The Breakfast Grille

We speak to Anuja Kar, Senior Agriculture Economist at the East and Pacific Region Agriculture and Food Global Practice of the World Bank as she helps us unpack the World Bank’s latest Malaysia Economic Monitor report, entitled “Farming the Future: Harvesting Malaysia’s Agricultural Resilience through Digital Technologies”. The report sheds light on why DATs or Digital Agriculture Technologies hav...

Ahead of the Budget 2025 tabling, we get the Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat, Tan Sri Johari Abdul to give a rundown on the parliamentary agenda this session and what he’s doing to strengthen parliamentary democracy. We will also tackle his decision on the Bersatu 6 and the anti-party hopping laws, as well as how he deals with perceptions of bias. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The theme of this year’s national budget is MADANI Economy: Prosperous Nation, Well-being of the People. It is the third budget by the government led by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. Will it deliver the much needed reforms to improve our fiscal position yet be expansionary? Professor Dr. Ong Kian Ming, Pro Vice Chancellor for External Engagement at Taylor's University and former Deputy...

Markets have been volatile due to uncertainty over the pace of the Fed Fund rate cut and US elections. Yet, equity markets have been resilient with the S&P500 up by 22% and the Nasdaq by slightly more than that quantum. What can we expect for the last quarter of the year and 2025? George Maris, CIO and Global Head of Equities at Principal Asset Management tells us whilst weighing in on Chinese...

Pearson VUE, a subsidiary of the British education conglomerate Pearson plc, is responsible for administering high-stakes examinations in a range of different sectors. How is the company capitalising on trends that will drive digital testing and licensure exams in Southeast Asia for business growth? We find out from Craig McFarlane, Vice President of Australia and Southeast Asia at Pearson VUE. Se...

Both Vietnam and the Philippines are claimant states in South China, but they have different relationships and approaches towards China. We discuss how Manila and Hanoi are navigating internal political turbulence as well as broader geopolitical dynamics with the respective country experts.  Image Credit: shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Founded in 1968, Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia advocates for a non-racial, secular, and socially just Malaysia. Once a dominant force, particularly in Penang, the party lost all its parliamentary seats in the 2018 elections and subsequently left Barisan Nasional after more than five decades with the coalition. Datuk Dr. Dominic Lau, the National President tells us about Gerakan’s current influence...

Sarawak is Malaysia's largest state by land area yet it contributed only 9.1% to the country's GDP last year. That is now expected to change with the state having invested some RM20 billion ringgit to develop its infrastructure so far. Timothy Ong, CEO of the newly established InvestSarawak, shares his vision to bring sustainable investments into the state known for decades for its oil & gas i...

Scania has been in Malaysia manufacturing heavy commercial vehicles like lorries and buses from its sole assembly plant in Port Klang since the 1970s. Joyce Antar, recently appointed the managing director of Scania Southeast Asia three months ago, shares her vision of where she wants the company to go in terms of growing its sales volumes while ensuring the overall net zero ambition targets remain...

Solar District Cooling Group Bhd specialises in supplying building management systems, solar thermal systems, and energy-saving services. Listed on Bursa Malaysia’s ACE Market, following an IPO that was oversubscribed by 144 times we asked Managing Director, Edison Kong about their post-listing plans and if there is still upside to the share price after a strong debut. Image Credit: shutterstock.c...

Apple Vacations is one of Malaysia's largest outbound travel agencies with a history dating back to the mid-1990s when travelling on group tours was the preferable and indeed more affordable option. Dato' Sri Lee Ee Hoe, the co-founder and group executive chairman of Apple Vacations, talks to us about surviving the Covid-19 lockdowns, adapting to changing travel preferences and the process of putt...

Germany celebrates Unity Day today but 34 years after the creation of a United East and West Germany, what challenges does the EU's most powerful member state face? We speak to their ambassador to Malaysia, H.E. Dr Peter Blomeyer, to find out if populism is once again challenging the foundations of modern Germany whilst talking about relations with Malaysia as we are their largest trading partner...

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has earned both flowers and brickbats in his interactions with foreign leaders, most recently with President Vladimir Putin of Russia. How is Malaysia’s foreign policy shaping up under the Madani Government? We discuss the developments and policy signals with our panel of experts. Image Credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informa...

Monash University Malaysia has the distinction of being the first foreign university in the country and celebrated its 25th anniversary last year. With the landscape for international higher education evolving dramatically since 1998, what is Monash doing to defend its brand reputation in an intensely competitive sector? I discuss these themes with Prof. Dato' Dr. Adeeba Kamarulzaman, the Chi...

Microsoft, Alphabet and Amazon Web Services are just some of the biggest names that have invested in the development of data centers in Malaysia, but will this industry really complement the transformation of this country’s digital economy, and will we see positive spillover effects? Amy Wong, Executive Director at Knight Frank & Ong Chin Seong, PIKOM Chairman joins us for a look behind the cu...

The Ministry of Housing and Local Government is responsible for addressing a wide range of issues important to Malaysians, including affordable housing, sustainable development, the circular economy, and local governance. How are Madani Government policy initiatives being translated on the ground? We hear from Nga Kor Ming, Minister of Housing and Local Government. See omnystudio.com/listener for...

We are living in the Asian century, with the meteoric rise of China, India and ASEAN economies heralding the era of multi-polar geopolitics. Is this an era of optimism for the international order, or is it as some say the most dangerous time in geopolitics since the end of the Cold War? We discuss these themes with Professor Kishore Mahbubani, a distinguished fellow at the Asia Research Insti...

The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales has appointed Alan Vallance as its new Chief Executive. He joins us to discuss his vision for leading the largest professional accountancy body in Europe. This discussion will also explore the role of artificial intelligence in accounting and the declining interest among young people in pursuing the profession. See omnystudio.com/listener...

The Otis Elevator Company is responsible for installing elevators in some of the most iconic buildings in the world, including the Petronas Twin Towers. Given its long history in Malaysia spanning back to 1909, how has Otis' presence here evolved and what trends are driving growth in the vertical transportation sector? We discuss this with Pradeep Nair, General Manager for Otis Malaysia and Brunei...

Bursa Malaysia-listed HSS Engineers has had an illustrious 40 year journey transforming Malaysia one infrastructure project at a time - it was involved in the PLUS Highway, KLIA as well the KL MRT lines. Tan Sri Kuna Sittampalam, the firm's founder and executive vice chairman, talks about future plans for HSS, including its overseas expansion with the Baghdad metro lines in Iraq, its most ambitiou...

Parti Pribumi Bersatu was born from the internal strife of UMNO in 2016 and over the course of 5 years  rose to the pinnacle of Malaysian politics under the premiership of Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin leading the Perikatan Nasional coalition. Following Bersatu's exile to the Opposition bench post-GE15, what are their plans to stage a comeback in the next general elections? We speak to Bersatu Sec...

The Singapore Exchange-listed Centurion Corporation is in the business of owning, developing and managing purpose-built workers' accommodation as well as students' accommodation assets in Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, the UK as well as the US. Its CEO Kong Chee Min talks about the company's plans to expand in Malaysia where it already owns several assets in Johor, a state that is set to be a mai...

As the war in Ukraine drags on over multiple years, how has the conflict with Russia shaped Kyiv's foreign policy direction? We speak to Hennadiy Maksak, Executive Director of the Ukrainian Prism, a non-governmental foreign policy council on how Ukraine is navigating relations with US and EU allies as well as efforts to bridge the divide with ASEAN member states that have pro-Russian leanings. See...

Malaysia has the distinction of being at the forefront of Islamic finance, with the third largest market for Islamic financial assets, behind only Iran and Saudi Arabia. One of the homegrown bodies contributing to the vibrancy of the Islamic finance industry through human capital development is the International Center for Education in Islamic Finance or INCEIF University. Is Malaysia doing e...

LH Plus Sdn Bhd is a local plastic manufacturing company that produces products like OEM parts, and home & kitchen products, among others. Its chairman & CEO Callum Chen discusses the details of LH Plus's business and how they intend to future-proof their operations. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.