Morning Brief

There has been a flurry of rhetoric over the Jill Ireland case on use of the word Allah by non-Muslims. We break down the legal issues in this matter with constitutional lawyer Dato’ Malik Imtiaz. Image by: msyaraafiq / Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The World Meteorological Organisation is now predicting that the world is more likely to break the key temperature limit of 1.5⁰C between now and 2027, and judging by the heatwave we are experiencing now, it's not hard to imagine that it is likely. Ahmad Afandi, Senior Analyst at the Institute of Strategic & International Studies (ISIS Malaysia), explains what can be done to counter this and w...

Malaysia ended the SEA Games on a dismal note recording its worst performance in the history of the games. What does this say about the state of our sports industry? We get reactions from Haresh Deol, Editor of the news portal twentytwo13.my Image by: Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Days after Thailand’s elections and the shock win of the Move Forward party, what’s the status of talks to form a government? We speak to political analyst Dr. Termsak Chalermpalanupap of the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute for insights into the negotiation process and potential scenarios. Image Credit: EPA-EFE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tech stocks have been rallying as investors anticipate the Fed Fund Rate to peak in the near future. We discuss the outlook for US tech with Jonathan Curtis of Franklin Templeton Image by: Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Extending highway concessions for another 30 years and opening up the toll payments systems beyond Touch n Go. It looks like tolls are here to stay. To give us an understanding of the complexity to move forward to a multi-lane free flow (MLFF) system, we speak with Sharim Tamrin, Senior Journalist, The Vibes & former MIROS board of directors member Image by: Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/lis...

Six states - Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Kedah, Penang, Kelantan & Terengganu - are set to dissolve their respective state assemblies by end-June, paving the way for elections to be held. Thomas Fann, Chair of Bersih, shares his concerns on how a low voter turnout might impact the outcome and what can be done to address this. Image by: Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy inform...

Pakistan is no stranger to political unrest, but the current situation differs from the past due to the strange dynamic between former Prime Minister turned political firebrand Imran Khan and the military establishment. We discuss what’s happening in Pakistan with Dr. Zahid Ahmed of Deakin University. Image by: EPA-EFE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A Khazanah Research Institute survey has revealed that women in Kuala Lumpur spend 1.4 hours more unpaid homemaking each day than men and with around 2.4 million housewives in the country not in any formal employment, they aren't covered by any form of social protection. Anis Farid, Research Project Manager, Women's Aid Organisation, tells us unpaid care work transcends gender and is also under-re...

Another round of water cuts was announced on Sunday affecting 650,000 users in Penang and Kedah. Why does a country blessed with ample rainfall still suffer from water cuts and poor distribution of clean piped water? Datuk Ir Abdul Kadir Mohd Din, the immediate Past President of Malaysian Water Association give us his views on how stakeholders should manage and protect our water management assets....

Turkiye’s presidential race will head into a run-off on 28 May, after neither President Recep Tayyip Erdogan nor opposition challenger Kemal Kilicdaroglu won more than 50% of the vote. We discuss the outcome of Sunday’s elections and who holds the upper hand leading into the run-off with Dr. James Dorsey of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies. Image by: EPA-EFE See omnystudio.com/lis...

Thailand politics has been far from stable over the last decade, with an ongoing cycle of elections, protests and coups. Could the outcome of Sunday’s general election bring an end to the uncertainty? We discuss the initial results with Dr. Greg Raymond of the Australian National University Image by: EPA-EFE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Unity Government came together for a show of strength. Even the usual hardline youth wings sang the same tune. Will this be enough for the grassroots and upcoming state elections? To get an analysis on the show, we speak with Dr Azmi Hassan, Senior Fellow, Nusantara Academy of Strategic Research Image by: Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Malaysia’s GDP expanded 5.6% in the first quarter of 2023 compared to a year ago, mainly thanks to domestic demand. But as export continues to see some moderation, can this expansion continue? Image by: Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Malaysian Bar in an Extraordinary General Meeting on Wednesday declared a motion of no-confidence against the Attorney General for failing to defend the judiciary, among other resolutions adopted. We hear from Bar Secretary General Anand Raj on why the Bar has taken this stance and what it hopes to see moving forward. Image by: Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Indonesia chaired the first ASEAN Summit of the year this week in the Labuan Bajo. Unsurprisingly, the prolonged conflict situation in Myanmar was one of the key issues in the spotlight, however the lack of progress on resolving the crisis continues to have an impact on ASEAN’s credibility as an institutional actor. Is there political will for a different approach? We discuss the outcomes of the m...

The Labour government led by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese unveiled their second budget this week, projecting the first surplus in over a decade. What does the budget say about the government’s policy priorities? We discuss the highlights of the budget and the outlook for the economy with Catherine Birch of ANZ Bank Image by: Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The government is studying policies for a progressive wage system. We discuss the factors contributing to Malaysia’s slow pace of income growth and what’s needed to accelerate the pace to achieve high-income nation goals with Nithiyanathan Muthusamy of Khazanah Research Institute (KRI). Image by: Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The government announced that it was lifting the ban on renewable energy exports. What are the implications of this for Malaysia’s energy sector? We get reactions from Dhana Raj Markandu, independent energy analyst & consultant. Image by: Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The tech war between the US and China is throwing havoc on the Shanghai Composite and Hang Seng Index. China’s recovery was expected to drive up markets, but the year has been mixed so far. To make sense of this, we talk to John Lau, Portfolio Manager, AHAM Capital on his views on China’s markets, economy and policies moving forward. Image by: Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy i...

The EPF has been constantly in the news since the pandemic hit in 2020 - from the various special Covid-19 withdrawal schemes to proposals to allow members to use their savings as collateral for loans. More recently, a workers’ union group wants employers’ EPF contribution increased from 13% to 20%; and PM Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim wants the fund to increase its domestic investments from the curren...

The Deputy Prime Minister has signalled that the government is looking to pen an agreement with the UNHCR regarding its roles and responsibilities for refugees and asylum seekers. We discuss the policy implications of this with Lilianne Fan of Geutanyoe Malaysia. Image Credit: EPA-EFE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Big Tech’s pandemic boom of the past 2 years was marked by double to triple growth rates. Fast-forward to 2023 and we are seeing Q1 results of between 3% to 9% for giants like Alphabet, Amazon, Meta and Microsoft. Dan Ives, Managing Director of, Wedbush Securities, helps us sift through the analyses of the outlook for the US tech sector, amid the industry’s heavy cost-cutting exercises. Image by:...

The traffic congestion in Penang has been an issue for residents with many solutions including the government proposed LRT. Is this the best way forward or are there other holistic solutions to consider. Dr Ahmad Farhan Mohd Sadullah, Professor of Transport Engineering in Universiti Sains Malaysia tells us his answers. Image by: Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Turkey will head to presidential and parliamentary elections this Sunday, in what some observers call the most important elections of 2023. We discuss the stakes at play for incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdogan with political expert Dr. James Dorsey Image by: Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.