☕️ Businessman loses RM2.2 mil after two scams mere months apart

1. MARKET SUMMARY 📈

2. NUMBERS AT A GLANCE 🔢

Let’s end the week with some richness. Did you know that the US minted 1,000 new millionaires every day in 2024, weekends included? This comes after UBS released its comprehensive analysis of household wealth worldwide, with the US clocking nearly 380,000 new millionaires. This is even more than mainland China, though they had a respectable 386 millionaires made a day in 2024, which brings them to 141,000 new members of the seven-figure club. In fact, UBS believes that US and China will prove to be the primary wealth drivers globally.

Speaking of making the money, the Philippines government estimate that there are more than 1 mil Filipinos working as “virtual assistants” for clients overseas, taking on tasks like bookkeeping, scheduling, document management, billing, and other duties. These jobs can be either short term or long term. While the work and the higher pay are welcomed by the people, it remains a mixed blessing for the government. While the work brings foreign exchange in and keeps people employed, the work is also informal and with overseas companies, leaving a lot of things happening off the tax radar. How vulnerable is this industry towards AI?

A McKinsey report believes that women are changing the face of wealth, considering women control about a third of all retail financial assets in the US and the EU. The number is also expected to increase to a possible 45% by 2030. How? Women don’t invest the same way as men. They are reportedly less likely to invest emotionally, more risk-aware, and more realistic in their own ability to invest, while investing towards specific goals rather than for the highest returns.
View report: The new face of wealth: The rise of the female investor

3. IN MALAYSIA 🇲🇾

PM Anwar rolls out Sejahtera Madani
PM Anwar Ibrahim has launched the Sejahtera Madani 2025 initiative, aimed at improving the well-being of poor and hardcore poor households across Malaysia. Targeting rakyat through their eKasih database, Sejahtera Madani will consolidate various forms of government, private sector, and civil society aid into a single, focused approach to poverty reduction, based on a “whole of nation” strategy with four main pillars - income generation, education, housing, and welfare. As of July 15, 306,403 heads of households are registered in eKasih nationwide, comprising 1,017 hardcore poor and 305,386 poor households. It’s understandable that the word ‘Madani’ is slapped on everything for branding purposes. But if PM Anwar is no longer PM, will Sejahtera Madani change to Sejahtera 1Malaysia? Just asking.

Medicine will be delivered by drones in Sabah’s rural, remote areas
In a smart, high-impact solution, the Health Ministry and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) will bring digital healthcare services, including drone medicine deliveries, to rural and remote areas of Sabah. The Tawau Health Clinic will become the pilot testbed, serving two nearby National Information Dissemination Centres (Nadi). These Nadi centres will house telehealth kiosks for the local community, with the initiative looking to expand e-Health services through 1,099 Nadi centres. View here to visualise how these drones might spearhead digital healthcare services in Sabah. This concept has been commercially viable for years in Ghana:

China saved Malaysia’s automotive behind
Investment, Trade, and Industry Minister Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz revealed that Chinese automobile manufacturer Geely is the reason why local car manufacturer Proton is no longer in the red. Tengku Zafrul stated, via a written parliamentary response, that after Geely acquired a 49.9% stake in Proton Holdings Berhad in 2017, the process to overturn a previous four-year loss from 2012 until 2016 was started. Tengku Zafrul highlighted that the collaboration has enabled crucial technology transfers, including advanced automotive platforms, energy-efficient engines, and electrification systems that have modernised Proton’s vehicle lineup. Or would saying “copy-pasting Proton’s lineup from Geely’s catalogue” be more accurate?

Post Geely’s acquisition, below are Proton’s achievements -

• Proton’s vehicle sales increased by 114% from 71,000 units in 2016 to over 152,000 units in 2024;

• Proton’s market share expanded from 12.5% in 2016 to 18.7% in 2024;

• Export volumes skyrocketed by 316% from 1,145 units in 2018 to over 4,765 units in 2024, with key markets including Pakistan, Brunei, Bangladesh, Mauritius, and South Africa.

Fun fact: DRB-Hicom Bhd acquired Proton Holdings Bhd in 2012 for RM1.29 bil and the 3 years following the acquisition, Proton incurred RM1.93 bil in losses.

However, Proton and other manufacturers may see a drop in output that can cost the sector up to RM1 bil in lost productivity, due to PM Anwar Ibrahim announcing an additional public holiday on September 15. The Federation of Malaysian Manufacturing’s (FMM) president, Soh Thian Lai, is calling out to Putrajaya to quickly issue the official gazette notification under the Holidays Act 1951, to confirm whether this falls under Section 8 or Section 9. As the manufacturing sector is sensitive to last-minute holiday declarations, such a delay in providing clarity by the Government impacts scheduled production timelines, export commitments, and labour shifts. Section 8 allows the Prime Minister to declare special public or bank holidays for Peninsular Malaysia and the Federal Territories, while Section 9 allows State Authorities to declare public holidays specific to their respective states.

In an effort to provide clarity to the industry, Human Resources Minister Steven Sim stated that employers must comply with the public holiday declared on September 15 by either giving employees the day off with regular pay, paying public holiday rates if they are required to work, or offering a replacement day off. This is because the additional holiday is subject to provisions under Section 60D(1) of the Employment Act 1955, the Sabah Labour Ordinance (Chapter 67), the Sarawak Labour Ordinance (Chapter 76), and the Holidays Act 1951. The four all cover employment and holiday clauses.

Shorts

1. Autogate crash at KLIA Terminal 2

   Less than a week after the previous crash, half of KLIA Terminal 2’s automatic gate suffered a technical glitch, leading to long queues in the arrival hall. However, the autogates at KLIA Terminal 1, totalling about 100 units, were functioning properly. Not again.

2. Businessman loses RM2.2 mil after two scams mere months apart

   A 45-year-old businessman lost RM1.86 mil after falling for a fake investment scheme advertised on Facebook. The RM1.86 mil was transferred to six bank accounts via 18 transactions. Mere months before this incident, the same guy lost RM440,000 through 13 transactions between February and May this year, having fallen victim to a similar scam. Social media really isn’t for everyone.

3. Sayur manis can kill you

   One claim repeated often since the 1990s, that eating raw ‘sayur manis’ (view here) or sauropus androgynus to use its scientific name, can destroy the lungs of those eating it, has been proven true. According to the Singapore Food Agency (SFA), ‘sayur manis’ eaten raw can cause a permanent lung disease called bronchiolitis obliterans, which is when the lungs fill with scar tissue and block the small airways inside. This causes irreversible breathing difficulty, which can worsen with time, leading to death.

4. AROUND THE WORLD 🌎

Gaza in famine
Gaza being hungry is not new, but Gaza has never been hungrier and it's getting even deadlier by the day. As Israel continues its blockade of humanitarian aid and weaponises starvation against the Palestinians, this week marks the hardest hunger the Gazans had to face since the attacks began two years ago. Over just three days this week, there were 43 deaths from hunger recorded by public health officials - there had been 68 attributed to all other days before that.

Testimony from local people and doctors, and data from the Israeli government, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation and the UN and humanitarian organisations, shows that food is running out, with flour selling for more than 30 times the market rate at the start of the year. Wards in hospitals are full of malnourished children, and there are only two functioning paediatric teams left in Gaza City, with up to 200 children turning up daily seeking treatment. Even doctors and aid workers are struggling with hunger amid their fight to save people. The total amount of food shipments allowed in since the start of March are well below starvation rations for the 2.1 mil population, and Palestinians are already weakened by the impact of prolonged food shortages and repeated displacement. If this crisis does not move the world to do something, what else would?

Tensions between nations

Conflict too close to home: Thai-Cambodia border clash
The simmering tension between Thailand and Cambodia over a longstanding border dispute has finally broken yesterday, with both parties clashing fiercely with bombings and shellings that killed 11 civilians and 1 soldier on the Thai side. The fighting erupted in an area near the disputed Ta Moan Thom Temple, located in a border area in northwestern Cambodia’s Oddar Meanchey province. The fighting has led to the evacuation of at least 40,000 civilians from over 80 villages near the border to safer locations.

Who fault? Your fault.
Both countries blamed each other for instigating the fighting, with the Thais saying that the Cambodians deployed surveillance drones before sending troops to the area and began firing with heavy weapons, forcing them to retaliate. The Cambodians accused Thailand of attacking first, saying its troops had acted in self-defence after coming under attack. As a neighbour and Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) chair, Malaysia called for both parties to stand down and pushed for a peaceful resolution. Historically speaking, Thailand and Cambodia have been forever foes as they contest sovereignty at various un-demarcated points along their 817km land border.

Iran is ready for Israel
Meanwhile across the continent, Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian has said his country is prepared for any war Israel might wage against it and that Tehran is still committed to continuing its nuclear programme for peaceful purposes. He also said that he is not optimistic about the ceasefire between the 2 countries, adding that Israel’s strikes which assassinated leading military figures and nuclear scientists and damaged nuclear facilities, had sought to “eliminate” Iran’s hierarchy, “but it has completely failed to do so”. With regards to the uranium enrichment programme, Pezeshkian said that it would continue “within the framework of international laws”, and that they still believe in diplomacy. He added that Iran is open to any future negotiations that brings a win-win solution for all parties, but will not tolerate any threats or dictates.

In the US
More Epstein fire for Trump
Donald Trump is facing more pressure with the Jeffrey Epstein case - on Wednesday, it was reported that his name appeared multiple times in US Justice Department files related to the notorious sex offender. A new Wall Street Journal article said that Trump was informed in May by his attorney general Pam Bondi that his name was in the files, along with other high-profile figures, and that the Department of Justice has decided not to release any more documents related to the investigation. It also concluded earlier this month that there was not a basis to continue the Epstein investigation, which triggered huge backlash from his support base. Nevertheless, the White House continues to downplay the relationship between Trump and Epstein, with a spokesperson denying the WSJ mention. There was also that USD10 bil defamation lawsuit on the publication and its founder Rupert Murdoch last week.

Trump 1-0 Columbia University
Trump has won in his efforts to exert greater control over tertiary education in the US. One of the top universities in the US, Columbia University, has apparently agreed to pay USD221 mil to settle claims by the Trump administration that it failed to police anti-Semitism on campus. With that, the USD400mil in federal grants that was frozen will be reinstated to the institution, along with access to billions of dollars in current and future grants. The university said that the settlement was essential to avoid situations that could “jeopardise our status as a world-leading research institution”. Columbia was among dozens of US universities that were roiled by protests against Israel’s war in Gaza throughout the spring and summer of 2024. Nearly 80 students had been expelled or suspended for between one and three years for joining the protests. More money for Trump and his aspirations.
Learn : Who exactly are the Semites?

Shorts

1. Uber: Women drivers for women riders

   Uber’s women riders and drivers in the US can soon have a “women preferences” feature when hailing a ride on the app, which means users can opt to have a woman rider or driver. The feature was first rolled out in Saudi Arabia six years ago, and then to 40 more countries, with the US being next. Besides being an additional safety feature on Uber, the feature could also help Uber attract more female drivers in the country. Currently, only about 1 in 5 Uber drivers in the US are women and Uber is planning to increase the number. Does Grab have something similar here?

2. Great news for Pokemon fans!

   PokePark Kanto, a new Pokemon theme park built within the Yomiuriland amusement park in Japan will be opening its doors in the spring of 2026. It would be the first permanent outdoor facility themed around Pokemon, located in Tama Hills near the cities of Inagi, Tokyo, and Kawasaki. The park is a joint establishment between The Pokemon Company, Yomiuri Land and The Yomiuri Shimbun, featuring a 2.6 hectare area with two zones, namely Pokemon Forest and Sedge Town, with more than 600 types of Pokemon roaming the grounds. Tickets for the new facility are scheduled to go on sale around autumn, and further details will be announced at a later date.

5. FOR YOUR EYES 📺

1. “Welcome to Afghanistan” ad using hostage scene to invite US tourists by Raza Afghanistan, an Afghan travel agency that offers travel packages to international tourists. Dark, but creative.

2. Travel to 50 amazing places around the world in 22 minutes. Worth your time.

Have a good weekend and may all of you men age as beautifully as this grandpa dancing to Rihanna’s Only Girl (In The World) by the pool. Grandpa really got moves.

the_dancing_trucker

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