Morning Brief

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has just completed a 4-day state visit to China, the first Australian leader to visit the Middle Kingdom in seven years, ending a hiatus triggered by several disputes. Bilateral relations between Canberra and Beijing have been tepid in recent years but this visit appears to have warmed ties somewhat. Richard Mcgregor of the Lowy Institute provides us with some analy...

Some 1,000 lorry drivers in Penang, Kedah and east coast states have been protesting against a crackdown on the overloading of lorries and commercial vehicles since last month, stating that this is unduly harsh on the industry. We discuss the rationale for road transport load limits and ways to improve enforcement efforts while mitigating impact on business activity with transport engineering...

The Home Ministry hopes to table the Drug & Substance Abuse (Prevention, Treatment and Rehabilitation) Act in Parliament next year. The aim is to enable first-time or minor drug offenders to be rehabilitated, instead of being sent straight to prison as per the current practice. Ashwin Thind, Clinical Psychologist at PENGASIH and member of the Malaysian Drug Policy Reform Programme shares with...

The latest quarterly results of the major tech firms were mixed overall, with Microsoft and Amazon exceeding expectations while Alphabet and Tesla disappointed. We discuss the trajectory of tech stocks moving forward with Dan Ives of Wedbush Securities. Image credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Ministry of Natural Resources, Environment, and Climate Change is proposing a mechanism to set water tariffs that allows water operators to determine rates without the need of the Minister’s approval. Dr. Mohmad Asari Daud, President, Malaysian Water Association tells us why this is a step in the right direction and the state of our water assets. Image credit: Bernama See omnystudio.com/listen...

With the US unveiling a new executive order on AI alongside an AI safety summit hosted by the U.K, we ask policy advisor and fintech expert Dr Jonathan Chang on how governments should try to chart a way forward alongside this emerging technology. Image credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As widely expected, Bank Negara maintained the overnight policy rate at 3% in its final meeting of the year. There has been no change to the rate since the last hike in May and with inflation at benign levels, it wasn’t a surprise. But there is competing interest with the ringgit, one the worst performing currencies in the region whilst growth is slowing. What then does this mean for our monetary...

Do international boycotts work? We discuss the proposal by Machang MP Wan Ahmad Fayhsal for Malaysia to boycott the APEC Summit in San Francisco later this month in solidarity with the Palestinian cause with political scientist Dr. Johan Saravanamuttu. Image credit: Bernama See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The government launched the National Nuclear Technology Policy 2030 last month to spur national development including in healthcare, food and agriculture sectors. We speak to Professor Ir. Dr. Nahrul Khair Alang Md Rashid, of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia for his views on the potential of nuclear tech for the country. Image credit: Bernama See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On Tuesday, the Japanese yen declined sharply after The Bank of Japan re-defined the 1% cap on the 10-year yield as a loose "upper bound" rather than a rigid cap. They also kept its short and long term policy rates at ultra low levels even as core inflation in the country exceeded the stated 2% target for 18 consecutive months. William Pesek tells us what is holding them back from rate normalisati...

The government announced in Budget 2024 that it would lift price controls on chicken and eggs. However will this lead to a sudden surge in the cost of living and what control mechanisms need to be in place to prevent adverse price hikes. Datuk Wira Dr Ameer Ali Mydin, Managing Director, Mydin tells us his views and how they will be pricing chickens at his retail chain with chicken prices allowed t...

The directive by the Ministry of Education (MOE) for schools to hold a Palestine Solidarity Week sparked backlash after social media posts showing children and teachers brandishing weapons went viral. We discuss the fallout with Chan Soon Seng, CEO with Teach For Malaysia and how school children can be taught about conflict and humanitarian issues in an appropriate, meaningful way. Image credit: S...

Both the federal and state governments have signalled intentions to strengthen the care economy, with the latest comments from Selangor Menteri Besar Dato Seri Amiruddin Shari this week about introducing a state care economy framework. What kind of policies would ensure due recognition for care work, which is often treated as the unpaid burden of women? We discuss recommendations with Lee Min Hui...

Indonesia flew its first commercial flight using palm oil-blended jet fuel, carrying more than 100 passengers on the Boeing 737 for a journey of 550 kilometres. Steve Saxon, Partner, McKinsey & Company shares with us if flying can ever be green, and his recent report on the recovery of all aviation subsectors. Image credit: Shuttertstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The 10th Singapore-Malaysia Leaders’ Retreat was held this week after a three year hiatus in Singapore. What are the key outcomes of the summit and how will this shape economic relations with our Causeway neighbour moving forward? We speak to economist Walter Theseira for his take on developments to watch. Image credit: Bernama See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Public Accounts Committee’s latest report on pandemic procurement by the Ministry of Health revealed a RM505 million ringgit loss from the expiry of 8.5 million Covid-19 vaccine doses and the shoddy procurement of 136 ventilators by Pharmaniaga Logistics. We speak to Azrul Mohd Khalib, CEO of Galen Centre for Health & Social Policy to understand why this happened and how to balance the nee...

Last week, the speaker of the Dewan Negara, Tan Sri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar proposed for the appointment age of senators to be lowered from 30 years to allow for more youth to be appointed to the upper house. How might changing the demographic composition of the Dewan Negara improve parliamentary democracy, and what other measures would help strengthen the upper house? We discuss proposed reform...

To help businesses navigate global and local ESG standards, Capital Markets Malaysia recently introduced the Simplified ESG Disclosure Guide (SEDG) for SMEs operating within global supply chains. Faroze Nadar, Executive Director, UN Global Compact Network Malaysia & Brunei discusses the challenges for SMEs to adopt ESG practices, and policies that could encourage ESG adoption. Image credit: Sh...

Malaysia’s last attempt to accede to the Rome Statute, which sets up the International Criminal Court, ended in a U-turn in 2019 after intense public backlash. As the war in Gaza continues, is public opinion on Malaysia’s membership to the treaty shifting? We speak to lawyer Andrew Khoo about the implications of ratifying the Rome Statute for Malaysia. Image credit: Shutterstock.com See omnys...

We discuss the outlook for Southeast Asian tech giant with GoTo’s co-founder share sale and Delivery Hero confirming that some parts of Foodpanda are up for sale. Nathan Naidu of Bloomberg Intelligence tells us who's the most likely buyer and which tech giant is poised for a quicker full year breakeven? Image credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Government is working on streamlining the role of the 31 investment promotion agencies which include both federal and state bodies. Aside from reducing costs, this will supposedly help ease the process of foreign and domestic direct investments (FDI and DDI), from application to the realisation of investments. Nordin Abdullah, Vice Chairman of the Malaysia Australian Business Council (MABC) te...

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) have released a joint paper introducing a Shared Responsibility Framework (SRF) for phishing scams. This framework assigns responsibilities to financial institutions and telecommunication companies and mandates compensation to victims if these responsibilities are not met. Raymon Ram, Certified Fraud Examiner...

The threshold for en-bloc sales will be lowered from the current 100% although the final figure has yet to be determined. Allan Soo, Principal of Allan Soo RE Consultants tells us if he thinks this initiative is a good idea and how the rights of property owners can be protected whilst weighing in the recent property initiatives announced in Budget 2024. Image credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudi...

Recently, Transport minister Anthony Loke said that an end of life vehicles policy couldn’t be implemented due to its impracticality and our high reliance on private vehicles. Yet, we still aspire to be a net-zero emissions country by 2050. Daniel Fernandez, Managing Editor of dsf.my tells us if there is a contradiction between these two policies? Image credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/...

Amid the war in Gaza, a digital battle is unfolding on social media platforms. Tech giants have been accused of censoring accounts or actively reducing the reach of pro-Palestine content. In the meantime, fake news and misinformation surrounding this conflict also continues to spread. We speak to Professor Bradley Freeman, Professor of Digital Media, School of Arts at Sunway University about the c...