☕️ 402 children rescued from sexually abusive welfare homes

1. MARKET SUMMARY 📈

2. NUMBERS AT A GLANCE 🔢

Around 600,000 people gathered near Timor-Leste's capital, Dili, for one of the largest masses of Pope Francis’s papacy. The event, held at Tasitolu, drew nearly half of the country’s population, highlighting Timor-Leste's deep Catholic roots. However, the site has faced controversy as authorities recently demolished homes and evicted nearly 90 people in the area. Additionally, a local telecom company warned of disrupted signals at the venue due to the massive crowd attending the open-air service.

Loan apps in the Philippines gained significant traction during the pandemic, with new users increasing by 64% to 47.5 mil in 2023, according to Digido. While the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued licenses to 140 digital lending companies, some have faced issues. Over 40 platforms had their licenses revoked due to unfair debt collection practices, highlighting concerns about the industry's ethics despite its rapid growth. Borrowers say popular online lending platforms use scare tactics to get their money back — hundreds of threatening texts and dozens of missed calls each day.

1 year, 293 days — the period that PM Anwar Ibrahim took the sought-after position of Prime Minister of Malaysia, the longest since the 7th PM, Mahathir Mohammad (1 year, 291 days). Some even “risked their lives” to get the seat. A lot of things have happened and lately, many of them are controversial and unpopular. Will Anwar Ibrahim serve the full term of five years?

3. IN MALAYSIA 🇲🇾

Halal Certificate Fiasco – Minister to submit report, UMNO vs DAP
Islamic Affairs Minister Datuk Mohd Na’im Mokhtar has been directed to prepare a report outlining the next steps regarding the proposed halal certification for all eateries that do not serve pork or alcohol. Last week, Islamic Development Department (Jakim) dropped the bombshell that it is considering making halal certification mandatory for restaurants and food establishments that do not serve pork or alcohol. 

Seputeh MP Teresa Kok criticised this proposal, saying that the halal certification could burden small businesses.  However, certain quarters filed police reports against Kok. Umno Youth Chief Muhamad Akmal Saleh even went on to call the MP “Nyonya tua” and said she should not have interfered in Islamic affairs related to the halal certification. PM Anwar Ibrahim had to clarify that Kok’s remarks did not represent Pakatan Harapan’s position.

The UMNO Ulama Council has an interesting take – the proposal to make halal certification mandatory is not good for Muslim-owned businesses. The deputy chairperson, Mohd Khairuddin Aman Razali, explained that Muslims already follow religious rules about what is halal, as well as rules about cleanliness and purity. Interestingly, 72% of 229,204 products with halal certifications in the nation are owned by non-Muslim companies.

402 children rescued from sexually abusive welfare homes
402 children, aged between 7 months and 17 years old, have been rescued from almost 20 welfare homes in Selangor and Negeri Sembilan following a police report on Sept 2 about alleged child abandonment, sexual assault and harassment of children at the welfare homes. The homes are believed to be run by Global Ikhwan Services and Business Holdings (GISBH). IGP Razarudin Husain said 171 people have been arrested in relation to this case. The following is really graphic – NFSW – Razarudin said the children were allegedly taught to commit sodomy on one another and they were also sodomised by their guardians. The children were made to watch these acts. Some of the victims were denied medical help when they got sick, the IGP said. Apparently, heated tools were being used to hurt the victims as punishment.

GISBH has denied the claims and pledged to work with the authorities to resolve the issue.

JPJ recalls over 30,000 cars and motorbikes over safety issues
JPJ has released a new list of product recalls affecting several car and motorcycle brands. Vehicle owners are advised to check if their cars or motorcycles are affected and take necessary action. The impacted vehicles are:

1. Toyota Vios (produced from March 2023 to January 2024), involving 24,345 units.

2. Mercedes-Benz A 200, A 250, A 250 4Matic, AMG A 45 S 4Matic and AMG A 45 S 4Matic models (produced from 2017 to 2024) and various other models totalling over 10,000 units.

3. Honda CBR250RR and CBR250S3A 

4. Suzuki V-Strom 800 DE (produced in 2023) and Burgman Street EX (produced in 2024).

Business

• Maybank invests in Funding Societies

  Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) announced its investment in Funding Societies, a fintech company that helps SMEs get funding through a digital platform. The company serves as a P2P lending platform for SMEs and investors. The financial details of the investment were not shared. Funding Societies has provided over RM17 billion in financing to more than 100,000 small and medium-sized businesses in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam since 2015. This investment is part of Maybank's new strategy to partner with digital companies in Southeast Asia. It also aligns with Maybank's M25+ plan to boost digitalisation in the banking sector.
  Read: What is P2P lending?

• Carsome reported a stellar EBITDA for 2Q2024

  CARSOME Group Inc, Southeast Asia’s largest car e-commerce platform, reported its best quarter in 2Q2024, trading around 35,000 vehicles and achieving over USD310 mil (RM1.34 bil) in revenue, a 9% increase quarter-on-quarter. The company saw its EBITDA triple and gross margin exceed 10%. CARSOME also announced new financing partnerships with Ambank Group and Maybank, securing over RM200mil in working capital for expansion. These results keep CARSOME on track for its anticipated IPO despite a challenging market environment.

• Marriott International to open 20 new hotels in Malaysia

  During his visit, the Marriott International chairman, David S. Marriott said that the hospitality group is eyeing to open 20 new hotels in the country via mergers, acquisitions or partnerships. The group wants to capitalise on the booming tourism and leisure sectors in the region. David's visit coincides with the launch of the Penang Marriott Complex, Marriott's 50th property in Malaysia.

Shorts

1. A woman allegedly boarded a plane in KLIA without a ticket

   A woman without a ticket managed to board a plane bound for Xiamen, causing the flight to be delayed by four hours as all the other passengers had to go through re-boarding process. The incident is said to have occurred last August 28. The woman was said to be walking around the cabin and when a flight attendant asked for the woman’s seat, she responded saying she didn’t have one. She was later taken away by the airport staff and police.

2. MH853 bound for Bali turned back to KLIA

   Another week, another incident. Malaysia Airlines flight, MH853, from Kuala Lumpur to Denpasar, Bali has turned back to KLIA yesterday. After reaching an altitude of 8,000ft and circling over the Malacca Strait, it landed back at KLIA at 5pm. No further details were revealed at the time of writing.

4. AROUND THE WORLD 🌎

Iranian missiles, Melbourne protests, and Israel's mistakes
Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araqchi, denied any delivery of missiles to Russia from Iran, and called the sanctions imposed by the US, Germany, the UK, and France (E3) as the four nations “acting on faulty intelligence and flawed logic”. The Kremlin also dismissed the arms transfer reports as “baseless”.

However, the US identified nine Russian-flagged vessels it claims were involved in weapons deliveries. Iran also has a history of military cooperation with Russia, having supplied drones used in Ukraine. Ukraine has denounced the supposed missile deliveries as “unacceptable”, and threatened to cut ties with Iran should hard evidence be presented.

Meanwhile, pro-Palestine anti-war protestors outside a defence exhibition in Melbourne clashed with police after protestors allegedly assaulted some of the expo attendees. 24 police officers required medical treatment, with 39 protestors arrested for various charges. Protestors lit fires in the street, obstructed traffic, and assaulted police officers with various items, including acid. A police spokesperson said they were “appalled” by the actions of the protestors, who accused police of being heavy-handed with their use of flashbang grenades and irritant sprays.

US President Joe Biden has demanded “full accountability” on Israel’s part for the killing of US-Turkish national Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, who was shot dead at a protest march, which Israel claims is accidental. Biden called her death “totally unacceptable” and expects continued US access to the investigation. The president also denounced the violence between "extremist Israeli settlers" and "Palestinian terrorists" after US officials demanded an overhaul of Israeli military conduct in the occupied West Bank.

Over in Gaza, Israeli forces stopped a convoy of clearly marked armoured UN vehicles at gunpoint, with the Israeli forces looking to question two of the UN staff, who were Palestinian. The convoy was part of the polio vaccination campaign. A UN spokesperson stated that the convoy was stopped at a checkpoint, where it was quickly “encircled by Israeli forces, and shots were fired”. Israeli tanks and bulldozers then approached the convoy, ramming the vehicles and compacting the convoy with the UN staff still inside.

IPO Season

1. MrDIY's Thai, Indonesian divisions seek IPOs

   The home improvement retailer’s Thai division has applied to Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for an IPO as it looks to list on the Stock Exchange of Thailand. This comes as the division celebrates its eighth year of success in Thailand, prompting them to look into “significantly expanding” store presence. The Indonesian division is also looking to be listed on the Indonesian exchange by early 2025 according to sources, who also reported that the Indonesian division is looking to raise as much as USD300 mil (RM1.3 bil), though deliberations are ongoing.

   MrDIY’s listed entity in Malaysia that houses their Malaysian and Brunei businesses is worth RM18.7 bil.

2. Etihad Airways plan IPO

   The flag carrier of the UAE is looking to list “no sooner than 2025”, in what could be the first IPO of a major Gulf airline as Abu Dhabi intensifies efforts to become a global travel hub. The airline owned by the UAE’s sovereign wealth fund, had considered listing this year but decided to wait to show off a strong performance with its 2024 results. The airline, under its Journey 2030 strategy, is looking to expand destinations to more than 125 airports by 2030 while more than doubling its fleet to over 160 aircraft. The airline also reported full-year net profits in 2022 and 2023 and reported a 48% increase in half-year profits after taxes to USD232 mil (RM1.007 bil) recently.

Tech Dollars

1. Samsung plans global job cuts

   Multiple sources reported that the electronics giant is looking to axe overseas staff, with some divisions potentially being cut by up to 30%. Instructions were allegedly given for subsidiaries worldwide to reduce sales and marketing staff by 15% and administrative staff by 30%, by the end of the year. Samsung stated that workforce adjustments in overseas operations were routine and aimed at improving efficiency, and assured that the cuts would not impact production staff. The tech giant had a workforce of 267,800 people at the end of 2023, with more than half based overseas.

2. Chinese consumers proud of Huawei innovation, but balk at USD2,800 price tag

   Social media in China saw nationalistic pride as Huawei supporters applauded the tech firm’s introduction of the smartphone industry’s first tri-foldable phone. The supporters see this as Huawei being able to out-innovate Apple despite US sanctions on advanced chips and other technology. However, a poll of over 9,000 respondents saw only about 10% who were willing to buy the Huawei Mate XT. The reason? The “crazy” price tag of USD2,800 (RM12,159) for the basic model alone. Higher spec versions with more features will cost as much as USD3,300. The prices have been widely criticised as insensitive to the sluggish economic growth and beyond the reach of ordinary consumers already struggling with financial insecurity. 

Shorts:

1. A new Harry Potter series? (did Rowling run out of money?)

   HBO’s new Harry Potter series has launched a casting call for young actors. Claiming to be “committed to inclusive, diverse casting”, the call nevertheless locked the roles of the Golden Trio to children “between the ages of nine to 11 in April 2025, who are residents of the UK or Ireland”. The call requires two self-tapes, with the first being a self-introduction, and the other being a short poem or story, with children told to use their own accents.

2. Innocent American wins USD50 mil in compensation after wrongful conviction

   Marcel Brown, 34, was awarded USD50 mil (RM217 mil) in damages after being wrongfully convicted of murder. The payout of USD50 mil is also the largest in US history. He was sentenced to 35 years in prison for being an accomplice in a shooting of a 19-year-old in Chicago in 2008 and had served 10 years before being released after police were found to have fabricated evidence and subjected Brown to inhumane treatment.

5. FOR YOUR EYES 📺

1. Photography is really another form of modern art — this is the story of a ping pong table and how people’s lives revolve around it.

catastrophe.off

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2. Which countries have the highest wealth per person (on an average and median basis)? Data comes from the UBS Global Wealth Report 2024 and encompasses 56 markets comprising an estimated 92.2% of total global wealth. Figures are in USD.