☕️ Another Madani Minister resigns

1. MARKET SUMMARY 📈

2. NUMBERS AT A GLANCE 🔢

The Malaysian passport is now the world’s third best passport, according to the Passport Index 2025, the benchmark for passport rankings. The Malaysian Immigration Department said this reflected the international trust and recognition of the security of Malaysia’s travel documents, which allows Malaysian passport holders to enjoy visa-free travel to 174 countries. Malaysia is only behind three nations in the rankings, namely the United Arab Emirates in first place, with Singapore and Spain tied for second. Malaysia is also tied for third with 15 other countries, which are Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Finland, Luxembourg, Italy, Denmark, Portugal, Switzerland, Greece, Austria, Norway, Ireland, and South Korea.

1,305,976. That’s the number of public service workers Malaysia has as of September 24, according to Federal Territories Minister Zaliha Mustafa. However, this number does not include personnel from the police and Armed Forces service schemes. The minister said that, according to the government’s Human Resource Management Information System, the Education Ministry has the largest number of civil servants with 511,345, about 39.15%. This is followed by the Health Ministry at 267,149 employees or 20.45%, and the Higher Education Ministry at 104,838 personnel or 8.03%.

According to the Department of Statistics’ Business Demography Statistics, nearly 70% of Malaysian businesses launched in 2019 are still operating as of 2024, up from 66.5% of 2018 startups after a five-year period. The study was an analysis of how long businesses operate from start-up to closure, and how long they survive before shutting down. The findings reported that businesses in the construction space had the highest five-year survival rate at 72.8%, followed by manufacturing at 70.3% and services at 69.8%. As of 2024, Malaysia had 734,089 active businesses, the highest in eight years.

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3. IN MALAYSIA 🇲🇾

Another Madani Minister resigns
On Saturday, the Entrepreneur and Cooperatives Development Minister cum United Progressive Kinabalu Organisation (UPKO) party president, Ewon Benedick, resigned from his ministerial post over the alleged ‘ignorance’ by Putrajaya of Sabah’s constitutional right to 40% of federal revenue derived from the state. Ewon added that it would not be right for him to remain in the Cabinet while holding an opposing view.

Upon being asked about the resignation of one of his ministers, PM Anwar Ibrahim responded - “I will, I will…”. If we include Ewon’s departure, it marks the fourth full ministerial position that will be vacant by December, including the ministerial position at the Economy Ministry (formerly Rafizi Ramli), Natural Resources & Environment Ministry (formerly Nik Nazmi), Industry & Trade Ministry (current minister’s senatorship term will end in December) and now the Entrepreneur & Cooperatives Ministry. Though this is unlikely to materially impact the function of the Cabinet, it is something to take note of. In responding to the imminent Cabinet reshuffling, Agriculture Minister Mohamad Sabu stated that PM Anwar is expected to brief the cabinet on Tuesday.

Coming back to Sabah’s 40% revenue entitlement, DAP apparently is a strong proponent of the High Court decision, as DAP Secretary-General Anthony Loke said that the national DAP’s position mirrors that of the state, that due process must take place. Between 2022 and 2024, the Federal Government generated RM10.4 bil in revenue from Sabah, including the revenue obtained via the Inland Revenue Board and the Petroleum Income Tax. So, supposedly, Putrajaya should pay about RM4.2 bil to Sabah. However, Putrajaya only remitted RM725.6 mil to Sabah, via the special grant under Article 112D (the clause within the Federal Constitution that touches on Sabah’s 40% entitlement), during the same 2022 - 2024 period. That is a staggering 83% disparity between what Putrajaya has been paying vs what Putrajaya should pay to Sabah. But, to be fair, PM Anwar Ibrahim has doubled the annual special grant to Sabah to RM600 mil for 2025. The Sabah 40% issue did not start during PM Anwar’s tenure, but is a problem inherited by him and has been ignored by previous PMs since 1969.

Lack of sense of priority - the express bus dilemma
A joint statement by a coalition of industry associations, including the Malaysia Association of Hotels, the Malaysia Shopping Malls Association and the BB-KLCC Tourism Association, has sounded the alarm bells, stating that the directive to suspend companies that provide direct coach and services to Malaysia’s major shopping malls will instigate a full-blown national crisis. The associations contend that these direct coach routes are the seamless umbilical cord connecting Malaysia’s retail hubs with high-value, free-spending tourists, most notably from Singapore and Thailand. At the moment, the retail sector relies heavily on this passenger group as this direct traffic stream delivers around 20,000 passengers per month straight to the malls.

Shorts

1. A boat carrying migrants capsized in Langkawi

   Kedah police chief Adzli Abu Shah said that a boat believed to be carrying nearly 100 undocumented migrants of various nationalities capsized near the Malaysia-Thailand maritime border, with six survivors found in Langkawi waters. Preliminary investigations found that about a month ago, they boarded a large vessel carrying 300 people to enter Malaysia. However, as they neared the border, they were instructed to transfer onto three smaller boats, each carrying an estimated 100 people. The status of the other two boats is still unknown.

2. The IJM-Sunway merger is unconfirmed

   IJM Corporation Bhd clarified that it is unaware of any potential proposed merger with Sunway Bhd. IJM added that the company is obligated to disclose to Bursa Malaysia if there is any material development about the matter, but so far, there is none. According to a news report, the entities have been in discussion for over a year on the possibility of undertaking a share exchange deal.

4. AROUND THE WORLD 🌎

30th annual United Nations climate meeting (COP30) in Brazil
The COP30 opens today in Belém, Brazil, where leaders from nearly 200 nations that have signed up to the original UN climate agreement of 1992 convene to discuss various issues related to climate and planet Earth. While the Trump administration appears to be sitting out the meeting, dozens of the US subnational leaders are attending to promote their climate efforts, an indicator that the US is still very much committed to the cause. At COP30, nations will also discuss the implementation of the 2015 Paris climate agreement, from which Trump pulled the US out on his first day back in office this year.

Brazil pitches new forest fund at COP30
The Tropical Forests Forever Facility (TFFF) inauguration is expected on Thursday as global leaders meet at Cop30 - a forest fund, which proposes creating a reliable, long-term revenue stream to undercut the economic incentive in tropical countries to chop down trees. This means that tropical countries from Cameroon to Colombia could earn tens of millions of dollars a year under this novel approach and boost their efforts to fight deforestation. Note that most of the world’s primary rainforest lies in these poorer tropical countries, where there is simply more money to be made cutting down trees than saving them.

To date, deforestation rates remain at record highs globally: the equivalent of 18 football fields of primary forest was lost every minute in 2024 - an enormous problem for planet Earth as rainforest biodiversity helps regulate the climate. Brazil expects the fund to generate USD4 billion a year for conservation and, according to its latest concept note, has identified 74 forest-rich nations that could split the spoils. The country is courting USD125 bil from governments and private financiers for a global investment fund that proposes making annual payments to developing countries for every hectare of forest they keep standing. Hoping that this would work for the sake of our planet and humankind.

Money, money

Indonesia’s Danantara said to bid USD1 bil offer for land at Mecca site
Indonesia’s sovereign wealth fund Danantara is said to have bid USD 1 bil for a large plot 2km away from the Grand Mosque in Mecca, where a dedicated Hajj precinct would be built to cater for Indonesia’s Hajj pilgrims. Should Danantara be successful with its offer, the purchase would mark the fund’s first overseas investment, and is particularly significant given that Indonesia is home to the world’s largest Muslim population and has one of the highest numbers of pilgrims, with some 221,000 people making the journey earlier this year. The project is said to be under President Prabowo Subianto’s mandate and widely seen as a move to shore up his popularity with voters.

Shein expects a USD2 bil profit in 2025 despite US tariffs
Singapore-based Shein Group has told investors it is expecting a bumper USD2 bil in net income in 2025, after managing to recover from the drop in online traffic caused by US President Donald Trump’s punitive tariffs. The USD 2 bil net income guidance for 2025 suggests profit could nearly double from the USD1.1 bil it reported for 2024. The upbeat full-year outlook – issued in late August – comes as Shein works to retain investor confidence ahead of a long-delayed initial public offering (IPO) , which remains clouded by uncertainty. Once valued at USD100 bil, Shein has seen its valuation slide. After a USD66 bil valuation in a funding round in 2023, the company is reportedly under pressure to cut that figure by half.

Shorts

1. No more afternoon drinking in Thailand

   Thailand has amended its Alcoholic Beverage Control Act that bans drinking from 2pm to 5pm in the country, with offenders caught with an alcoholic beverage in hand during banned hours fined at least THB 10,000 (RM 1,290). However, exceptions remain for licensed hotels, entertainment venues, certified tourist-area establishments, and airports serving international flights. The rules for alcohol advertising also changed - ads must now be purely factual, and any use of celebrities, influencers or public figures for marketing is strictly banned.

2. Philippines braces for super typhoon Fung-Wong

   Merely a week after being hit by Typhoon Karmaegi, the Philippines braces itself for yet another super-typhoon named Fung Wong as it made landfall in the country yesterday.The weather bureau said Fung-Wong was passing very close to the eastern province of Catanduanes on Sunday morning, packing maximum sustained winds of 185 km/h and gusts of up to 230 km/h. Over 900,000 people have been evacuated in eastern, central and northern provinces in the typhoon’s path. A total of 8.4 million people could potentially be affected by Fung-Wong, including 5.7 million who are living in coastal communities, according to government data.

3. Getting to know perimenopause

   The buzzword in women’s health is now “perimenopause”, a condition commonly occurring around the age of 46 when a woman shows symptoms of menopause but her period hasn’t yet stopped. Symptoms can include anxiety, mood swings, brain fog, hot flushes and irregular periods. Women’s health advocates are now calling for conversations and awareness about perimenopause to be normalized, as it could have a big impact on life, including relationships and work.

5. FOR YOUR EYES 📺

1. Ski mountaineer Andrzej Bargiel became the first person to climb Mt. Everest and ski back to the Everest Base Camp without oxygen support. Drone POV is always stunning. Check out this drone POV by DJI climbing Mt Everest.

2. The end of management/corporate consulting?
   “I like to con people. And I like to insult people. If you combine con and insult, you get ‘consult’” - Dogbert

3. Something to think about especially for knowledge workers, not just fresh grads.