☕️ AirAsia flying taxi: KL to KLIA in 17 minutes, cost less than USD50 per pax

1. MARKET SUMMARY

2. NUMBERS AT A GLANCE

108,757 summonses were recorded by the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) involving various traffic offences committed by Singaporeans between 2016 and 2021. The cumulative value of these summonses was not revealed. This is one easy way to increase government revenue if the collection is enforced correctly.

47.5% — Meta’s margin on the sale of digital assets on its virtual reality platform Horizon Worlds. The Meta Quest Store will impose a “hardware platform fee” of 30% for sales of apps and games for its virtual reality headsets. Its virtual reality platform, Horizon Worlds, will charge a 17.5% fee. OpenSea’s 2.5% cut doesn’t seem too steep anymore. 

194 billion hamsters can fit inside Tesla’s new USD1 bil factory in Texas, Elon Musk shared (meaningless figure, but it’s just Elon being Elon). The factory is known as Giga Texas. Musk said it was the largest factory building in the world by volume.

3. COVID-19 SUMMARY

• Malaysia’s health ministry will stop offering the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine for kids aged five to 12 after May 15 to avoid wastage. The immunisation programme for kids is seeing a low take-up rate as only 38.6% of children have received the first dose.

4. IN MALAYSIA 🇲🇾

1. Utusan Malaysia reported that a MACC source said former CEO of Astro Malaysia Holdings Bhd Rohana Rozhan has agreed in principle to return the USD10 mil she received from her ex-lover and Goldman Sachs banker, Tim Leissner. Tim Leissner bought her a USD10 mil property in London after she threatened to expose his involvement in 1MDB. MACC chief commissioner Azam Baki said the case is still under investigation and asked the members not to speculate on it.

2. 27-year old Sam Ke Ting’s 6-year ordeal continues, but she was seen to be calm and composed when the Johor Bahru High Court overturned her acquittal from a charge of reckless driving in 2017 that caused the death of 8 ‘Mat Lajak’ teenagers at 3:30 am. Modified bicycles are commonly known as “basikal lajak”. Details:

   1. The High Court sentenced her to 6 years in prison and a fine of RM6,000. She is disqualified from driving for three years after her prison sentence.

   2. The judge rejected her defence’s application for a stay of execution (meanwhile, there are some that have stolen billions, convicted and still roaming free).

   3. She was denied bail despite not being a flight risk, causing uproar amongst opposition MPs. MCA and DAP have offered her legal aid (meanwhile, there are some that are undergoing trial yet got their passports temporarily released to travel overseas).

   4. She was acquitted twice in 2017 and once more in 2021 after the High Court ordered the plaintiff to enter her defence.

   5. Investigations found that she abided by the rules, not driving under the influence, not using her phone and wearing a seatbelt, proving that she was careful and driving responsibly.

   6. The High Court judge said that Sam “should drive more carefully”. How careful can one get when others were the ones acting recklessly? 

   7. Families of the victims expressed their relief over this sentencing. Solely the driver’s fault it seems to them.

3. Serba Dinamik Bhd and its top 4 executives have been compounded the maximum of RM3 mil each by the Securities Commission for submitting false documents involving revenue of RM6.01 bil. These compounds settled the criminal charges they faced with no jail term. Under the same section, they could have been fined and the maximum jail term is up to 10 years. In a separate case, a former adviser to the board of directors of Axis Incorporation Bhd (a significantly smaller company compared to SD) was sentenced to 6 months in jail and RM800,000 for abetting the company in furnishing false statements in its quarterly report.

4. Malaysia Aviation Group Bhd, the parent company of Malaysia Airlines Bhd, said the business is on course to be profitable by 2023. This came during the signing ceremony of an MoU with Sunway Group on various initiatives in industries including aviation, real estate, education, medical tourism and hospitality, as it wants to go “beyond selling airline tickets, getting a bigger share of the wallet” and changing certain business models. MAG inspired to be a super app too?

5. Nikkei Asia reported that Capital A, the parent company of AirAsia, is taking the first step to launch its flying taxi business in Southeast Asia. The operation will start between KL and KLIA, reducing the hourlong trip to 17 minutes and is expected to cost less than USD50 per person with four pax.

5. AROUND THE WORLD 🌎

1. Since Russia has yet to conquer Ukraine, the country has set its sight on something else — the moon. The Moscow Times reported President Vladimir Putin wants to renew its lunar program with a new moon landing mission. The Luna 25 mission plans to land an unmanned spacecraft on the moon’s surface later this year.

2. Vladimir Putin said peace talks with Ukraine had hit a dead end and blamed Kyiv for it. Putin said Russia would achieve all of its “noble” aims in Ukraine. It is the strongest signal to date that the war will grind on for longer.

3. New York City police have named “a person of interest” — Frank R James, 62 — in connection with the attack at a subway station, which has left more than 20 people injured. The suspect is believed to have fired at least 33 times, striking 10 people. All of the victims are expected to survive.

4. Tropical Storm Megi devastated the southern and eastern Philippines on Sunday and claimed at least 53 lives. Rescue crews are still looking for survivors in flooded villages. Hillside avalanches and overflowing rivers wiped out homes and buried many people alive.

5. Shanghai’s unending lockdown has worried investors globally as the city is home to the biggest port in the world. The lockdown has a huge impact on the supply chain, which could potentially bring inflationary shocks. Pegatron Corporation, a major electronics manufacturing service provider for Apple, has stopped production at key factories in Shanghai. On top of the impact on the world’s economy, the city’s residents are hitting a melting point. NSFW content ahead.

6. A group of Twitter shareholders are suing Elon Musk for allegedly failing to disclose he had bought a significant stake in the company in a timely manner, causing them to sell their Twitter shares at a deflated price and lose out on potential gains. Federal trade laws in the US dictate that investors must inform the Securities and Exchange Commission within 10 days when they take a more than 5% stake in a company — Musk allegedly hit the milestone on Mar 14. Musk disclosed his 9.2% stake on Apr 4. Quick math indicated it’s more than 10 days.

6. FOR YOUR EYES 👁👁

1. A fast-acting teacher performed the Heimlich manoeuvre on a student after he choked on a bottle cap. Read more here on this first-aid technic. Watch here how to perform it on an infant and a child. No one around to help you? Watch here how to perform this technic when you are alone.

2. Political artist Fahmi Reza went quiet for over a month (last artwork posted on 13 Mar). He’s back with a bang posting a portrait painting of Powerpuff Girls villain Mojo Jojo dressed up as a human.

3. One hell of an epic gaming setup — not the computer equipment, but the background, pyrotechnics, laser lighting and music (if you have epilepsy, avoid watching this video)