☕️ Has riot fever reached Malaysia?

1. MARKET SUMMARY 📈

2. NUMBERS AT A GLANCE 🔢

Liverpool Football Club made yet another British record for a player transfer, this time in the form of signing Swedish striker Alexander Isak from Newcastle United for about GBP130 mil (RM742 mil). This deal has been the highlight of the Premier League transfer window due to protracted negotiations and quite some drama. Liverpool had previously bid GBP110 mil (RM627.9 mil) for Isak earlier in August. To replace Isak, Newcastle United signed Brentford’s Yoane Wissa for GBP55 mil (RM313.9 mil). However, Isak also accused Newcastle United of breaking promises and misleading supporters when he issued a statement that confirmed he wanted to leave Newcastle, saying that change was “in the best interests of everyone”.

Over in Haiti, the UN reported that children now make up about 50% of the membership of Haitian gangs. Some of the children are directly forced into armed confrontations, while others are being used as couriers, lookouts, porters to carry weapons, or even as domestic labour. Worse still, the number of child recruits is rapidly rising, with child participation in gang activities surging 700% in the first three months of the year compared with the same period last year. This sad state of affairs follows the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moise, after which criminal organisations and gangs have become increasingly powerful, and almost 1.3 mil Haitians fled their homes. The gangs now have “near-total control” of the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince, with up to 90% of the city under their influence.

Back home, life-changing sums of money have graced a few Malaysians, such as a 53-year-old technician from Johor. The Johorean is now a multimillionaire, having won RM73.1 mil from the total RM78.5 mil Supreme Toto 6/58 jackpot. To get the winning numbers, the man combined the birthdates of his family members. He plans to use the money wisely by settling his housing loans and clearing his financial commitments, with the rest going towards his children’s future. Another lucky winner bagged the Magnum 4D Jackpot of RM17 mil with a ticket he bought that was chosen purely by chance. His message to his fellow Malaysians is that the jackpot is a blessing to make life easier, but that one should work while they still can. He also advised people to play responsibly and within their means.

3. IN MALAYSIA 🇲🇾

Surprise HR goodies in the upcoming 13th Malaysia Plan
During the Budget 2026 Engagement Session, Human Resources Minister Steven Sim said that his ministry will roll out 10 game-changer initiatives under the 13th Malaysia Plan (13MP) to address the changing labour market landscape. While the details of the 10 game-changer initiatives were not provided, the Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) had previously praised 13MP as a bold blueprint for human capital transformation, emphasising upskilling the workforce, improving digital capabilities, and reforming labour systems.

In the same vein, PM Anwar Ibrahim also mentioned that the production of highly skilled talents in the latest technology fields will be given priority in the soon-to-be-released Budget 2026. The focus would be given particularly to the fields of artificial intelligence (AI) and upstream semiconductors, which are now urgent needs of the high-tech industry. The efforts would also support large investments by international companies such as Infineon Technologies, which would need skilled workforce.

Has riot fever spread to Malaysia?
After Indonesia and Nepal have seen their respective countries literally on fire in the past few weeks, it seems that the riot heatwave has reached Malaysia after a senior police officer sustained a head injury during a tense standoff between enforcement officers and the residents of Kampung Sungai Baru. The incident occurred as authorities carried out a court-ordered operation to cut electricity supply and evict several homes — 26 individual lots comprising 37 terrace houses — in the area earmarked for redevelopment. The issue of Kampung Sungai Baru redevelopment is not new and can actually be traced back to the era when Najib Razak was PM. Here’s a refresher video.

In responding to the intense clash between the residents and the authorities, PM Anwar Ibrahim lambasted the responsible parties who injured the police. PM Anwar stressed that while the government respects the public’s right to assemble peacefully, the principle of freedom also demands responsibility and strict adherence to rules, decorum, and the law.

The man at the centre of this issue, Plantation and Commodities Minister cum Titiwangsa MP Johari Ghani, stated that since the matter has progressed and likely cannot be reversed, the developers must take the responsibility of ensuring that the Malays will be able to afford the homes to be built there. Despite looking like he has already waved the white flag on the issue, Johari still criticised the use of legal action to remove 14 families, calling the move irresponsible.

Shorts:

1. Petronas threatened: First Bintulu; now Kemaman

   The authorities have been instructed to increase surveillance at all Petronas facilities in Kemaman, Terengganu following threats made against a facility in Bintulu, Sarawak. Terengganu police chief Khairi Khairuddin said there are six oil refining facilities in Kemaman, with police also focusing on other facilities that could potentially disrupt public order if targeted. He added that the directive came straight from the top brass after similar measures were implemented in Bintulu.

2. Now, all passengers must wear seatbelts

   The Road Transport Department (JPJ) will soon make it mandatory for all drivers and passengers in private vehicles to wear seatbelts. No exact date has been given, and JPJ director-general Aedy Fadly Ramli said that his department will focus on advocacy and awareness efforts first. Under the current law, individuals who fail to wear seatbelts may face fines of up to RM300 under the Motor Vehicles (Seatbelt and Child Restraint System) Rules 1978 (Amendment 2019). The seatbelt enforcement strategy has already been mandated for express and tour bus drivers and passengers, effective July 1, 2025, so, naturally, private vehicles come next.

4. AROUND THE WORLD 🌎

Charlie Kirk shot dead
Charlie Kirk, co-founder of Turning Point USA and a staunch ally of US President Donald Trump has died after being shot in the neck on Wednesday afternoon while speaking at an event at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. He was participating in a debate as part of his "American Comeback Tour," addressing a crowd of about 3,000. Video footage posted online showed Kirk being questioned by an audience member about gun violence in the moments before he was shot. The irony. Devastated by the news, Trump ordered all American flags throughout the United States to be lowered to half-mast until Sunday evening — a gesture generally seen following the deaths of congressional leaders or cabinet members. He also vows to find everyone ‘who contributed to this atrocity’. Two suspects were taken into custody but subsequently released. The killing was described as a "political assassination." Kirk was known for his right-wing political ideology and social commentary through Turning Point USA, a non-profit organisation he co-founded in 2012 at the age of 18. Turning Point USA is the largest conservative youth organisation in the country, which played a key role in driving young voter support for Trump in November.

Tech
Klarna goes public in largest IPO of 2025 on NYSE
Swedish buy-now-pay-later company Klarna has joined the ranks of other high-profile tech IPOs at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), and the largest by far. The amount of money raised in Klarna’s IPO was approximately USD1.37 bil with Klarna selling 34.3 mil shares to investors at USD40 a share. This is above the forecasted range of USD35 to USD37 a share, and values the company at more than USD15 bil. Founded in 2005 as a payments company, Klarna entered the United States buy-now-pay-later market in 2015 in partnership with department store operator Macy’s. Since then, Klarna has expanded to hundreds of thousands of merchants and embedded itself in internet browsers and digital wallets as an alternative to credit cards. The company recently announced a partnership with Walmart, which offers an in-store option to pay in instalments. For the second quarter of the 2025 fiscal year, the firm reported an adjusted operating income of USD29 mil, marking its fifth quarter of operational profitability.

Oracle, OpenAI USD300 bil cloud deal
Oracle and OpenAI have inked one of the largest cloud contracts ever signed in recent times, with OpenAI agreeing to purchase USD300 bil in computing power from Oracle over roughly 5 years. But here is the catch - the contract, which starts in 2027, is a risky gamble for both companies. OpenAI is a money-losing startup that disclosed in June it was generating roughly USD10 bil in annual revenue—less than one-fifth of the USD60 bil it will have to pay on average every year. Oracle is concentrating a large chunk of its future revenue on one customer—and will likely have to take on debt to buy the AI chips needed to power the data centres. The Oracle contract will require 4.5 gigawatts of power capacity, roughly comparable to the electricity produced by more than two Hoover Dams or the amount consumed by about four million homes.

French lawmakers pushing for ‘digital curfew’ for teens
A French parliamentary committee is calling for children under 15 in France to be banned entirely from using social media while those aged between 15 and 18 should face a night-time “digital curfew”. The proposal follows months of testimony from families, social media executives, and influencers. It is also “inspired” by Australia’s landmark law prohibiting social media for those under 16. The committee is set to file a criminal complaint against TikTok as well, for “endangering the lives” of users and not putting in enough safety measures for young users. TikTok said that the app used AI-enhanced moderation that in 2024 caught 98% of content infringing its terms of service in France, but the lawmakers deemed that insufficient, while saying that TikTok’s rules were “very easy to circumvent”.

Shorts:

1. Justice is alive in South Korea
   In 1964, 18-year old Choi Mal-ja fought against a sexual attack by biting off part of the attacker’s tongue as he tried to rape her. Sadly, she was sentenced to 10 months in prison, and suspended for two years, for trying to protect herself. The man was sentenced to six months in prison and suspended for two years for trespassing and intimidation, but never convicted of attempted rape. Inspired by the #MeToo movement in the late 2010’s, Choi began fighting for a retrial and today, justice is served - the Busan District court has overturned her 1965 conviction and ruled that her actions constituted “justifiable self-defence” under South Korean law.

2. More than half of women in UK gave birth with medical intervention
   A recent audit by the UK National Health Service (NHS) maternity care has revealed that more than half of the women who gave birth in Britain in 2024 did so with the help of medical intervention. The increasing regularity of medical intervention takes the form of a sharp rise in caesarean births and also includes use of forceps or ventouse suction cups. Experts said that the rising trend is worrisome as it represents a major shift of births becoming more complicated, with significant increases in factors such as obesity, maternal diabetes and pre-existing medical conditions. Having babies at a later stage in life also increases the risk of complications and the need for medical intervention.

5. FOR YOUR EYES 📺

1. Why T20 feel broke today? Watch for reflection over the long weekend on some conventional financial wisdom.

2. When money not enough, make a side hustle. What Malaysians do for side hustle by Malaysianpaygap.

Since we are on the topic of money: if you enjoy our newsletter, perhaps support us by contributing to our tabung here? Thanks!

Let’s enjoy a good laugh here as we head into the long weekend- we know it’s not good to laugh at the predicaments of others, but when it all happened simultaneously, it’s really hard not to. Thankfully, no one was seriously hurt, so it’s one of those moments where you can laugh guilt-free at how everything went wrong at once. Selamat Hari Malaysia!

khairulhafiki

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