☕️ British Airways is back - resumes KL to KL route

1. MARKET SUMMARY 📈

2. NUMBERS AT A GLANCE 🔢

72.5% of Malaysians affected by data leaks – Malaysia recorded the highest rate of personal data breaches among key Asian markets in 2024, with 72.5% of Malaysians discovering their information had been compromised, according to Whoscall’s Annual Report. The leaks exposed tens of millions to risks of financial fraud and identity theft, underscoring the urgent need for stronger data protection measures in the country. What are the authorities doing about it?

44 years in prison – Nael Barghouti, the longest-held Palestinian prisoner, was released from an Israeli jail. His release was part of the 7th prisoner-captive exchange between Israel and Hamas, which saw him exiled to Egypt. Barghouti’s case highlights the enduring tensions and complex negotiations in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, as well as the human toll of prolonged incarceration.

800+ species harmed by pesticides – A large-scale study published in Nature Communications reveals that pesticides are causing significant harm to over 800 species of wildlife worldwide, stunting growth, impairing reproduction, and altering behaviour. Researchers from China and Europe analysed 1,700 studies, finding that these chemicals are contributing to a biodiversity crisis comparable to the mass extinction event that wiped out the dinosaurs 66 mil years ago. The study underscores the urgent need to address pesticide use and its unintended consequences on ecosystems, as human activity accelerates the planet’s sixth mass extinction.

3. IN MALAYSIA 🇲🇾

News about the sky business

• British Airways returns to KL, flying to KL
  British Airways is set to resume daily flights from Kuala Lumpur to Kuala London on Apr 2, four years after dropping the route during the pandemic. Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) says early ticket sales and load factors look promising, with talks already underway for a possible increase in frequency. The airline had initially planned to restart the route in Nov 2024 but delayed it due to excessive wear on its Boeing 787 engines. This isn’t its first comeback, BA previously axed KL flights in 2001 before reviving them in 2015. Meanwhile, MAHB is focused on strengthening European connections, particularly through One World Alliance members, though US-based airlines remain a future goal.

• AirAsia grounds power banks
  Starting Apr 1, AirAsia is banning the use and charging of power banks on all flights to reduce battery-related risks, but passengers can still carry power banks under 100Wh (or 20,000mAh), while those between 100Wh and 160Wh need airline approval at check-in. Power banks must be stored in seat pockets or under seats which means; no overhead bins, no checked baggage, and definitely no mid-flight charging. Other Malaysian airlines, including Malaysia Airlines and Batik Air, have similar bans, following incidents like the Air Busan battery fire in Jan.

• KLIA hack update
  KLIA was hit by a cyberattack in the early hours of Mar 23, knocking out flight info displays, check-in counters, and baggage handling for hours. Airlines had to go manual, while passengers faced delays. Initial findings point to a system breach, but authorities haven’t confirmed who’s behind it. Some screens stayed down for two days, though MAHB insists operations weren’t affected and were back to normal in four hours. Hackers demanded a USD10 mil (RM44.36 mil) ransom, which PM Anwar Ibrahim straight-up rejected.

Biz

• KL Tower Makeover: New lease, same old scandals
  KL Tower is now set for a major transformation under a new 20-year lease agreement. Recently IPO-ed Lim Seong Hai Capital Bhd (LSH Capital) has secured a 20-year lease to manage and transform KL Tower and its 10.08-acre surroundings into a tourism, retail, and cultural hub. The lease, running from Apr 2025 to Mar 2045, was awarded to LSH Service Master Sdn Bhd, a 70:30 joint venture between LSH Capital’s subsidiary and Service Master (M) Sdn Bhd, a Bumiputera-owned firm specialising in M&E works and maintenance. This marks LSH Capital’s first foray into facility management, a strategic move for stable, long-term revenue. KL Tower, previously managed by Telekom Malaysia, has been under scrutiny since 2022 over an ownership transfer controversy.

  However, KL Tower’s transition has not been without controversy, as legal proceedings surrounding its previous concession continue to unfold - Hydroshoppe Sdn Bhd director, Hamid Shaikh, was charged with offering a RM500,000 annual bribe over 15 years to benefit Tan Sri Annuar Musa in the KL Tower concession takeover. The alleged offer was made through businessman Tan Ser Lay to the then Communications and Multimedia Minister in 2022.

• MBI money trail under scrutiny
  Bukit Aman has summoned corporate figures and major shareholders of several listed companies in Kuala Lumpur and Penang as part of its probe into the money trail of the now-defunct pyramid scheme, MBI. Police have seized documents related to property and share transactions, particularly those tied to the high-value Bayan Mutiara development in Penang. MBI, infamous for its unregulated digital currency scheme, collapsed in 2018 after allegedly scamming billions from depositors, including many from China. When Bank Negara froze its accounts, only RM177 mil remained. Tedy fled to Thailand in 2019 but was extradited to China in 2024.

Raya Goodies

• Raya Toll Discounts for Travellers
  Good news but no surprise - private vehicle owners get a 50% toll discount on Mar 28-29 across all highways, except border tolls at BSI (Johor Causeway) and Tanjung Kupang (Linkedua). The move, costing the government RM19.69 mil, aims to ease festive travel expenses. Raya road trips just got cheaper and now if only we could get a discount on traffic jams too!

• 5GB free data for Raya
  This Raya, Malaysians are getting a free 5GB data boost on the first day of celebrations! The one-day-only perk applies to postpaid and prepaid users under CelcomDigi, Maxis, U Mobile, TM Tech, YTL Communications, Pavo Comms, Tune Talk, redOne, REDtone and XOX Com at one number per telco. The automatic top-up will be valid for at least 24 hours, covering 45 mil accounts nationwide.

4. AROUND THE WORLD 🌎

Out, Hamas!
Hundreds protest Hamas in Gaza as Netanyahu threatens more land seizure Gaza’s streets saw hundreds taking part in protests calling for Hamas to step down from power, leading to masked and armed Hamas militants forcibly dispersing the crowd. Hamas did not acknowledge the protests but issued a statement blaming Israel for the continuation of the war. Pro-Hamas supporters condemned the protestors, calling them “traitors”. The protests themselves were sparked after Islamic Jihad gunmen launched rockets at Israel, leading to Israel evacuating large parts of Beit Lahia, where the protests took place.

This also comes as the Israeli PM threatened to take more territory in Gaza if Hamas does not release the remaining hostages it holds, with Netanyahu also promising an increasingly powerful “repression” that may include action beyond seizing territory.

Tesla signals mended relations with Saudi Arabia
Tesla will begin selling its vehicles in Saudi Arabia following a launch event on Apr 10, with the announcement seen as a signal that CEO Elon Musk has mended relations with Saudi Arabia, following a rift that formed back in 2018. The rift formed due to Musk tweeting that he had secured funding for taking Tesla private right after meeting with Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund. This led to a lawsuit from investors when there was no bid to take Tesla private, and messages between Musk and PIF head Yasir al-Rumayyan were made public.

US Government Cybersecurity (or lack thereof)

• US intel chiefs point to China as the biggest military, cyber threat
  This follows a report by US intelligence agencies that China was making “steady but uneven” progress on capabilities it could use to capture Taiwan. The assessment found that China has the ability to hit the US with conventional weapons, compromise US infrastructure with cyber attacks, and target US assets in space. Beijing is also said to be looking to displace the US as the top AI power by 2030. China has recently advised the US to not use “outdated Cold War thinking” to view US-China relations.

• Chinese network to lure fired US federal workers discovered
  An analyst on emerging threats with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies discovered that there was a network of companies operated by a “secretive Chinese tech firm” looking to recruit recently axed US government workers, preying on their financial vulnerabilities to gather sensitive information. The analyst found that the recruiting companies shared several digital links, such as being hosted at the same IP address and overlapping websites, among others. The analyst also noted that the campaign followed “well-established” techniques used by previous Chinese intelligence operations.

A takeover, Labubu, and Chinese EVs

• Grab seeks USD2 bil loan in GoTo takeover attempt
  Regional unicorn Grab is in talks with banks to secure a loan of up to USD2 bil (RM8.87 bil) to back its potential takeover of Indonesia-based rival GoTo, though the talks are still in early stages. Sources also indicated that the loan could have a repayment period of 12 months. This follows reports last week of a potential USD7 bil deal between Grab and GoTo, which GoTo had denied.

• Pop Mart sees profit more than double on back of Labubu craze
  The Beijing-based toymaker saw its profits surge 188% to CNY3.1 bil (RM1.89 bil) in 2024 compared to CNY1.1 bil in 2023, beating analyst estimates of CNY2.71 bil. Pop Mart, which also saw its shares skyrocket 360% in the past year, attributed this to the performance of Labubu, a collectable toy, which it said was “particularly impressive”. The toymaker aims to continue developing physical stores in “globally iconic locations” to enhance brand experience and recognition while strengthening its cooperation with artists and brands to promote the “cross-boundary integration of pop culture”.

Russian Telegram bug bounties, a Napster deal, and a ChatGPT upgrade

• Russian firm seeks Telegram vulnerabilities, posts bounties
  Operation Zero, the Russian exploit seller who deals exclusively with the Russian government and local Russian companies, is offering between USD500,000 (RM2.2 mil) to USD4 mil in bounties for any exploits for the messaging platform Telegram. The bounties are specifically for vulnerabilities unknown to the software or hardware makers and are also known as zero-days. The bounties were posted at a time when the Ukrainian government banned the use of Telegram on government and military devices and the devices of personnel working in the two sectors, out of fear of vulnerability to Russian government hackers. Someone with knowledge of market prices actually noted that the firm’s prices for the bounties were “a bit low”, but suggested Operation Zero could charge more, up to three times as much, when it does sell the exploits. The exploits can also be sold to multiple buyers. The company is also known for previously offering USD20 mil for exploits to take full control of iOS and Android devices.

• Napster signs USD207 mil deal
  This is the same Napster that brought us digital music but is in a different form now. Controversial music-sharing platform Napster (and isn’t that a throwback) was recently acquired in a USD207 mil (RM918.36 mil) deal by 3D tech firm Infinite Reality, with the intent to “create branded 3D virtual spaces where fans can enjoy virtual concerts”. This has led to memes and jokes on the internet, along with the sharing of memories on the platform. The platform, which served as the inspiration for Spotify, now plays by the rules with the licences to legally stream music, leaving behind its days of piracy.

• ChatGPT image generator gets an upgrade
  OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently announced a major upgrade to ChatGPT’s image generation capabilities, the first after more than a year. The upgrade allows ChatGPT to leverage the company’s GPT-4o model to natively create and modify images and photos allowing the model to finally work with images. The service, along with OpenAI’s AI video-generation product Sora, is currently only available to subscribers of the firm’s Pro subscription plan, though the firm also confirmed the features will be rolled out soon to users from the Plus tier, as well as free users. The firm’s COO has stated that there are policies in place that prevent the generation of images mimicking the work of living artists, with an opt-out form provided that allows creators to request that their works be removed from OpenAI’s training datasets.

Shorts:

1. World Athletics Council approves gender eligibility test
   The approval is for the introduction of a test to determine if an athlete is biologically female as a “pre-clearance requirement” that has to be performed once in their career. While no timeline has been officially confirmed, the World Athletics is aiming to have it in place for Sept’s World Championships in Tokyo. This move is among several recommendations approved by the council to tighten regulations over the eligibility of transgender and difference of sex development athletes.

2. One Piece to end Oct 2026, says author 
   Eiichiro Oda was reported to have made the announcement on Japanese television, marking an end to a series that has been running since 1997. However, this goes contrary to his earlier remarks in an interview five years ago that he would end the series “in five years”. The manga is currently at Chapter 1,143.

5. FOR YOUR EYES 📺

1. Random but interesting — why Cantonese is closer to ancient Chinese than Mandarin.

2. The homeless doggo that has gone viral for taking a happy ride on the MRT is now happily attending TAR Uni (i.e. strolling into classrooms and canteens).

myforeverdoggo

137K followers

View more on Instagram

3. ‘Iris’ by Goo Goo Dolls (listen on Spotify here), written for the soundtrack of the 1998 film City of Angels transcends generations. If you are Gen Z, you might like it. Came across this live concert - the rain made it even more epic.