☕️ Drone, drugs and Malaysian prison

1. MARKET SUMMARY 📈

2. NUMBERS AT A GLANCE 🔢

The Malaysian labour force showed positive growth in Q2 2024, with a 1.1% increase to 17.15 mil people compared to Q1 2024. Employment also rose by 1.2% to 16.59 mil. The unemployment rate decreased to 3.3%, with 557,800 unemployed individuals — 0.6% reduction from the previous quarter. In June, the labour force slightly increased to 17.17 mil, while unemployment fell by 0.1% to 565,300 people compared to May.
Read: What is unemployment rate?

A debt-stricken labourer in Madhya Pradesh, India, discovered a 19.22-carat diamond worth USD95,000 (RM419.4k) while digging on government-leased land. The man, Raju Gond, typically earns around USD4 a day through various labour jobs - his discovery made him 65 years’ worth of income, assuming he works every single day. He and his brother occasionally paid USD9.50 daily to dig for gems on the 690-square-foot plot. Under local laws, the government takes an 11.5% royalty and a small tax on any gemstone found, with the remainder going to the discoverer.

Paris Olympic gold medal is worth more than ever thanks to soaring gold prices. At USD900 (RM3.97k), this gold medal is made up of 6g of gold, 92.5% of silver and also a small piece of the Eiffel Tower (priceless), at about 18g. Approximately 5,084 medals have been created for the Paris Games: 2,600 for the Olympics and 2,400 for the Paralympics, which will take place from Aug 28 to Sep 8 2024.

3. IN MALAYSIA 🇲🇾

The wait for the first Olympic Gold is extended, for at least another 4 years
Our hopes and dreams to clinch the first Olympic Gold hung on the national cyclist duo but unfortunately, it was shattered after both Azizulhasni Awang and Muhammad Shah Firdaus Sahrom were unsuccessful in bringing home the Gold. Azizulhasni Awang was disqualified from Heat 1 of his ‘favourite’ track cycling discipline of keirin due to a technical error. The two-time Olympic medallist - bronze in Rio 2016 and silver in Tokyo 2020, seemed distraught after the disqualification as Paris 2024 is his last Olympic Games.

Thus, the burden of the first Gold was being passed to Shah Firdaus and he lived up to the expectation and reached the finals of the keirin event. Unfortunately, he crashed in the final lap of the finals after Japan’s Shinji Nakano shoved Shah Firdaus (watch here), which then caused Great Britain’s Jack Carlin - who was behind the two — to crash, taking out the Malaysian and Japanese cyclists.

Malaysia concluded its campaign in the Paris Olympics with two bronze - both from our badminton’s athletes. Still, the fact is, the target of one Gold medal set for the Paris Olympics is still unfulfilled.
View table: Final Paris Olympics Medal Tally

MACC’s current WhatsApp status - Busy

1. Three government department enforcement officers were remanded in Sabah, following an application by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) in relation to a RM120,000 bribery case. The trio are believed to solicit bribes to protect smuggling activities and release detained goods.

2. In Melaka, MACC has arrested four people, including a director and deputy director of a government department, for approving RM176,000 worth of false claims related to government contracts.

3. We cap things off in Putrajaya where the MACC is the hero of the day by arresting three individuals including a group CEO for allegedly misappropriating RM1.5 mil of funds owned by a publicly listed company. The misappropriation mischief was sniffed when irregularities were allegedly found involving construction and mining projects worth about RM80 mil and the creation of an unapproved company to carry out a collaborative project worth about RM258 mil.

Former MCA VP Ti Lian Ker said that corruption has become a “Malaysian way of life” and he cautioned against pigeonholing any group of people (i.e. race) as being responsible for this problem.

Shorts

1. The Malaysian authorities are engulfed in a ‘drone war’ after a drone carrying a laundry bag containing plastic packets believed to be drugs was discovered on the rooftop of one of the blocks of the Tapah Prison. This will be the first such incident reported and the police viewed the case seriously as it will change the whole dimension of cracking down on in-prison drug-related activities.

2. Deputy PM Ahmad Zahid Hamidi was unashamed to admit that he was the mastermind behind the effort to remove then-PM Tun Dr Mahathir, in his opening speech during the Cameron Highlands UMNO division meeting on Saturday. According to Ahmad Zahid, the plot was triggered when it was clear that UMNO would be banned by Mahathir so he made the moves that led to the Langkah Sheraton. To add more cringe to this whole revelation, Ahmad Zahid will publish a book detailing his side of the story behind the Langkah Sheraton, telling the “remaining 90%”. Is this the first move by UMNO to move away from the Unity Government coalition, in anticipation of the next GE16?

3. We want to wish PMX Anwar Ibrahim his 77th birthday which was due last Saturday. Thank you for the tons of news-worthy materials - the good and the bad - that you have given to us. We wish you good luck as our PM, and hope that none in your coalition becomes a sheep in wolf clothing. On another note, PMX did a medical checkup and all looks good.

4. Investment, Trade, and Industry Minister Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz said Tesla Inc. has never committed to opening a factory in Malaysia. While there were discussions held with Elon Musk, the discussions did not involve setting up a factory. However, based on a list of Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) Global Leaders program, there is a requirement for Tesla to set up a discussion with MITI two years after MITI’s approval to talk about vehicle assembly, EV charger assembly, critical components assembly, 4R service and energy generation and storage technology

4. AROUND THE WORLD 🌎

Israel continues to attack schools, shelters using its rotten excuses of it being “Hamas hideouts”
Israel once more strikes its favourite target - schools. Three Israeli bombs hit al-Tabin school located in the Daraj district, a temporary shelter for the displaced Palestinians, while people were doing their morning prayers. More than 100 Palestinians have been killed and dozens wounded including women, children and the elderly. Among those killed were survivors of attacks in different evacuation centres over the last 10 days.

Without providing evidence, the Israeli military claimed that it had intelligence indicating there were 20 Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters, including senior commanders, operating from the school. To date, Israel has conducted 5 deadly attacks on schools in Gaza. The attack is strongly believed to be Israel’s strategy to thwart peace efforts, as Qatar, Egypt and the United States have called on Israel and Hamas to resume talks on August 15 to reach a ceasefire.

Meanwhile, the US wants a ceasefire, but the US continues funding Israel.

The US is sending an additional USD 3.5 bil to Israel to spend on US-made weapons and military equipment. Part of this new financial aid will go to an Israeli military unit accused of carrying out human rights abuses against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. The unit is believed to be the Netzah Yehuda battalion, linked to the abuse of Palestinian civilians, including the death of a 78-year-old Palestinian-American man after his detention in 2022. This triggered an investigation under the Leahy Law that prohibits the US Department of State and Department of Defense from providing military assistance to foreign security force units that violate human rights.

Alas, the US State Department has decided against sanctioning the unit, as they are apparently “satisfied” with Israel’s efforts to address the violations and consider it “effectively remediated”. If you are Israel, you can self-regulate and the US will just bite.

Famous British croc expert jailed for horrifying sexual abuse of dogs
Adam Britton, a renowned British crocodile expert who once worked on BBC and National Geographic may appear to be a passionate defender of animals, but in truth, he is a sadistic animal abuser, who performed bestiality on dogs. An Australian court has sentenced Britton to 10 years and 5 months in jail after he pleaded guilty to 56 charges relating to bestiality and animal cruelty. He also admitted to four counts of accessing child abuse material.

Britton was arrested in 2022 after a search of his rural property in Darwin, which uncovered child abuse material and a shipping container that had been fitted out with recording equipment, which he called his "torture room" of his victim dogs. Britton tortured the animals and filmed himself, before sharing the footage online using aliases. Considered a leader in the crocodile field, Britton has an international reputation as a crocodile advocate and specialist. He worked with Sir David Attenborough, and survivalist Bear Grylls and lent his expertise to various documentary production and research.

There is such a thing as breastfeeding grief
As natural as it is, breastfeeding can be tough for some mothers, especially among those who struggle with various reasons hindering the process such as latching problems, too much or too little milk supply and sore, cracked or bleeding nipples.

The experience can be exhausting and embarrassing, prompting some mothers to switch to formula for the sake of their babies’ health. The decision is not easy though, mothers are prone to blame themselves and feel shameful for not being able to do the “most natural thing”, leading them to breastfeeding grief.

According to public health researcher Professor Amy Brown, breastfeeding grief is the feelings of sadness about breastfeeding, feeling of being let down and missing out on an experience. It is a common occurrence among mothers who have to forgo breastfeeding. Dangerously it could also be linked to postnatal depression. New mothers or pregnant women are advised to get expert lactation advice and breastfeeding support as early as possible to avoid struggling alone with breastfeeding.

Shorts

1. Google’s pioneer employee and ex-YouTube chief succumbed to lung cancer

   Google’s former YouTube boss Susan Wojcicki has passed away at the age of 56, after fighting lung cancer for two years. Wojcicki is seen as one of the core employees of Google as she has been present in the company since its early years. In 1998, she rented her garage to Google’s founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page and eventually joined Google as the 16th employee. Wojcicki is also one of the few women who hold a senior role in the tech industry, and she aspired to empower more women to join the tech field in the future. Her sister Anne Wojcicki was formerly married to Google’s co-founder Sergey Brin. A profile here on the success of the 3 Wojcicki sisters.

2. 62 died in Brazil plane crash in São Paulo, worst crash since 2007

   A Voepass ATR 72-500 plane carrying 57 passengers and 4 crew crashed in the Brazilian state of São Paulo, in the town of Vinhedo on Saturday. The plane was seen spiralling and descending vertically before crashing into a residential area. Nobody on land was injured but sadly everyone on board perished. All bodies have been recovered and are now waiting for identification. The plane crash is Brazil's worst since 2007, when a TAM Express plane crashed and burst into flames at São Paulo's Congonhas airport, killing 199 people. The reason for the crash is still not known. Watch the footage here (warning -graphic). 

3. James Cameron announces that Avatar 3 is arriving in December 2025 

   James Cameron, the filmmaker of Avatar delighted a 12-000 strong audience at a Disney fan event, D23, as he announced the arrival of Avatar’s next installation, Avatar: Fire and Ash at a major Disney fan club event on Friday. Set to release on 19 December 2025, Cameron teased the fans that the film “will not be as expected, but definitely be as what they want”. He also added that there will be new cultural settings, creatures and biomes, with a lot more of Pandora and planets never seen before. The audience also had the privilege to preview the concept art featuring the characters in the sky and surrounded by fire. Oh, The Incredibles is making a comeback too. 

5. FOR YOUR EYES 📺

1. Japan’s Nagaoka Fireworks Festival which is held from Aug 1 to Aug 3 every year is one of the country’s top 3 fireworks festivals and was first started in 1948 as a war-damage reconstruction event to mourn the deceased of WWII and as a prayer for peace and prosperity. Watch one of the performances here.