Morning Brief

Deep reflection occurs at PKR’s Annual Congress as the party changes tack after being on the opposition benches for 25 years. The economy remains the focus while leadership manages dissent and dissatisfaction among the grassroot. Will PKR find its true north without damaging its alliances in the Unity Government? We speak with Syaza Farhana Mohamad Shukri, Associate Professor at the International...

China is seeing a spike in respiratory illnesses and pneumonia cases, especially among children, evoking nightmares of the Covid-19 pandemic. However, the World Health Organisation has explained that this is not due to any novel virus but rather due to extended lockdowns having affected their natural immunity. Dr Vinod Balasubramaniam, an associate professor at the Jeffrey Cheah School of Medicine...

More than 141,000 eligible voters will again vote for their Dewan Rakyat representative in the Kemaman constituency after the Terengganu Election Court's decision in September, invalidated the victory of the PAS candidate in GE15. Adib Zalkapli, Director at BowerGroupAsia analyses how the Barisan Nasional-Perikatan Nasional battle this weekend will pan out. Image credit: Shutterstock.com See omnys...

The three-member panel at the Court of Appeal has decided that, vernacular schools in Malaysia are constitutional. And that the use of Chinese or Tamil in national-type schools is protected by Article 152 of the Federal Constitution. Firdaus Husni, Chief Human Rights Strategist, Malaysian Centre for Constitutionalism and Human Rights (MCCHR) tell us the impact of this ruling whilst also looking at...

Public trust and confidence in charities has been shaken due to alleged governance issues at a large NGO. Many will start questioning how much of their donated funds do end up at the target beneficiary. We speak to Raymon Ram, Certified Fraud Examiner & Anti-Money Laundering Specialist, Graymatter Forensic Advisory to understand that compliance checking is everyone's responsibility. Image cred...

China's property woes continue to be of concern with shadow banking giant Zhongzhi Enterprise Group disclosing last week that it was severely insolvent, revealing a shortfall amounting to USD36.4 billion, which authorities are currently investigating. Louise Loo, China Economist with Oxford Economics, talks to us about how this fallout might impact the overall economy. Image credit: Shutterstock.c...

According to the latest data from the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM), Malaysia recorded a cumulative total of nearly 6 million graduates in 2022, with labour force participation of 85% and an unemployment rate of 3.7%. Are these healthy labour stats and do the headline numbers belie the problem of underemployment among Malaysian graduates? We discuss the data and graduate hiring trends w...

The cryptocurrency industry has been plagued by scandals and investigations. This month, we saw two of its figureheads, FTX's Sam Bankman-Fried and Binance's Changpeng Zhao brought down by criminal proceedings. What do these scandals mean for the broader crypto world? Sam Reynolds, senior reporter at Coin Desk shares his thoughts on the matter. Image credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/lis...

Thailand’s GDP expanded 1.5% on-year, in the 3rd quarter of 2023, less than the 1.8% reported in Q2 and lower than economist estimates. This was despite robust domestic consumption and steady tourism recovery. What’s weighing down the Thai economy and how might the Thavisin government respond? We discuss the outlook for our northern neighbour with Erica Tay of Maybank Singapore. Image credit: Shut...

Malaysia dreams of developing her own EV and in the meantime has banned the import of such vehicles costing under RM100,000 until that happens. There are also worries that the charging infrastructure may be unable to support the needs of this industry. Datuk Shahrol Halmi, President of the Malaysian Electric Vehicle Owners’ Club shares his perspective. Image credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio...

Recently, it was revealed that the total assets under management (AUM) exposure for GLICs on Bursa Malaysia is around 451 billion ringgit, around 25% of the market’s total equity value. This comes as the ringgit is plumbing new depths against the USD. Independent business writer, P Gunasegaram, shares his thoughts on how efficiency and governance at these GLICs can be improved to bring about bette...

Sarawak Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg unveiled the state’s largest-ever budget for 2024, totaling 12.4 billion ringgit. Professor Dr. Evan Lau, Head of Strategy, Faculty of Economics and Business, University Malaysia Sarawak tells us what are the drivers of the state's economy and the development gaps. Image credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

India is due to release its second quarter GDP results next week, which some economists have estimated could come in as high as 7% growth. What’s buoying the world’s fifth largest economy, at a time when the outlook for major economies like the US, China, Japan and the Eurozone is less optimistic? We discuss the trends with Sanjay Mathur, Chief Economist for India and Southeast Asia with ANZ Bank....

The Fed minutes reveal that it's still maintaining their hawkish policy for the moment due to sticky inflation and its resolve to bring inflation down to long-term target rate of 2%. What does this mean for the other investment asset classes especially since treasury yields have increased in tandem. Francis Tan, Investment Strategist with UOB tells us the answer whilst weighing in on the ideal inv...

The deadline for candidates to register in Taiwan’s presidential election is just days away, and the opposition is in disarray. Having failed to come to a consensus on a joint presidential candidate, there are doubts on the ability of the two main opposition parties - the KMT and the TPP - to unseat the ruling Democratic Progressive Party. Brian Hioe, Co-Founding Editor of New Bloom Magazine share...

Singapore has seen a tremendous rise in family offices, from 400 in 2020 to more than 1,100 today. The government is embracing this segment by providing incentives for Ultra High Net Worth Individuals to set up family offices there, challenging Hong Kong’s traditional role as Asia’s financial centre. Loh Kia Meng of Dentons Rodyk & Davidson discusses the island state's strategy in attracting i...

J-KOM’s main focus is to assist the federal government in disseminating information to the people but it has been also accused of being a propaganda machine. Dr Benjamin Loh, Senior Lecturer, School of Media and Communication, Taylor's University tells us if it's time to revamp it with new objectives in light of the many competing government agencies. Image credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio....

MIC and DAP recently concluded their conventions with very different messaging. We check in with Dr. James Chin, Professor of Asian Studies, University of Tasmania on his take on the future of these political parties and their place in this Unity Government. Image credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

OpenAI's 4-member board's sacking of its CEO Sam Altman and co-founder Greg Brockman, led to Microsoft hiring them both a couple of days later to lead an AI research team. The fallout to what OpenAI did continues as over 700 of its staff threatened to resign if the pair are not reinstated. Dan Ives, Managing Director, Wedbush Securities, talks about the repercussions from these developments. Image...

Libertarian economist Javier Milei emerged the overwhelming victor in Sunday’s Argentine presidential elections, defeating his Peronist rival and Economy Minister Sergio Massa by 11% of the vote. Milei campaigned for economic shock therapy to reform Argentina’s beleaguered economy - what does this bode for the country’s policy direction? We discuss the election outcome with political scientist Dr....

Putrajaya has renegotiated with selected concessionaires aiming to avoid toll hikes for 19 highways, as part of the government's election pledge. This means the concession period may be extended for at least 30 years longer. Shahrim Tamrin, Senior Journalist with the Vibes, and a former board of directors member at the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (MIROS), joins us to analyse this i...

Malaysia’s Q3 GDP expanded by 3.3% year on-year, better than the 2.9% gain in Q2. Lavanya Venkateswaran, Senior ASEAN Economist at OCBC breaks down the factors affecting this performance and what we can expect going forward. Image credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Amid reports that a deal was imminent for the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas, US President Joe Biden put forth a US vision for post-war Gaza governed by a revitalised Palestinian Authority. How realistic are these plans? We discuss current developments in the Israel-Hamas war with Middle East expert Dr. James Dorsey. Image credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy...

Recent clashes in Myanmar between ethnic resistance groups and the military junta in border areas of the country have raised questions about the strength of the current regime. Are we seeing a turning point in the Myanmar crisis? Jason Tower of the United States Institute of Peace weighs in on developments. Image credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Investment, Trade & Industry Ministry has implemented a 2-year moratorium to study challenges faced by the local iron and steel industry and update the industry’s direction in line with the New Industrial Master Plan 2030. The temporary suspension will affect all aspects of the iron and steel industry’s manufacturing licence processes, like new applications, licence transfers, expansions a...