Morning Brief

The N39 Kota Damansara constituency will witness a three-corner fight between Izuan Kasim of PH; Radzlan Jalaludin of PN; and Sivarajan Arumugam of PSM. Tune in to the fiery debate between the candidates to find out why they should be elected as representatives, what are their positions on policy issues affecting Kota Damansara. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) have started an investigation on Sam Waltman’s OpenAI’s chatbot, ChatGPT, and echoes calls that AI needs to be regulated by Elon Musk and Geofrey Hinton. Communications and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil said Malaysia will also consider an artificial intelligence regulatory framework. We speak with Zachary Scully, Partner of RHTLaw Asia and HMS Law to get his v...

We’re less than 10 days away until the state elections on Aug 12th, where close to 10 million registered voters are expected to cast their ballots. We ask Danesh Prakash Chacko of Tindak Malaysia what are the expectations for voter turnout, how to boost up the numbers, understanding local council elections, and why is it important to elect members of the state assembly and the state government? Im...

The general election in Myanmar that was supposed to be held this month has been delayed, as the military junta extended the state of emergency in the country for six more months. We speak to Hunter Marston of the Australian National University for an update on what this means for the country and the developments related to NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi.  Image by: Shutterstock See omnystudio.c...

Earlier this year, the government promised to absorb 12,800 contract doctors into permanent positions. The first batch of 4,200 doctors reported for duty at the end of July. However, the placement of these doctors have been fraught with controversy, leaving many hospitals understaffed and relocation claims not reimbursed. We speak with Dr. Timothy Cheng of the Malaysia Medical Association on probl...

Former President Donald Trump is facing a third tranche of indictments over his efforts to overturn the 2020 Presidential election results. What accounts for Trump’s enduring popularity, despite facing legal scandal after scandal? We discuss factors influencing voter sentiment with independent pollster John Zogby. Image by: EPA-EFE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

MUDA is striking it alone in the state elections, aiming to mainstream its "new politics" tagline. We discuss elements of its manifesto and the policy direction of the party with Teacher Thanusha, Muda's candidate for the Sentosa state assembly seat in Selangor.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

China’s factory activity contracted for a fourth consecutive month in July, while non-manufacturing activity slowed to its weakest this year. In response, the government has made a number of pledges to boost its flagging economy. Gary Ng of Natixis discusses whether the measures introduced are sufficient to spur growth. Image credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informa...

Last week, Economy Minister Mohd Rafizi Ramli launched Part 1 of the National Energy Transition Roadmap (NETR), with 10 flagship projects generating 25 billion ringgit in total investments, creating 23 thousand job opportunities, and a reduction of over 10 thousand Gigagrams (Gg) of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) equivalent. We’ll speak with Azril Zainal, Energy Leader in Malaysia, Arup to help us digest th...

There have been a flurry of high level visits between the US and China over the past months, raising hopes that better ties will prevail between the arch-rivals. However geopolitical analyst Bunn Nagara is less sanguine about the positive momentum, and we discuss what's the root cause of the longstanding tensions. Image Credit: EPA-EFE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim launched the Madani Economy economic framework yesterday, with the goal of catapulting Malaysia’s economy into the world’s top 30 within the decade. We get reactions to the announcement from economist Dr. Geoffrey Williams - an economist at the Malaysia University of Science and Technology. Image by: Facebook/Anwar Ibrahim See omnystudio.com/listener for pri...

Hong Kong’s top officials and business leaders are visiting Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia this week, as the territory aims to increase bilateral trade and gain support to join the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership. We speak to Dr Jonathan Choi, Chairman of the Hong Kong Chinese General Chamber of Commerce, to find out how Hong Kong aims to regain its status as Asia’s premier financia...

Perikatan Nasional has unveiled their candidates list for the state elections, with names like Azmin Ali and Rina Harun contesting in Selangor. But could the green wave make its way here and in Penang? And With the recent freezing of Bersatu's bank accounts by the authorities, how will this impact the state election machinery? Dr Kartini Aboo Talib @ Khalid, Deputy Director, Institute of Ethnic St...

Tesla is the first EV manufacturer to be exempted from approved permits under Malaysia’s new Global Battery Electric Vehicle initiative. But why should high end EV vehicles be exempted from duties and taxes? And why does the government intend to maintain the AP system? Does the AP system still make sense in the push for higher EV adoption and making Malaysia a regional hub for manufacturing? We di...

President of the Philippines’ Ferdinand Marcos Jr held a three-day state visit this week. Thomas Daniel of ISIS Malaysia gives us his take on key bilateral issues between the two countries, including the South China Sea and Sabah dispute, as well as new opportunities for trade cooperation. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Last Monday, Russia withdrew from a deal that allows the safe export of Ukraine's grain via the Black Sea. We speak to Evghenia Sleptsova, Senior economist, Oxford Economics on how this will impact Ukraine’s economy and will we see a u- turn this time? Image by: Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

DAP released their candidate lineup for Selangor, Penang and Negri Sembilan with many new faces. A move copied by other political parties. What is the strategy behind this move and does it help with the outcome or even voter turnout. Dr Wong Chin Huat, Political Scientist, Sunway University weighs in. Image by: Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Australia's central bank took a pause on its interest rate hikes last month after raising it 12 times in the past 14 months hoping to reign in inflation which is at a still-elevated 5.6%. For now property owners have a bit of respite. Mohsen Crofts, an analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence Australia, talks to us about how the RBA's fight against inflation is affecting the country's real estate and con...

Most legal fees for conveyancing transactions in Peninsular Malaysia have increased from 1% to 1.25% since July 15th, affecting transactions involving non-contentious matters like the sale and purchase of movable and immovable properties, financing and tenancies. The Malaysia Competition Commission is questioning this hike, calling it uncompetitive. Karen Cheah, the president of the Malaysian Bar,...

In the course of a divorce proceeding, couples with children will have to navigate through issues related to custody, visitation rights, and child support. And NGO Sisters in Islam has raised an alarming trend on the ​​prevalence of parental child abduction. We speak to Nizam Bashir, Syariah Lawyer on the complicated process surrounding child custody battles and are the child’s best interest taken...

Recently, we saw reports that a rape victim was denied entry to the one-stop crisis centre of a government hospital and was told to lodge a police report first, which did not tally with the advice from Women’s Aid Organisation. So we speak to Zati Hanani, senior advocacy officer at WAO on what is the process in handling victims of rape and sexual assault and how can the process can be streamlined...

News of Russia terminating the Black Sea grain corridor agreement gave an immediate uplift to crude palm oil prices last week. But is this knee jerk reaction sustainable or will the sector fundamentals continue to place downward pressure on CPO price? We ask Alvin Tai, Senior Analyst, Bloomberg Intelligence this question and where he sees CPO pricing headed moving forward? Image by: Shutterstock S...

The Education Ministry launched the Dual Language Programme in selected schools in 2016 for STEM subjects such as Mathematics and Science to be taught in English. However there are reports that at some top national full DLP schools, non-DLP classes have been introduced. We speak to Datin Noor Azimah Abdul Rahim, Chairperson, Parent Action Group for Education as to the reasons for this and what are...

Asian central banks have been striking very different tones on their monetary policy versus the Federal Reserve and even their European counterparts. Stephen Chiu, Chief Asia FX and Rates Strategist, Bloomberg Intelligence tells us what this means for currencies and also the bond market. Image by: Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A revision in the Solicitor’s Remuneration Order (SRO 2023) will allow lawyers to charge more for conveyancing transactions increasing the conveyancing fee from 1% to 1.25% effective July 15th. This will affect the sale and purchase of movable and immovable properties, financing and tenancies. Iskandar Ismail, CEO of the Malaysia Competition Commission tells us why MyCC think this will unfairly im...