☕️ GISB updates - and it gets worse

1. MARKET SUMMARY 📈

2. NUMBERS AT A GLANCE 🔢

It can be a criminal offence if an employer does not pay EPF. As of June, a total of 13,820 employers (2.02%) of 685,399 employers registered with the EPF failed to pay their employees’ contributions. In the same period, a total of 12,787 company directors have been barred from leaving the country due to unpaid contributions, as stipulated under Section 39 of the EPF Act 1991. A total of 1,932 civil suits were filed against these directors, whilst 2,200 criminal cases were brought against employers who defaulted on contributions between Jan to June 2024. EPF advises members to check their accounts via KWSP i-Akaun app to ensure their employers actually make payments in a timely and accurate manner.

Local authorities in China has doubled their revenue from fines compared with a decade ago, to make up for lost income from the slowing real estate sector. Income from fines totalled RMB368.7 bil (RM223.4 bil) in 2022, up from RMB161.3 bil (RM97.8 bil) in 2013. In some cases, this enforcement might have been a little extreme. In Liangshan Yi autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan province, began inspecting residents’ homes to improve sanitation, fining them RMB3 to RMB20 for ‘offences’ such as dishes left unwashed or beds left unmade. The central government has issued notice to local authorities to cool down on excessive fines to avoid public discontent. This is something Malaysia should consider without being excessive - properly enforcing existing laws instead of giving discounts left and right on traffic offences. 

Singapore’s PM Lawrence Wong is the highest-paid government leader in the world last year with an annual salary of almost USD1.69 mil (RM7.26 mil), according to PoliticalSalaries.com. Far behind in second place is Switzerland’s President Viola Amherd, who earned about USD570k last year. The report found that many of the world’s best-paid leaders were from English-speaking countries. US President Joe Biden is paid USD400k annually (+USD50k for clothing and fashion on top of this). On the opposite end of the spectrum is rather extreme - the lowest-paid is Ethopia’s PM at USD1.7k annually. Notably, Malaysia is absent from the list. If you missed this, Malaysiakini did an analysis on our state leaders’ pay here. Pretty well paid relative to their people. 

3. IN MALAYSIA 🇲🇾

GISB updates - and it gets worse
GISB CEO Nasiruddin Mohd Ali admitted via a video posting on Facebook (watch here) that there were indeed ‘one or two’ cases of sodomy involving children at the welfare homes. He even said that its followers had no issue drinking water that had been used to wash the feet of its leaders (???). IGP Razarudin Husain said that the current focus of the police investigation will be on the alleged child exploitation at the charity homes believed to be owned by GISB. Subsequently, the police will investigate the sodomy claims raised by the GISB CEO.

Additionally, Razarudin stated that 13 children were identified to have been allegedly sodomised and 39 more homes linked to GISB are under the radar after alleged child exploitations and abuse were uncovered in the initial raid. The Police IGP revealed that the initial raids resulted from a six-month investigation and the police have even been probing GISB since 2011. Razaruddin said that numerous police reports have been lodged against GISB but were retracted soon after. Thus, that is why the police having a bit of difficulty getting credible leads to assist in its investigation.

FYI, the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (JAKIM) who have an annual budget of RM1.1 bil in 2024, is the main agency for Islamic affairs and one of its mandates is to dictate and be responsible for the Muslim development in the country. So what has JAKIM done in this case? To save face, JAKIM director-general Hakimah Mohd Yusoff has released a statement that the agency has taken action against GISB since 2019. The actions that Hakimah referred to was 12 meetings including workshops, special task forces, and national programmes.

On another matter, upon queries from the public, JAKIM confirmed that bread from the Ikhwan brand produced by Global Ikhwan Utara has no valid halal certification. JAKIM confirmed that it has referred to the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living and the State Islamic Religious Departments to ensure immediate enforcement action is taken. Responding to the matter, Global Ikhwan Utara admitted that its Halal certification expired on 31 May 2017 and the company decided not to renew as the bread production facility has moved to a new location. A new Halal certification is in the application process at the moment.

While talking about Halal certification, in a separate event, during the 70th PAS Muktamar in Pahang, PAS Information Chief, Ahmad Fadhli Shaari said that the party has proposed to JAKIM to introduce different Halal logos for food made by non-Muslim companies. According to PAS, the differentiation of Halal logos is needed to help Muslims avoid uncertainty and confusion regarding the halal status of food products available in the market. During the same event, PAS President Abdul Hadi Awang said there is no connection between the Islamist party and GISB. Salam Hari Malaysia folks. 

Tragedy in Sabah

• Doctor allegedly committed suicide due to at-work bullying
  Lahad Datu District Police Chief Dzulbaharin Ismail said that the police are aware of suicide allegations surrounding the death of Dr Tay Tien Yaa. Family members of the victim claimed that the deceased doctor resorted to suicide after being pressured and oppressed at work, just six months into her two-year stint in Lahad Datu. Responding to the matter, Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad vowed to get to the bottom of the allegations and said that he would not tolerate abuse of power by senior officers in the system. According to a poll conducted on government and private medical practitioners, 30% to 40% of respondents said that they had experienced some form of bullying on the job.

• 44 houses engulfed in fire 
  A fire at Kampung Penangah in Sabah has led to the destruction of 44 houses that were built close together in an area of 1.21 ha. No casualties were reported but 282 people were left homeless due to the incident. One sad part is that the emergency call was received at 7.24 pm on Sunday but it took the firefighters almost 3 hours to reach the site as the nearest fire station is located more than 170 km from the location.

Putrajaya pulled the rug under the Opposition
PN leader Hamzah Zainudin said that the opposition has unanimously rejected Putrajaya’s proposed deal on constituency allocations for its MPs. The basis of the rejection mainly pointed to the fact that the deal presented by the Government will allegedly impede the MPs' freedom of speech and potentially affect the rights and privileges of the Malays and Bumiputera guaranteed under the Federal Constitution. Separately, PN chairperson Muhyiddin Yassin stated that the terms of the deal were unusual and complicated. On the other hand, Opposition Whip Takiyuddin Hassan lambasted the deal as it requires the MPs to support the government until the end of the term.

It’s unfortunate for Malaysians that the Opposition lacks any foresight or capabilities to think even one step ahead. Such allegations could be easily disproved when it’s all in writing. Deputy PM Fadillah Yusof revealed the content of the deal a.k.a the memorandum of understanding (MOU) on opposition allocation after PN's unanimous decision to reject the draft. Fadillah said that let the rakyat judge whether the opposition’s rejection is justified or not. Interestingly, within the MOU, there are no clauses mandated by the MPs to support the government of the day. The MPs just need not touch on the 3R issues when objecting to the government. This got to be the weakest Opposition since Merdeka. No content, no substance, not very demure. Read for yourself below.

4. AROUND THE WORLD 🌎

Too much, too little - water disasters around the world

Climate change is intensifying extreme precipitation around the world. Here we go:

Typhoon Yagi: The typhoon left its mark again, this time in Myanmar, where flooding in the storm’s aftermath displaced more than 230,000 people from their homes. The ruling junta has requested foreign aid to mitigate the impact of the flooding. Typhoon Yagi is reported to have claimed at least 33 lives in Myanmar, though US-backed broadcaster Radio Free Asia suggests the death toll is much higher. 

Storm Boris: In Central and Eastern Europe, Storm Boris brought high winds and heavy rainfall, collapsing infrastructure and forcing evacuations with severe floods. At least 15 people have died from the flooding. Poland’s government has set aside USD260 mil to help victims, with Prime Minister Donald Tusk getting in touch with the leaders of the affected nations to ask the European Union for financial aid. 

Collapsed dam: A dam collapsed in northeast Nigeria led to the destruction of thousands of homes, affecting a million people as authorities scrambled to rescue residents. The dam collapsed due to heavy rains and worsened the humanitarian crisis in the region from the Boko Haram rebellion. A state-owned zoo was also among the buildings destroyed, with the waters washing crocodiles and snakes into flooded communities. Authorities have yet to announce any deaths.

Typhoon Bebinca: Over in Shanghai, Typhoon Bebinca has been identified as the strongest storm to hit the city since 1949. Flight and train services have been cancelled in light of wind speeds of up to 151km/h, with all vessels ordered to return to port to avoid heavy seas. 9,000 people have also been evacuated from an island near the mouth of the Yangtze River as well.

Portugal, on the other hand, needs more water, with the nation seeking more fire-fighting planes from the European Union to combat at least 15 wildfires in its central and northern regions, one of which burned down houses on the outskirts of the town of Albergaria-a-Velha. In total, 1,500 firefighters were engaged across the country to combat the wildfires, caused by increasingly hot and dry conditions blamed on global warming.

The Tech Space

• FDA approves Apple's Hearing Aid software in landmark event

  The US agency approved the software update for the tech giant’s AirPods Pro 2.0 devices and marks the first time the FDA has approved over-the-counter hearing aid software. Apple plans to roll out the tech in 100 countries, with the new features allowing device users to take a hearing test, adjust settings in response to the results, and chart levels of hearing impairment over time. However, to use the Hearing Aid features, the user will need more than just the AirPods — it requires an iPhone or an iPad that can run iOS 18.

• Welcome back, Polaris Dawn - SpaceX crew successfully returns

  The landmark five-day mission saw four commercial astronauts putting on new SpaceX spacesuits to conduct the first commercial spacewalk, the main event of the mission, after depressurising their spacecraft over 48 hours. The billionaire who funded and commanded the mission, Jared Isaacman, said the mission was in the name of raising funds for childhood cancer research, in addition to testing technologies that would help put people on Mars. Isaacman is also looking at two more missions, with the third using the mega-rocket dubbed Starship that SpaceX is developing in South Texas for the purposes of colonising Mars. Just who is this billionaire? An entrepreneur who dropped out of high school, apparently and started his payment company at 16. Read more about him here.

• Korean deaf boy band turns to tech to reach fans

  Big Ocean, K-pop’s first deaf boy band, incorporates sign language into their music by performing lyrics with it in their music video, with the hope of reducing prejudices against disabilities. To help close the gap, the three members of the group use AI to correct and mix their voices while using a flashing display and vibrating watches to learn choreography and sync with one another.

  Elsewhere in K-pop, NewJeans took to a YouTube livestream to demand the reinstatement of their long-time producer from their management firm, Hybe Co in an escalation of the conflict between the two. The firm saw its shares fall 6.2%, its largest intraday drop in a month after the group accused Hybe of discrimination and called for measures to protect NewJeans, a band that generated USD75.7 mil in revenue in 2023.

Shorts:

1. Trump safe after second assassination attempt

   The FBI is investigating “what appears to be a second assassination attempt” after the Secret Service opened fire on a gunman at Trump’s golf resort. A suspect, Ryan Wesley Routh, has been arrested. The suspect was reportedly active in calling for support for Ukraine on social media, while sometimes criticising Trump in his posts commenting on politics and current events.

2. China raises retirement age for the first time since the fifties

   The Asian nation will be gradually raising its retirement age over the next 15 years to confront its ageing population and dwindling pension budget. For the first stage, women in blue-collar jobs will see the statutory retirement age raised from 50 to 55, and from 55 to 58 for white-collar jobs. Men will see the retirement age raised from 60 to 63, with all the changes set to kick in at the start of 2025.

3. US plans sanctions on Cambodians linked to scam rings

   The US is planning to impose sanctions on prominent Cambodians, including one linked to the ruling party, over alleged links to online scams and human trafficking. This comes at a time of delicate relations between the two nations, as Cambodia has been strengthening ties with China.

5. FOR YOUR EYES 📺

1. The stereotypical Malay, Chinese and Indian wishing you Selamat Hari Malaysia! Divided by race, united by racism. Also, watch Namewee's (feat. Harith Iskandar) latest song — Bukit Mak (an actual place in Kelantan), composed in a Malay classic rock style.

2. A sight to behold - the demolition of Stadium Shah Alam begins and will be rejuvenated in an RM787 mil upgrade project.