☕️ Buy palm oil, get orangutan - Malaysia's new diplomatic strategy

1. MARKET SUMMARY 📈

2. NUMBERS AT A GLANCE 🔢

The Health Ministry has seen a 50% decline in the number of housemen since 2019 due to a major drop in medical graduates. In 2019, there were 4,999 medical graduates with provisional registration. By 2022, the number has dwindled to 3,131. This shortage has led to a maldistribution of housemen across government hospitals. Data from the ministry's Human Resources Division shows a decrease from 6,134 housemen in 2019 to 3,271 in 2023. Likewise, provisional registration of medical graduates with the Malaysian Medical Council has also halved.

A 49-year-old man who was injured three years ago when his motorcycle hit a pothole has been awarded RM721,000 by the Johor Baru Sessions Court. The court found that Razali@Mohd Leey Subeh had proven his claim against Safwa Global Venture (M) Sdn Bhd, the company responsible for maintaining the road appointed by the state government. According to Sazlina’s judgement, the plaintiff successfully proved his case against the company on the balance of probabilities. Razali was travelling from Taman Cendana to Taman Kota Masai in Johor Baru at around 10 pm on February 11, 2021, when he hit a pothole and fell off his motorcycle.
Learn: What does proof on a balance of probabilities mean?

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway saw its cash reserves soar to a record USD189 bil last quarter, a 13% increase in just three months. Despite markets near record highs, Buffett struggled to find attractive investments, spending only USD2.7 bil on stocks while selling off a staggering USD20 bil worth — the largest quarterly disposal in years, including over USD17 bil of shares on a net basis. Buffett expects the figure to be at USD200 bil at the end of this quarter, nearly double BNM’s foreign reserves of USD112.8 bil.

"We only swing at pitches we like." — Warren Buffett

3. IN MALAYSIA 🇲🇾

Malaysia Football-gate
For the past week, three incidents involving footballers happened around the country - an assault on Akhyar Rashid, an acid attack on Faisal Halim and damages to Safiq Rahim’s car - which is a strange string of events that never occurred before this in the country. Even Bukit Aman CID director Comm Mohd Shuhaily Mohd Zain concurred that a pattern has emerged from the three attacks. One, the attacks occurred at two-day intervals and two, the perpetrators also worked in pairs in all the attacks. Although the investigation into the attacks is still in its early days, the police are not dismissing the possibility that these attacks are linked to the poison pen letter that criticised FAM's leadership and management, as well as the recent unsatisfactory performances of the national senior and under-23 squads.

In response to the attacks, FAM's president Hamidin Mohd Amin suggested that football players need to consider hiring bodyguards as a practical solution to ensure their safety, particularly in public places. Hamidin also added that FAM will enhance the security measures during national team training camps, especially at the hotel where they are staying.

More than half of our kids do not get enough nutrients daily
According to a report titled ‘Living on the Edge’ by Unicef on the post-COVID019 study on low-income households in KL, 52% of the children in the study, who mainly reside in urban areas, ate less than three meals a day. The current statistic is actually worse than the numbers during the pre-pandemic times which were at 45%. The main reason why our children are not receiving enough nutrients is mainly due to the rising cost of living.

The malnutrition problem is more severe in female-headed households and households led by persons with disabilities. How do these groups cope with this issue? They mostly take on additional work, withdrawing retirement savings from the Employees Provident Fund (EPF), seeking financial assistance from family and friends and selling personal possessions such as mobile phones. Even the dietary patterns also shifted towards eggs, rice and instant noodles just so that they have enough money to eat until the next paycheck.
Read report: Living on the Edge - Key Findings

China’s panda diplomacy has a new competitor, say hi to Malaysia’s orangutan diplomacy
Plantation and Commodities Minister Johari Abdul Ghani intends to introduce ‘orangutan diplomacy’ where we will offer orangutans as gifts to countries that purchase palm oil from us. This move is a direct carbon copy of China’s ‘panda diplomacy’. With this, Johari hoped that the orangutans would be a symbol that Malaysia is able to meet food security needs while at the same time, the environment is safeguarded. India is the biggest buyer of Malaysian palm oil, followed by China, Kenya, Turkey and the Philippines.

While the ‘orangutan diplomacy’ is a proactive stance in promoting palm oil, Malaysia also has its fair share in deploying defensive methods against non-palm oil bias to protect our treasured commodity. In Labuan, the Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry seized 1,134 chocolate products worth RM23,704 which carried the 'No Palm Oil' and 'Palm Oil-Free' labels. The raid on two stores was conducted by the authorities and the case is investigated under the Trade Descriptions (Prohibition of use of Statement, Expression or Indication) (Oil Palm Product and Palm Oil Goods) Regulations 2022 that could lead to a fine of up to RM250,000 or maximum five years in jail.

Business news

1. Austrian-German company AMS-Osram AG is halting its RM2.03 bil investment in Malaysia even after completing its micro-LED plant in Kulim Hi-tech Park, Kedah. The cancellation is rumoured to be caused by the withdrawal of a key customer, believed to be Apple. The company is seeking a buyer to acquire the lease of its Kulim plant, which is held by Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB), Employee Provident Fund (EPF) and Retirement Fund Incorporated (KWAP).

2. Troubled at home but flying the skies overseas as Sapura Energy Bhd’s joint venture entities Seabras Sapura Holding GmbH and Seabras Sapura Participacoes SA secured a whopping USD1.8 bil contract from Brazil-based Petrobras. The scope of work includes the provision of subsea engineering, installation and other services by utilising the multi-purpose pipe-laying support vessels (PLSVs) in Brazilian waters.

3. Power Root Bhd managed to take control of the trademark of its ‘Ah Huat’ brand from its Indonesian distributor CV Ego Sun Star Sukses Mandiri (CV Ego) in a RM1.27 mil out-of-court settlement. This marks the end of more than a decade of legal battles between the two companies, which also includes an RM23.7 mil lawsuit against Power Root. Read the story here on this bizarre case.

Shorts

1. No hotlines for the non-Muslims

   Muslims got a hotline (24 hours too btw) to receive complaints about people insulting Islam but what do non-Muslims get? According to the National Unity Minister Aaron Ago Dagang, his ministry has no plans to set up a 24-hour hotline to cater to complaints of insults to religions other than Islam. However, the Unity Ministry does have a ‘unity analytics dashboard’ which maps out high-risk and hotspot areas to support the management of community issues that could cause disharmony.

2. Be careful when driving along Jalan Sultan Ismail
   Institute of Landscape Architects Malaysia (Ilam) president Associate Professor Dr Nor Atiah Ismail said the trees around Jalan Sultan Ismail have the potential of falling following the incident on Tuesday (May 7) afternoon. The reason behind this claim is that the interconnected tree root system affects the trees’ durability. Additionally, the unpredictable weather in Kuala Lumpur may also contribute to these incidents.

4. AROUND THE WORLD 🌎

Conflict updates

Israel: The US paused a bomb shipment to Israel as it continues gearing up for an invasion of Rafah, as Israel has not fully addressed its concerns over humanitarian needs in Rafah. The concerns include the extensive civilian casualties that would come about should Israel go ahead with the operation. The delay is also a sign of the domestic pressure faced by the Biden administration to rein in Israeli operations through Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. An evacuation order was issued, forcing Palestinians to move again in search of another safe zone, especially with the fighting already happening on the outskirts of the city. Still silent whether Israel the latest ceasefire deal, which Hamas has accepted.

Ukraine: Meanwhile, Ukraine’s state security service alleged it caught two agents of Russia (2 colonels in Ukraine’s state guard service) who were plotting to assassinate President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and other top officials. The assassinations were meant as a “gift” to Russian President Vladimir Putin for his fifth term in office. The two men arrested were colonels in Ukraine’s state guard service, recruited by Russia’s Federal Secret Service. The Kremlin has declined to comment, saying the information is “hardly likely to be accurate”.
Colonel, lieutenant, captain, corporal - who outranks who? Learn more about military hierarchy here.

Myanmar: Closer to home, the number of people in Myanmar who have been displaced by its conflict has now exceeded 3 mil, according to the United Nations. This marks a surge of 50% in the last six months as fighting escalated between the military and armed groups looking to remove the generals who seized power in the 2021 coup. Also noted was that, of the 3 mil displaced, over 90% fled their homes as a result of the conflict following the coup.

About cannabis: Pakistan bets on cannabis as economy booster shot as Thailand declares U-turn on legalised weed
Pakistan is looking towards tapping into the cannabis-derivatives-related industry, a fast-growing, global sector that looks to be lucrative, especially as it is expected to be worth more than USD30 bil by 2027. This led to a regulatory body overseeing the cultivation, refining, and sale of cannabis derivatives for medicinal and industrial purposes in February, which also oversees issuing licenses to farmers growing the plant. The move is expected to help the nation generate revenue through exports while pulling in foreign investment to shore up its foreign reserves.

Meanwhile, Thailand has made a turnaround regarding cannabis, with new Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin declaring marijuana will be relisted as a narcotic by the end of the year. This puts a dampener on the local industry which has been building up over the past two years, involving tens of thousands of shops and a market projected to reach a value of USD1.2 bil by 2025. Thavisin has also asked authorities to redefine what counts as drug possession to enable tougher enforcement. Shooting his economy in the foot? Brilliant start right there.

US intelligence community gets top secret AI service, while US considers action to curb China's access to generative AI
Microsoft has created a generative AI model that is entirely divorced from the internet, which allows intelligence agencies (aka spy) to utilise generative AI without the worry of leaking top-secret information. This marks the first time a major AI model is operating fully separate from the internet, with the model based on GPT4. Microsoft spent the last 18 months on this project.

However, the US is determined to hold on to its lead in generative AI for intelligence assets as long as it can, as the Biden administration mulls a regulatory push to restrict the export of proprietary or closed source AI models, as a complementary measure for the move to block the export of sophisticated AI chips to China to slow the country’s development of AI tech for military purposes.

Shorts

1. Germans demand legal cap on doner kebab prices
   A German political party has led the call for the government to cap the prices of doner kebabs, a staple food since it was introduced to the nation by Turkish immigrants in the 1970s. About USD7.5 bil worth of doner kebabs are sold every year in Germany, but prices of the food have more than doubled over the past two years. The Left Party called for the government to “intervene to prevent food from becoming a luxury item”.

2. Boeing takes another hit
   This time, the hit comes in the form of a 767 cargo plane being forced to land at Istanbul without its front landing gear. Nobody was hurt, though Turkey’s transport ministry has not revealed the cause of the landing gear failure. Watch the incident here on X. This post on X claims there were casualties, namely Boeing’s safety record and share price.

3. AstraZeneca withdraws marketing authorisation for worldwide sales of COVID-19 vaccine
   The drugmaker’s application to withdraw the vaccine from use in the EU was made on Mar 5 and came into effect May 7. AstraZeneca shared that it will be making similar applications in the UK and other countries in the coming months, leading up to a worldwide withdrawal of the vaccine. Still, there are reports that the withdrawal is due to a rare and dangerous side effect, which the drugmaker admitted in court for the first time, as it faces class action suits over claims the vaccine caused serious injury or death in dozens of cases. This has since been called out as irresponsible reporting by netizens.

5. FOR YOUR EYES 📺

1. Throwback - watch the kinda epic grand opening of Petronas Twin Towers, with a screen hanging down from the bridge on the 42nd Merdeka Day on 31 Aug 1999. The construction of the towers took 6 years at a cost of RM6 bil.

2. We compiled a list of the latest market values of the top malls and buildings in the country based on publicly available data. Get the working file here. The next you head to your favourite mall, at least you will know how much it’s worth.