☕️ Is Kerajaan Madani a Barisan Nasional 2.0?

1. MARKET SUMMARY 📈

2. NUMBERS AT A GLANCE 🔢

41% of Malaysians expressed distrust towards politicians, making it the least trusted profession, according to a recent Ipsos survey. 36% of respondents indicated distrust towards social media influencers, followed by 35% for government ministers. Advertising executives and religious leaders also had low trust ratings, with 30% expressing distrust, placing them in fourth and fifth positions, respectively. The survey highlights that distrust in Malaysia is notably lower than the global average, where about 50% of the global population views these professions as untrustworthy.

RM918.2 bil is the e-commerce income Malaysia recorded in the first nine months of 2024, marking a 4% growth. The highest surge occurred in the second quarter of 2024, with RM309.8 bil in income. In 2023, the ICT and e-commerce industry generated RM427.7 bil in value-added, reflecting a 3.9% growth from RM411.6 bil in 2022. The contribution of ICT and e-commerce to Malaysia’s national economy increased to 23.5%, up from 22.9% in 2022, driven by the ICT industry’s gross value added at 13.8% and e-commerce from other industries at 9.6%.

£36,000 (RM202,320) is the price a rare first edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone sold at auction, nearly 30 years after it was purchased for just £10 (RM56) — only 3,600x return. The book was bought in 1997 by Christine McCulloch from a bookshop in Stratford-upon-Avon for her son, unaware of its future value. This first edition is one of only 500 hardback copies from the initial print run and was estimated to be worth between £30,000 (RM168,600) and £50,000 (RM281,000). The family discovered its potential value during the 2020 lockdown.

3. IN MALAYSIA 🇲🇾

• Is Kerajaan Madani a Barisan Nasional 2.0?
  
  Rosmah acquitted
  Rosmah Mansor has been discharged amounting to an acquittal (DAA) by the Kuala Lumpur High Court in her 2 money laundering charges involving RM7 mil and five charges of failing to declare her income to the Inland Revenue Board (IRB). Okay, you may say that the court discharged her and not the prosecutor dropped the charges like what happened to Deputy PM Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s case. So, the blame should not be placed on the Government, right? However, the court decided so because the charges laid down by the prosecutor were defective and failed to disclose the essential elements of the alleged offences. To us layman, that sounds like the case got tossed out due to technical errors, regardless if the crime was committed or not.

  Basically, the prosecutor dropped the ball, but nonetheless, the Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) said it would still file an appeal. Rosmah, on the other hand, considered this acquittal as a ‘special birthday gift’ and is looking forward to breaking the news to her husband, former PM Najib Razak. Happy Belated Birthday Rosmah (her birthday is on December 10, by the way).

• Fahmi Reza probed
  The police are currently probing graphic artist Fahmi Reza over a graphic calling newly appointed Sabah governor Musa Aman the state’s ‘number one corruptor’. This was instigated following a report lodged by the MCMC. In responding to the probe, Fahmi lambasted the Government for not keeping to their words that satire and parodies were protected under new amendments to Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act (CMA).

Geely’s broken promises?
Proton recently launched the country’s first ‘locally-built’ EV dubbed Proton e.MAS 7. However, its top-of-the-line version has less features than its Thailand-based counterpart the Geely EX5 Max.

The e.MAS 7 has no front center airbag, adjustable leg rest for the front passenger and no Apple CarPlay and Android Auto (AACP) from the get-go (however the car will still support AACP eventually).

Despite costing RM1,100 less (comparing the top-of-the-line versions), this seems like a significant downgrade.

Not just the dumbed-down Galaxy EX5, another point on why Geely may have reneged on its promises to Proton is that when Geely acquired Proton back in 2017, our China friend promised us that Proton would be the right-hand drive (RHD) arm for Geely and Proton would also be Geely’s regional hub in ASEAN.

Unfortunately, the series of events that happened recently shows that that is not happening. Apart from the Geely EX5 launch in Thailand, Geely has also launched its Aletra model in Indonesia and has formalised its entry into Australia and New Zealand (both are RHD markets) by 1H2025. It is also rumoured that Geely intends to go to South Africa, a market that Proton is already in.

Another frustrating part is Proton, an RHD auto manufacturer is now mixing up its strategy and is now locally building left-hand drive (LHD) cars for the Egypt market and the wider North Africa markets. Does Proton have an existential crisis?

This lack of focus by Proton will probably lead to one thing - spreading limited resources thin on multiple strategies will equate to high OPEX and eventually stunt the growth of the company. Proton needs to ask Geely what is the long-term plan as not all markets will give the preferential treatment that Proton receives in Malaysia.

Kim Seri cost her clients almost half a mill
Bukit Aman CCID director Comm Ramli Mohamed Yoosuf said that based on the 24 police reports received, the estimated losses from the Kim Seri tour scandal were estimated at around RM454,450. In responding to allegations about her South Korean tour services, South Korea-based Kim Seri issued an apology on Instagram, admitting to her mistakes and pledged to provide refunds to all affected customers by Feb 1. Based on the statement given by the affected customers, among the vices that Kim Seri’s agency did was issuing fake flight tickets, providing different accommodations compared to what was advertised and failing to provide transportation to the airport.

Business news

• Mr DIY stellar debut on Jakarta Stock Exchange
  Mr DIY Group’s Indonesia arm, Daya Intiguna Yasa has debuted on the Jakarta Stock Exchange, however, with a bad start as the stock slid as much as 24.8%. The company managed to raise USD257.6 mil (RM1.16 bil), making it the biggest listing in Indonesia for 2024. The majority of the IPO proceeds will be used to repay a bank loan, followed by launching more stores and working capital. At the moment, Daya Intiguna has more than 900 stores in Indonesia. The Indonesian arm’s market cap stood at RM11.8 bil market cap vs Mr DIY Malaysia of RM17.1 bil.

• ECRL back on track
  Transport Minister Anthony Loke has announced that both Malaysia Rail Link (MRL) and China Communications Construction ECRL (CCCECRL) have signed an agreement to co-bear the responsibilities of the ECRL operations from Kota Bharu to Port Klang, spanning 665km. A new operating company (OpCo) will be established. Under the terms of the agreement, both MRL and CCCECRL will share any operating losses 50-50. However, if the OpCo churns out profit, the former will get 80% of the pie. Nonetheless, MRL is still the sole owner of all ECRL assets (MRL is a fully owned special purpose entity by the Ministry of Finance).

• MRCB withdraws from HSR
  Malaysian Resources Corporation Bhd (MRCB), which has experience in building the MRT Putrajaya Line, has withdrawn from the Berjaya Corporation-led consortium that participated in the request for information (RFI) exercise by MyHSR Corporation Sdn Bhd for the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High-Speed Rail (KL-SG HSR) project. The reason is undisclosed but MRCB's departure will not break up the Berjaya-led consortium that also consists of KTMB, IJM Corporation Bhd, and its technical partners such as Deutsche Bahn, Hitachi Rail, and Hyundai Rotem.

4. AROUND THE WORLD 🌎

Now For Yemen

Eye For An Eye? 
Houthi militants in Yemen launched a ballistic missile at the Israeli city of Jaffa, with the faction claiming responsibility for the attack. The missile was intercepted by Israeli defences with no casualties. Israel retaliated with strikes against ports and energy infrastructure in Houthi-controlled parts of Yemen, with the threat of more attacks should the Houthis persist in their aggression. The Houthis have vowed a response to the wave of airstrikes by Israel. 

Water Deprivation Is Genocide
Human Rights Watch has accused Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza with how Israel denied them access to clean water, according to its report. Israel has responded to this accusation by calling the rights group liars, claiming instead that Israel has “facilitated the continuous flow of water and humanitarian aid in Gaza”. An arrest warrant for the Israeli PM, and now two reports accusing Israel of genocide. Surely they can’t all be wrong?

Rebel Speaks
Elsewhere, the new de facto leader of Syria, Ahmed al-Sharaa, has called for sanctions to be lifted from Syria, as “they were targeted at the old regime”. He also called for the dominant group in the rebel alliance, the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham which he leads, to be delisted as a terrorist organisation, adding that Syria as a whole is exhausted by war, promising that they are not a threat to their neighbours or the West. You can watch some of the BBC interview here.

The Duality Of Putin And Other Events

A Compromise?
As part of his annual Q&A session, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that he was ready to compromise over Ukraine in possible talks with US President-elect Donald Trump, with no conditions for starting talks with the Ukrainian authorities. Fielding a question from a US news channel’s reporter, he opined that “soon, those Ukrainians who want to fight will run out”, and denied that Russia was in a weak position for the negotiations.

A Missile Duel
On the other hand, he also suggested a “missile duel” with the US to demonstrate how Russia’s new Oreshnik hypersonic ballistic missile could defeat any US missile defence system, suggesting the duel as an “experiment” to address Western scepticism about the missile.

A Spy Exposed
The EU has imposed sanctions on a former Russian spy, who was promoting the Kremlin’s agenda in Germany. Berlin-based businessman Oleg Eremenko was revealed to be a former officer in Russia’s military intelligence agency in a Reuters investigation, which found that he had established ties with German far-left movements to lobby Berlin to end its isolation of Russia.

The US Shutdown Crisis

• Congress has two days to avert partial government shutdown
  The time crunch comes after President-elect Trump rejected a bipartisan deal for a stopgap bill to keep the government funded past its deadline of midnight on Friday. Trump also demanded lawmakers raise the nation’s debt ceiling before he takes office next month. Should there be no solution, the US government will begin a partial shutdown that would disrupt everything from air travel to law enforcement.

• Amazon workers on strike before Christmas
  The workers went on strike at seven US facilities during the holiday shopping rush, in a bid to pressure Amazon into contract talks with their union. Amazon believes the strike is not expected to affect its operations. Amazon also claimed that the union does not actually represent the thousands of Amazon drivers and employees the union claims to and that they are pushing a false narrative.

Talks, Deals, And Awards

• Foxconn in talks to buy Renault's major stake in Nissan

  The Taiwanese electronics manufacturer approached Renault after Nissan rebuffed its inquiries about an investment, and this comes after reports of talks and a possible merger between Nissan and Honda to compete against Tesla and Chinese EV makers. Foxconn has previously expressed interest in the Japanese EV market, seeing it as a way to diversify beyond electronics assembly.

• Taiwan's China Airlines splits USD12 bil (RM54 bil) order between Airbus, Boeing

  The closely-watched USD11.9 bil order is for the airline’s long-haul fleet renewal, comprising 10 Boeing 777-9 aircraft and 10 Airbus A350-1000s, along with four 777-8 freighter aircraft. Deliveries are slated to begin in 2029, with the purchases meant to help China Airlines expand its presence in the global passenger and cargo markets.

• Is Chip demand waning?

  Nvidia’s share price is hitting a decline following comments from Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, who claimed that Microsoft is “not chip supply constrained”, prompting investor concerns about Nvidia, due to Microsoft representing an estimated 20% of Nvidia’s revenue. However, analyst commentary points to the one-year backlog for new orders for Nvidia’s next-generation Blackwell GPU chip, and suggests that it might not be a case for demand waning for Nvidia’s chips, but more a case of supply finally catching up. 

Shorts:

1. ChatGPT's next stop: landlines

   OpenAI has launched the ChatGPT hotline for landlines, where anyone in the US can call or send a WhatsApp message to 1-800-242-8478 (1-800-CHATGPT) and the AI-powered assistant will answer. For now, US users will get 15 minutes of free calling, after which the call ends. WhatsApp users will see a daily limit.

2. Google Street View aids police in murder investigation

   The service captured an image of a man loading a large white plastic bag into the boot of his car, which helped unravel a murder case in a northern Spanish town by capturing the exact moment the body of the victim was allegedly being removed. That was also the first time in 15 years the Google car had been to the town. Talk about a lucky break for the investigation.

3. IMF, El Salvador reach USD1.4 bil (RM6.31 bil) loan agreement

   The deal comes after four years of negotiations, strained by the Central American nation’s adoption of Bitcoin as a legal tender. The USD1.4 bil will be disbursed over 40 months by the IMF, with El Salvador adopting measures that will improve its primary balance and help cut its debt-to-GDP ration

5. FOR YOUR EYES 📺

1. Jensen Huang “cooked” the most affordable generative AI computer.

2. The photographers of Reuters shared some of the most important photos of 2024, with the back story — view them all here.

   

   Credits: REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

    

3. The new Superman teaser trailer is out. David Corenswet is the new man of steel. The movie is directed by James Gunn behind Guardians of The Galaxy. Looks pretty awesome - didn’t know there’s a doggo from Krypton, and crypto bros might just like its name! Out July 2025.