Morning Brief

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is committed to a fiscal deficit target of 3.2 percent of gross domestic product in 2025. In order to achieve this, he will need fiscal and procurement discipline, and 2 new legislations should help, with the Government Procurement Act and Fiscal Responsibility Act mooted. To help us understand the new legislations, we speak with Sri Murniati Yusuf, Chief Op...

Recently, Malaysiakini released a five-part series on the issue of statelessness in the country. One of the stories featured was about a stateless boy in Sabah with HIV who passed away after skipping and delaying his HIV treatments due to expensive payments required by the hospital. We ask Dr Hartini Zainuddin, Co-Founder of Yayasan Chow Kit how many more are impacted and what the remedy is. Image...

For the 1st half of this year, Malaysia has attracted 132.6 billion ringgit in approved investments, with the top countries being Singapore, Japan, the Netherlands, and China. Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI) Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Utama Zafrul Aziz is confident that approved investments will hit the annual target of 220 billion ringgit. Today we speak with Nordin Abdullah, Vi...

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim made a whirlwind day trip to China on Sunday, marking his second official visit in just 6 months. Angeline Tan, Researcher in the Foreign Policy and Security Studies Programme, ISIS Malaysia discusses the main outcomes of the visit, as well as the policy priorities of President Xi Jinping. Image credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privac...

The gig economy is becoming an increasingly attractive option for school leavers who want to earn an income without pursuing a tertiary education. But is this a sustainable livelihood and how might this trend impede efforts to become a high-income nation? We discuss the phenomena and policy recommendations that should be considered with  Prof. Dr. Chin Yee Whah of Universiti Sains Malaysia. I...

Putrajaya has agreed in principle to enact a Freedom of Information Act that will set out clear parameters and guidelines to grant members of the public access to obtain information from the government and other public agencies or companies. This means the Official Secrets Act will see some amendments too. Dr Benjamin Loh, Senior Lecturer, School of Media and Communication, Taylor's University, sh...

According to the Department of Statistics (DOSM), Malaysian women earn a median wage of RM2,545, about RM120 lower than the median wage for men. What accounts for the gender wage gap and are policies to address discrimination in the workplace effective to improve income equity? We discuss this issue on International Equal Pay Day with Anis Farid of the Women's Aid Organisation. Image credit: Shutt...

The fortunes of ASEAN economies are closely tied to that of China, and with the second-largest economy slowing down, how will this impact the outlook of the banking sector? And are SMES posing a risk to the asset quality of banks? We’re discussing this with Rena Kwok of Bloomberg Intelligence. Image credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Grab-led GX Bank has become the first digital bank licensed by Bank Negara to be approved for operations come 1 September.  How will the introduction of digital banks change the financial landscape? We speak to Ravi Kitanee, Partner at Ernst & Young Consulting the opportunities and challenges for digital banks. Image Credit: Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informa...

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un made a long train journey to Russia for a meeting with President Vladimir Putin. The two leaders’ one-on-one talks, as well as discussions with delegations, lasted for about two hours and were followed by an official dinner. Image Credit: Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Malaysia Day is a day to commemorate the establishment of the Malaysian Federation formed in 1963 which saw Malaya, North Borneo, and Sarawak unite into a single country. This created a nation state with a diverse population; multicultural, multiracial and multireligious. And with data points from 2 research studies, we speak with Eddin Khoo, Founder of Pusaka and Senior Fellow at ISIS, to help us...

In the mid-term review of the 12th Malaysia Plan, the government highlighted the minerals industry as a sector for development, particularly in the field of non-radioactive rare-earth elements. Dato’ Sia Hok Kiang, Fellow of the Academy of Sciences Malaysia & Executive Chairman of Malaco Mining tells us what should be in the National Minerals Policy to balance economic growth with environmenta...

UMNO's internal problems seem to have no end. The president, Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi's presence at the DAP 2023 conference was clearly not liked by a few of UMNO members, thus a referendum was suggested to be carried among its grassroots on their willingness to cooperate with DAP. We speak to Adib Zalkapli, Director of BowerGroupAsia to analyse the conflict and development in UMNO, or whe...

Apple launched its next generation iPhone 15 but only the higher-end Pro Max range saw a price hike. Dan Ives, Managing Director, Wedbush Securities, breaks down how this will shape the world's most valuable listed company's fortunes in the face of simmering US-China geopolitical tension. Image Credit: Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

India's economy has been on a tear recently while the country basks in the political limelight with the recent G20 summit. Pramod Amthe Head Of Institutional Equity Research of InCred Capital tells us if this rally still has legs and what could be the outperformers for the rest of the year. Image Credit: Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Ministry of Health has recently granted a one year exemption to foreign nurses from having to obtain a Post-Basic Qualification to work in private hospitals. How significant is this measure in alleviating the nursing shortage in the healthcare sector? We speak to Datuk Dr. Kuljit Singh, President of the Association of Private Hospitals Malaysia (APHM) on this as well as other recent Covid...

Article 10 of the Federal Constitution safeguards Malaysians’ right to freedom of speech, assembly and association. So why are public demonstrations still so contentious? We discuss the laws governing protests and whether permits are required with Firdaus Husni of the Malaysian Centre for Constitutionalism and Human Rights (MCCHR). Image Credit: Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy...

During US President Joe Biden's visit to Hanoi this week, the US and Vietnam elevated their bilateral relations to that of a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. Journalist and author Sebastian Strangio joins us to discuss what this means and also how this development sits with Beijing. Image Credit: Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Dewan Rakyat has kicked off a 6-day special session to table the 12th Malaysia Plan Mid-term Review with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim revealing that there will be a higher spending ceiling of RM15 billion taking the total amount to RM415 billion, and still remaining within the 3.5% deficit target by 2025. Chehan Perera, Head of Research & Strategist at CGS- CIMB Securities explo...

Barisan Nasional chairman and Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi made history by becoming the first Barisan Nasional chairman and Umno president to attend a DAP congress, during which 9 resolutions that included recognition of Malay special rights were passed. Dr Azmil Tayeb, Associate Professor at Universiti Sains Malaysia also talks about how other recent local political developments m...

Bank Negara Malaysia kept the overnight policy rate at 3% in line with expectations. However what impact does that have on the bond market in light of the high foreign shareholding of MGS. Ang Beng Kuan, Head of Investments at Hong Leong Islamic Asset Management tells us. Image Credit: Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The G20 summit meeting concluded in New Delhi, India yesterday and after initial concerns on member states refusing to sign the joint declaration, a “100% consensus from all countries” was reached. But with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi JinPing absent from the G20 summit, is the G20 still significant? We speak with Bunn Nagara, Director and Senior Fellow, BRI Caucus for...

The electrical and electronic industry has been identified as one of the 5 priority sectors in the New Industrial Master Plan to help Malaysia drive its economic growth, create new employment opportunities, and increase the median salary levels. We speak with Dato' Lim Yong Jin, Vice President of Malaysia Semiconductor Industry Association, to get his views on whether the announced action plans wi...

The curtains closed on the 43rd ASEAN Summit in Jakarta yesterday, with the chair, Indonesia, calling on world leaders to defuse tensions. The summit this time has been overshadowed by renewed disputes over the South China Sea and ASEAN’s failure to make progress on resolving the Myanmar crisis. Sharon Seah of the ISEAS-Yusof-Ishak Institute gives us the key takeaways of the event and what this bo...

Country Garden was once a shining star in the Chinese property sector, surviving the tumult that took down Evergrande. However its fortunes have turned for the worse of late, as the property giant warns of the risk of defaulting on its bond payments amid poor earnings in the first half of the year. What do the financial woes of Country Garden say about the broader Chinese economy? We get analysis...