, KPMG explains who and how to qualify for tax exempt status comes under Section 44 (6) of the Income Tax Act 1967 (ITA)....

Doubts lingered as China’s Chang’e 6 mission aimed to land on the far side of the moon. However, they’ve successfully brought back its rock and soil samples. This success has sparked an intense moon race with the US who has been prominently known to be at the top of its A-game in space exploration. We dive into the tensions of this space race with Clayton Swope, the Deputy Director of Aerospace Se...

The U.S. presidential debate, which is happening three months earlier than the usual cycle is likely to be a fiery event but will the outcome make a difference in this tightly contested race? Dr. Adrian Ang, Research Fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies tells us what to expect and how these octogenarian candidates stack up. Image Credit: shutterstock.com See omnystudio....

The government scored a hat-trick, but not the kind that is celebrated - instead it was a hat-trick of disappointments, as the new Election Commission Chair was announced without any parliamentary oversight as pledged in previous manifestos. We get reactions from Bersih on how the Madani government can make right on their pledges for electoral reform. Image Credit: Gwoeii / Shutterstock.com S...

The National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN) has launched its first-ever loan restructuring campaign,offering a minimum payment of RM300 to encourage borrowers to settle their arrears. Dr Hassanudin Mohd Thas Thaker, Associate Professor, International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM), joins us today in examining the campaign and whether it will successfully solicit more repayments. Ima...

In recent days, Brent crude oil prices have been on an upsurge after a slow start in June. We speak to Vandana Hari, Founder & CEO, Vanda Insights to find out what is driving black gold's price momentum. We also ask about EA's projection of an oil supply glut by 2029 and how that contrasts with OPEC's more optimistic outlook. Image Credit: wirestock / Freepik.com See omnystudio.com/listener fo...

ASEAN has become a beneficiary of trade diversion resulting from US-China tensions, especially in the semiconductor and green technology sectors. However with China being the largest trade partner and the US the biggest investor for most of the region, will ASEAN ultimately lose in prolonged trade tensions? We discuss this with Dr. Maria Monica Wihardja of the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute. Image Cr...

In the last month, the FBMKLCI has corrected by more than 2%.  Andrew San, Head of ASEAN Equities, Amundi Malaysia tells us if there are reasons to be worried or if this presents a buying opportunity. We also try to understand why markets like the Philippines, Thailand and Indonesia are all in negative territory on a year to date basis. Image Credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listen...

Seismic changes are happening at social media platforms, X and TikTok for different reasons. We examine each in detail with Dr. Fahizah Shamsuddin, Programme Director, School of Media and Communication, Taylor’s University to uncover if both can survive in the midst of intense competition and regulatory scrutiny. Image Credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Dual Language Programme (DLP) for the teaching of science and mathematics in English has sparked controversy since it was launched in its current iteration in 2016. Do the new guidelines that require DLP schools to have one class that teaches the two subjects in Bahasa Malaysia strengthen or weaken the aims of the programme? We discuss the issue with Chan Soon Seng of Teach for Malaysia. Image...