☕️ French authorities investigating corruption allegations in MRT2 project worth RM692 mil

1. MARKET SUMMARY

S&P 500 and NASDAQ secured their first weekly gain after seven weeks of losses.

China’s largest oil trader is stocking up on cheap Russian oil, which is trading close to 25% cheaper than Brent.

2. NUMBERS AT A GLANCE

The Britain government is imposing a 25% windfall tax on oil and gas producers’ profits. While the finance minister Rishi Sunak said, the move would raise £5 billion in the next 12 months and be phased out as oil and gas prices return to normal.

1.16 million children aged five to 11 in Malaysia have completed their vaccination under the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme for Children (PICKids) as of May 28, 2022.

USD30 mil — the approximate cost per episode of Stranger Things’ season finale. That would make it roughly as expensive to produce as Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Netflix is going on a financial diet as it wants to push out more relatively low-cost hits, which are necessary to balance out the costs for big-ticket programming such as Stranger Things. Any fans in the house?

3. IN MALAYSIA 🇲🇾

1. A mega project in Malaysia is now embroiled in corruption. French authorities are investigating serious allegations of fraud and bribery in the Klang Valley MRT project. According to MalaysiaNow, the investigation revolves around the MRT2 project worth some RM692 mil and involves a French-public listed company and prominent names, including an individual who was a top aide to a former prime minister and a member of the royalty. Previously, Malaysia and France were also caught in another corruption scandal involving the procurement of scorpene submarines.

2. A former 78-year old unnamed diplomat that was arrested last week in one of Malaysia’s largest, if not the largest, seizures of cannabis tress in the country was released on bail. Police will also seek to extend the remand on his son, who was also arrested. Although the police did not indicate that he was trafficking drugs, the police seized 1.02kg of dried marijuana, which can be supplied to 1,020 users. Drug trafficking is a non-bailable offence.

3. PM Ismail Sabri said Zuraida Kamaruddin remains in the cabinet despite quitting Bersatu. The Ampang MP has not tendered her resignation to him yet, nor has he fired her, Sabri said and he will decide after meeting her when she’s back from her work trip on 2 June. Zuraida says that more women leaders are needed in politics to instil “maternal traits” as the global political arena is dominated by men with studies showing that men tended to exert aggression and exclusion whilst women tend to be more emphatic and consultative. To avoid stereotypes, she said neither gender is superior to the other when it comes to leadership.

4. The Return of Rafizi Ramli - Rafizi has won the deputy president position, overcoming his rival Saifuddin Nasution in PKR’s party election for the 2022-2025 term. At the time of writing, Rafizi has garnered 67,895 votes vs Saifuddin’s 48,797 votes. More votes are still being counted. However, it is unlikely to close the gap. For the four VP positions, the projected winners are Selangor Menteri Besar Amirudin Shari, Tanjung Malim MP Chang Lih Kang, Setiwangsa MP Nik Nazmi NIk Ahmad and Negeri Sembilan Menteri Besar Aminuddin Harun. The latter three are aligned with Rafizi, whilst Amirudin is aligned with Saifuddin.

5. Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, Gua Musang and the longest-serving MP for 12 terms since 1974, says he is still uncertain if he will defend his Gua Musang seat and leave it to its members and party to decide.

6. Axiata Group Bhd CEO Izzaddin Idris will be stepping down from his role on 31 May after 1.5 years in the role, on the “mutual cessation” of his service contract with Axiata. 2 individuals internally will take over as interim joint acting group CEOs. Also related to Axiata, EPF and PNB, the telco’s second (16.95%) and third-largest (14.67%) shareholders were among the 42.17% of shareholders that voted against the proposed acquisition of a 66.03% of Indonesian and cable and internet provider PT Link Net Tbk that would cost it RM2.5 bil. One can only speculate that the abrupt resignation of its CEO is related to this corporate deal.

7. Double parking is an offence - you can be fined a sum of at least RM300 and in worse cases, you can be slapped with a fine of up to RM5,000 or a minimum of 12 months jail term or both under Section 48(1) of the Road Transport Act 1987

8. An interesting analysis of the non-liveable state of KL by Aidil Iman, an environmentalist.

4. AROUND THE WORLD 🌎

1. The leaders of France and Germany have urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to speak to Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky. Russia’s leader said Moscow was open to resuming dialogue with Kyiv. Emmanuel Macron and Olaf Scholz spoke to Mr Putin by phone for 80 minutes and insisted on “an immediate ceasefire and a withdrawal of Russian troops”.

2. How to counter racism or stereotypes? Use culture. President Joe Biden will host K-pop group BTS at the White House to discuss “Asian inclusion and representation” as well as “to address anti-Asian hate crimes and discrimination which have become more prominent issues in recent years.” Hate crimes in the US have increased by 339% last year over 2020, according to the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism.

3. State-owned automaker China FAW Group Co. is mulling acquiring a significant stake in the troubled ride-hailing giant Didi Global Inc and helping to latter to resolve issues related to data security. The move could be paving the way for Didi’s listing in Hong Kong as shareholders of Didi approved a plan to delist from the New York Stock Exchange just last week.

4. A small plane carrying 19 passengers and three crew members flying on a popular tourist route was missing in Nepal’s mountains on Sunday. Two helicopters were deployed for a search operation but added that visibility was low.

5. TerraForm Labs, the developer of the failed blockchain — Terra, airdropped Luna 2.0 to previous holders of Luna and TerraUSD (UST) tokens. Under a measure approved earlier this week, the original blockchain was split off and be known as Terra Classic. The original Luna has been renamed Luna Classic (LUNC). According to CoinGecko, most of the trading in the new token is happening on KuCoin and OKX. Read more about ‘airdrop’ here.

6. Real Madrid won the Champions League for the 14th time after Vinicius Jr scored the winning goal during the second half of the match. The kick-off had to be delayed by 36 minutes due to substantial security issues outside the Stade de France. Missed the match? Watch the highlights below.

5. FOR YOUR EYES 👁👁

1. Surprisingly, Malaysians seem to really trust their government.

2. Seems about right with most movie posters nowadays.

3. Why parrots can talk like humans