☕️ How to work just half the month in August

1. MARKET SUMMARY 📈

2. NUMBERS AT A GLANCE 🔢

RM426.9 mil – The Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan) made seizures worth that amount under Ops Bersepadu Khazanah between 2019 and Jul 31 this year. The seizures were made across 96 joint operations involving a total of 1,284 individuals, comprising 961 locals and 323 foreigners. The initiative brought together multiple agencies to curb illegal poaching, wildlife smuggling, and land encroachment across protected habitats. Throughout the operations, enforcement teams recorded 933 tent sites linked to encroachment or poaching, alongside 3,492 signs of poaching, 2,741 signs of illegal entry, and 212 cases of tree felling or forest damage.

2.4 mil – According to UNESCO, that number of girls in Afghanistan are barred from secondary school. That is 200,000 more than last year’s count, and the total could approach 4 mil by 2030. Afghanistan is the only country in the world to stop girls and women from attending secondary schools and universities, leading to the UN accusing the country of “gender apartheid” and UNESCO renewing its call on the Taliban government to lift restrictions on female education. The Taliban administration also banned women from teaching boys. Such a ban strips qualified staff from the education system and leaves boys with untrained male teachers. The UN also noted that the ban adds to a number of compounding issues weighing on Afghanistan’s education system and economy.

USD4 mil (RM16.4 mil) – That’s how much the owner of the container ship Seaspan Benefactor paid for the vessel to cut in line at the Panama Canal, where wait times are stretching to more than a week as vessels seek alternative routes due to the conflict in the Middle East. The USD4 mil paid by the Seaspan Benefactor was more than double the average paid during the previous seven days. Typically, transits through the waterway are paid by a flat rate via reservations. However, the Panama Canal Authority also offers customers an auction process in order to bypass the regular queue. This has seen shipowners paying millions of dollars to use the auction workaround. The congestion at the canal is also exacerbated by maintenance outages that further reduce the number of Neopanamax-size vessels that can pass through. Vessels of this size include ships that carry liquefied petroleum gas, liquefied natural gas, crude oil, and refined products.

3. IN MALAYSIA 🇲🇾

One final gift, many second chances
Two months ago, Hospital Sungai Buloh paid tribute to Hajjah Normah Abdullah, Malaysia’s first female surveyor and a former UiTM lecturer, with a Walk of Honour after her death on June 20. Medical staff lined the hospital corridors as she was taken for organ donation procedures, fulfilling her wish to become an organ donor. Her organs and tissues are expected to help at least five patients.

Then, on Aug 12, another donor, Muhammad Nicklos Muhammad Nizam, gave others a second chance after suffering critical brain injuries in an accident. He died following surgery at Hospital Sungai Buloh, and medical teams from four hospitals worked through the night to retrieve his corneas, skin, femoral blood vessels and heart valves. His multi-organ and tissue donation is expected to benefit at least eight recipients.

Malaysia has one of the lowest organ donor pledge rates - less than 1% of the population, compared to global benchmark for functional organ donation system of 20%. In 2024, Malaysia has only ~15.4k of new organ donor pledges, second lowest since 2019. Reasons are due to family refusal where nearly 90% of potential deceased organ donations fail to proceed due to families declining consent and religious belief that it is a form of mutilation of the deceased. Since June 1970, the National Fatwa Council ruled that organ donation and transplantation are permissible in Islam.

Malaysians who wish to pledge as organ donors can register through the MySejahtera app.

RM139 mil case puts UBB in the spotlight
Former CEO charged: Former UBB Investment Bank CEO Razlan Raghazli has been charged with cheating over the release of RM139.89 mil to ELMU Higher Education Sdn Bhd. Prosecutors allege that Razlan misled UBB Amanah managing director and CEO Aida Aizura Othman over a payment schedule in Sept 2025 by claiming it was in line with legal advice when it was not. The prosecution said Aida would not have approved the payment if she had known otherwise. Razlan, 43, pleaded not guilty and claimed trial. The court granted him bail of RM60,000 with one surety and fixed Oct 12 for case management. More curious about what happened to the funds after the transfer.

UBB name stays in the news: The case took another turn when UBB’s lawyer asked the court to stop the media from naming the bank in reports, arguing that it could cause panic among investors and affect the bank’s stability. Sessions Court Judge Azura Alwi rejected the request, saying the case was a matter of public interest and that the public had a right to know.

UBB Investment Bank, which is licensed in Labuan and is part of the UBB Amanah Group, has also faced regulatory action recently. During Razlan’s tenure, the bank was hit with a RM10 mil compound by BNM and the Labuan Financial Services Authority over failures to report suspicious transactions and conduct adequate customer due diligence between 2023 and 2024. The amount was paid in full on June 11.

F1 ticket rush gets messy
Fans hit queues and scalpers: Formula One is returning to Sepang for the first time since 2017, but getting a ticket has already become a race of its own. Fans reported long virtual queues, slow booking platforms and payment problems, while the RM200 Madani G Hillstand tickets quickly became a target for scalpers. Some social media users claimed the tickets were being resold for RM400 to RM600, while international fans also reported paying much more through third-party sellers after failing to buy through official channels. One fan said they were stuck more than 55,000 places deep in the queue before giving up and buying elsewhere.

Khairul Aming joins the struggle: Even Khairul Aming was not spared. The popular content creator said he fell asleep while waiting in the online queue and woke up to find the tickets sold out. After repeatedly refreshing the page, he eventually managed to secure four Main Grandstand tickets. His followers quickly joked that the experience was similar to trying to book a table at his restaurant, Rembayung, or buy his sambal before it sells out.

Shorts:

1. Four leave days, 10 days off
   Malaysians could turn just four days of annual leave into a 10-day break from Aug 22 to 31, thanks to Prophet Muhammad’s Birthday on Aug 25 and National Day on Aug 31. Workers would need to take leave on Aug 24 and Aug 26 to 28 to enjoy the full stretch. For some, the long break means short family trips, catching up with relatives, exploring nearby towns or simply staying home to rest and recharge.

2. Thousands of 3D jobs, only 352 applicants
   Only 352 Malaysians have applied for thousands of dirty, dangerous and difficult (3D) jobs available through the MyFutureJobs portal. Human Resources Minister R. Ramanan said Malaysians are given priority, but the vacancies may eventually be opened to foreign workers, refugees or others if local take-up remains low. The issue comes as the government processes 15,000 foreign worker applications, while some groups are calling for more opportunities to be given to Malaysia’s stateless community.

3. Super El Nino risk rises above 90%
   Malaysia could be in for a much hotter and drier stretch, with the chance of El Nino reaching the very strong category between Oct and Dec now above 90%. MetMalaysia said the weather pattern is expected to peak towards the end of the year and could rank among the strongest ever recorded. The biggest impact is expected from Feb to May 2027, with higher temperatures, less rainfall and longer dry spells possible across Malaysia and the wider region. If only there was a prediction markets here, perhaps small businesses can hedge against this, like how one ice cream shop does it.

4. AROUND THE WORLD 🌎

UAE suspends trade with Iran over missiles
The UAE was not happy. The country said that it saw two ballistic missiles being launched from Iran and luckily, they fell harmlessly into the water. It pulled the trigger straight away with Iran, pausing all trade and financial transactions ‘in light of regional escalations that undermine regional and international peace and security’. Iran responded by saying that it did not launch the missiles. But Iran has launched drone and missile attacks on the UAE earlier in the year.

Meanwhile, there wasn’t any progress on US-Iranian ceasefire talks, and Trump said that he has no intention to restart them. This week, we have seen Trump go on a tirade on even his own allies. He threatened to ‘bomb the s— out of’ Oman if the country ‘gets in the way’ of US objectives in the Middle East. And then, he turned his sights on South Korea by cutting down on joint military exercises after he said that the president said ‘no’ to helping the US in the Middle East conflicts.
The plot just keeps getting thicker, and is Trump’s war unravelling?

Trump pauses tariffs on Canada … for three days
Art of the deal again? Trump is pausing his 50% tariffs on Canada, as both the US and Canada reportedly have managed to reach a deal. However, it seems like this is subject to the finalisation of the documents, and that he will delay the tariffs for 3 days. Trump could be fishing for a revival of the controversial Keystone XL pipeline project that was proposed in 2008 and will bring oil from Canada’s western tar sands to US refiners.

That project was halted in 2021 after Biden revoked a key permit needed for a US stretch of the project. The project has faced opposition from environmental groups that fear spills. Regardless, Mark Carney has said that there was ‘substantial progress’ on the trade deal but said that more work needs to be done. After all, Carney is worried that its USD382 mil (RM1.6 bil) in exports to the US in 2025 could be affected.

Unitree robot runs faster than Usain Bolt in IPO
It might have been a marketing stunt, but it worked to Unitree’s favour. A new ‘Superman’ humanoid robot was unveiled and reportedly could outrun and outjump top human athletes. It can reach a top speed of 12.66 metres per second (m/s), faster than Usain Bolt’s 12.4 m/s world-record 100m run in 2009.

But that’s not the only thing running fast. Unitree’s first day of listing saw its share price rise by a whopping 460%, valuing it more than USD50 bil. Unitree, officially known as Yushu Technology, produces and sells robots and devices. They include humanoid robots, sensors, automated arms, and four-legged robots. It is the world’s biggest humanoid robot maker. Chinese robotic companies have taken the lead in the global robotics industry.

Remember Boston Dynamics? It sells a four-legged device called Spot for roughly USD70,000 (RM284,123). Unitree sells its robot dogs starting from USD2,700. And Unitree has already been hitting the commercial markets since 2023. Boston Dynamics only intends to roll out human-like machines in the car maker Hyundai’s factories in two years. The buck doesn’t stop with Unitree.

The Chinese government has been very big on developing its robotics industry in Hangzhou, committing huge investments there. This has resulted in a threefold increase in Chinese robotic firms there between 2020 and 2024. The government sees the sector as a potential solution to China’s ageing population, which could lead to shortages of workers in the country.

Kuaishou bites the bullet on higher creator and AI costs
Kuaishou Technology, a massive alternative to TikTok in China, saw its earnings fell 36% in its latest financial quarter. That’s the highest decline in five years. The culprit? 35% higher revenue-sharing payouts to creators and research and development. Most of its R&D spending is for artificial intelligence (AI) outlays, which rose by more than a third. Furthermore, its income from its livestreaming business (24.5% of total revenue) fell despite higher growth from its online marketing services (58.1% of total revenue) business. Revenue grew slightly by 1.4% to CNY35.5 bil (RM21.37 bil). However, its Kling AI text-to-video feature still registered a strong 200% growth, despite it being lower than the 300% growth in the last quarter. Kuaishou, in its business outlook, said that they are maintaining its focus on AI and will continue to increase its investments. However, in the short-term, they are cautious, as they say that the operating environment has become increasingly complex and challenging.

Till death do us part: UK newlywed deadly helicopter crash
It was supposed to be a romantic honeymoon for UK newlyweds Alexander Cromie and Marie Ebert in a helicopter over the Aegean Island in Greece. Former Greek army pilot Giorgos Raikos was on its way to land over a hillside before it stalled in mid-air. Alexander and Marie didn’t even finish their honeymoon. Giorgos didn’t get to see his three kids that he left behind. The helicopter started to spin on its axis, and then it fell. 

Local residents said that there was a ‘strange sound’ just before it crashed outside the helipad. A plume of smoke and fire could immediately be seen after that. Greece’s civil aviation authority said that the accident might have been caused by a tail rotor malfunction and has now called on all Greek operators of the Bell 206s to inspect the tail rotors and drive system before any take-off. The accident is still under investigation. Watch the heartbreaking incident here.

5. FOR YOUR EYES 📺

Your hearing, your vision

1. How high a pitch you can hear? Test your hearing, and depending your age, how high the pitch you can hear matters.

2. The different vision issues. I had experienced with both before, and I can say it’s really close how the video visualises it. Had close calls with blindness and I can tell you losing your vision is worse than losing a limb - the meaning of independence suddenly does not exist. Take care of your vision. At slightest sign of an issue, don’t delay. Like the case of retinal detachment, the window to heal it completely is just 24 hours.