☕️ Hijab x metalheads x Glastonbury - Indonesian girls make history

1. MARKET SUMMARY 📈

2. NUMBERS AT A GLANCE 🔢

In a written reply in Parliament last week, the Minister in the PM’s Department (Law and Institutional Reforms) Azalina Othman Said revealed that the Federal Court has denied 19 of 474 applications from death row inmates to commute their sentences. The minister explained that these denials pertain to cases involving multiple victims or the murder of children. Between Nov 14, 2024 and May 31 this year, 936 applications for review were made by death row inmates.

The number of armed conflicts globally in 2023 has reached a record high since the end of World War II. The Peace Research Institute of Oslo (PRIO) said 59 armed conflicts took place worldwide last year, led by the wars in Ukraine and Gaza. 28 were in Africa, 17 in Asia, 10 in the Middle East, 3 in Europe and 1 in the Americas. Even though there were more conflicts last year, fewer countries had conflicts, dropping from 39 in 2022 to 34.

America has embraced legal marijuana more than most rich countries. Recreational use is permitted in 24 states, and medical use in 38, despite strict federal regulations. According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, one in six American adults uses marijuana monthly, and one in twenty — about 11 mil people get high daily. Research by Jonathan Caulkins from Carnegie Mellon University indicates that in 2022, daily or near-daily marijuana users outnumbered daily alcohol users. The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that alcohol-related deaths in the U.S. now total nearly 180,000 annually, encompassing both direct and indirect causes. In contrast, the mortality risk associated with marijuana is nearly nonexistent.

3. IN MALAYSIA 🇲🇾

Malaysia’s tourism sector is doing well, thanks to China tourists
According to Cirium seat capacity data, Malaysia and Thailand are the top go-to destinations for Chinese tourists, thanks to visa-free entry and relatively lower costs. Chinese tourists spent USD 133.8 bil on outbound tourism in 2019, with per capita consumption of USD863, ranking first in the world in outbound tourism expenditure, accounting for 23.8% of the total global tourism, according to statistics from UN Tourism. For this year, the World Travel and Tourism Council expects Chinese holidaymakers to spend USD248.1 bil on overseas trips.

However, Malaysia may have shot its leg in the pursuit of luring more Chinese tourists into the country, as two Chinese nationals were killed while several others were injured when a tour bus skidded and hit the road divider at KM16.5 of Jalan Turun Genting Highlands on its way to the federal capital, last Saturday. Tourism Minister Tiong King Sing confirmed that the licence of the travel agency involved in the deadly crash has been temporarily suspended pending the conclusion of the investigation into the crash. Previously, Bentong district police chief, Superintendent Zaiham Mohd Kahar notified that the driver of the tour bus was driving without a licence and had been issued 27 traffic summonses.

Another tourism-related news as the Indian High Commission announced that Malaysians visiting India may obtain a 30-day double-entry electronic visa at no cost from July 1. This initiative will run for a year. At the moment, Indian passport holders travelling to Malaysia are eligible for visa-free entry into Malaysia for up to 30 days from Dec 1, 2023, until Dec 31 this year. In 2023, India recorded the sixth-highest tourist arrival to Malaysia, where 473k Indians visited the country.
View: Malaysia Tourism Statistics in Brief

MYAirline may be grounded for good
Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd’s subsidiaries — Malaysia Airports Sdn Bhd (MASB) and Malaysia Airports Sepang Sdn Bhd (MASSB) — are seeking a summary judgement from the High Court regarding their RM17.74 mil claims against MYAIrline Sdn Bhd. MYAirline owes MASB RM8.36 mil and MASSB RM9.1 mil in overdue airport service charges for the use of the latter’s services at KLIA Terminal 2 and eight other airports nationwide.
Learn: What is summary judgement?

Not only the company but MYAirline co-founder Allan Goh Hwan Hua was hit with yet another lawsuit, this time from 213 individuals who have invested about RM70 mil into entities linked to Goh. The investors claimed that they had been duped by Goh or his agents to deposit monies in some of these entities on the promise that the deposits would be repaid in full, along with returns of investments. However, to date, they have recovered neither capital nor interest.

Cost of Living News

1. Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) president Mohideen Abdul Kader stated that the prices of goods should be reduced by between 20% — 30% as Putrajaya announced a reduction in the Imbalance Cost Pass-Through (ICPT) surcharge by 1sen/kWh for commercial and industrial users.

While we may enjoy a bit of relief in the possible reduction of the cost of goods, however, the cost of summons in KL is moving the other way. The Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) will enforce new compound rates for traffic offences starting today. The compound rates range from RM30 - RM80 for motorcycle users, RM50 - RM100 for car users and RM200 - RM300 for heavy vehicles, depending on the summonses’ payment windows.

Business shorts

1. Despite losing Malaysia Airlines Bhd (MAB) as one of its clients, Brahim’s Food Services Sdn Bhd (BFS) recorded an RM12 mil profit for the financial year ending 2023. Brahim’s Holdings Bhd (BHB) chairman Ibrahim Ahmad lauded the positive financial performance of BFS as a signal of the resiliency and robustness of Brahim’s group of companies’ business model. BFS is 70% owned by BHB, while the remaining shares are owned by MAB. Its 60,000 sq meters facility is able to produce up to 60,000 meals a day, catering to 35 international airlines.

2. Four mobile network operators (MNOs) — CelcomDigi Bhd, Maxis Broadband Sdn Bhd, U Mobile Sdn Bhd and YTL Power International Bhd (via YTL Communications Sdn Bhd) — have respectively purchased a 16.3% stake each in Digital Nasional Bhd (DNB), the 5G special purpose vehicle. The 16.3% acquisition is higher than the expected 14% share subscriptions. Only Telekom Malaysia Bhd has yet to buy its shares in DNB. TM’s expected equity participation in DNB will result in a share dilution for the existing shareholders, with MOF Inc.’s stake coming down to 30% and the four MNOs’ stake coming down to 14% each. View the latest shareholding structure here.

4. AROUND THE WORLD 🌎

President Biden’s disastrous presidential debate
US President Joe Biden debated former US President and Republican presumptive presidential nominee Donald Trump last Thursday night. Despite the many lies Trump spewed (as usual), the main takeaway from the reality show was Biden’s cognitive state. At 81 years old, his voice was weak, sometimes reduced to whispering, answers drifting into incoherence and meandering comments left even his ardent supporters sceptical about his health to lead the Democrats in the upcoming election in November. In the 48 hours after the debate, a chorus of donors and other supporters have called Biden to step aside.

The New York Times editorial board, which provides opinions on critical issues facing the country and operates independently from the newsroom, published a column slamming Biden’s performance, saying that the “greatest public service Mr Biden can now perform is to announce that he will not continue to run for reelection”. Judge Biden’s performance for yourself — watch it here.

Multiple reports said that Biden will be meeting his family at Camp David to discuss the future of his campaign.

Hijab x metalheads x Glastonbury - Indonesia makes history
Heavy metal band Voice of Baceprot, comprising three hijab-wearing girls, became the first Indonesian band to play at Glastonbury Festival, Europe’s largest music festival. This year’s 5-day festival saw headlines, including the likes of Coldplay and Dua Lipa. Baceprot means “noise” in Sundanese, one of the most widely spoken languages in Indonesia. The 3 girls, in their early 20s, have come a long way since their village school 10 years ago. Being rebellious, they were often called to meet the school’s counsellor, who introduced them to heavy metal and encouraged them to express their emotions through music. 

The band was praised by the likes of Rage Against the Machine’s guitarist Tom Morello, who said he watched their videos “10 times in a row and was just blown away by it”. Flea from Red Hot Chilli Pepper once tweeted, “I am so down with Voice of Baceprot”. The combination of hijab-wearing women and heavy metal music didn’t go down well in their communities but on the global stage, they have garnered a large following — 360k subscribers on YouTube and 230k followers on Instagram. Here’s a cover by VoB on Metallica’s Enter Sandman. As a metalhead myself, I think it was an impressive performance. 

Their songs revolve around their experience in life instead of the stereotypical rock n’ roll topics on sex, drugs and alcohol. God, Allow Me (Please) to Play Music (listen here on Spotify) serves as an emphatic plea against criticisms and also written about their frustrations with patriarchy and the male gaze. 

Material science to fight perverts at Paris Olympics
It’s not easy being a woman. No matter how you dress, people will find ways to sexualise it. In the upcoming Paris Olympics, Team Japan will be wearing uniforms that voyeuristic creeps can’t see through with infrared cameras. The brand-new innovation created by Japanese sports equipment company Mizuno is capable of absorbing infrared light, preventing infrared cameras from seeing through to athletes’ underwear or bodies underneath. Mizuno explains its tech further here. This comes as there is a growing trend of voyeurs producing and circulating compromising photos of athletes on porn websites. The development of the tech began after the 2020 Olympics when athletes started complaining to the Japanese Olympic Committee about revealing photos of themselves circulated on social media with sexually explicit captions. 

Shorts

1. India’s main airport collapsed
   Heavy rainfall and winds brought down a roof at Terminal 1 of the main airport in New Delhi on Friday, killing 1 person and 4 vehicles crushed and shutting down the domestic terminal. New Delhi saw more than a whole month’s worth of rain pouring down in a span of 3 hours. Earlier last month, the city of 20 mil was facing a searing heat wave. Another cost of climate change — erratic and extreme weather patterns.

2. 5 massive ISIS bombs found hidden in UNESCO mosque

   5 large bombs were discovered hidden in the walls of the historic al-Nuri Mosque in the city of Mosul, Iraq, a remnant of the armed group ISIS and were safely removed. The mosque — famous for its 12th-century leaning minaret — was destroyed by ISIS in 2017, and UNESCO has been restoring it since 2020. ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared a “caliphate” from the mosque a decade ago. 

3. Nike’s poor outlook, stock got hammered

   The world’s largest sportswear company saw its share drop sharply by 16%, wiping out more than USD22 bil in market value after the company’s full-year outlook missed expectations and saw revenue declining by mid-single digits, stoking investor concerns. Other sports brands were dragged along in this sell-off, including JD Sports Fashion and Puma SE.

4. SK Hynix to spend KRW100 tril to enhance its chip business
   South Korea’s SK Hynix, the world’s no.2 memory chipmaker, plans to spend USD74.6 bil through 2028 to strengthen its chip business focusing on AI, parent SK Group announced. It also plans to raise KRW80 tril (USD59.7 bil) by 2026 to invest in AI and semiconductors as well as fund shareholder returns. SK Group is the second-biggest conglomerate (aka chaebol) in South Korea, controlling USD240 bil worth of assets and 20 listed companies. Its chairman, Chey Tae-won, needs to ‘fundraise’ too in order to settle a USD1 bil divorce settlement.

5. FOR YOUR EYES 📺

A tribute to the King of Fruits - Durian

1. The Great Durian Pyramid. One helluva way to arrange and transport the king.