☕️ Long weekend ahead: Wesak + King’s birthday on May 31 and June 1

1. MARKET SUMMARY 📈

2. NUMBERS AT A GLANCE 🔢

31 sloths – Sloth World, advertised as the only “slotharium” in Orlando, Florida, has come under scrutiny after sloths intended for the attraction died before its grand opening this spring. According to a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission report, many of the sloths died due to conditions at a Florida warehouse where they had been kept. Others arrived in Florida already dead or in ill health and later died. The owner of Sloth World denied the allegations in the report, saying that the sloths were lost to a virus that “showed barely any symptoms and was undetectable even after necropsy”. Poor sloths.

Nearly 900 – The UN refugee agency reported that this was the number of Rohingya refugees dead or missing in the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea in 2025, the deadliest year on record for maritime movements in South and Southeast Asia. The area has been described as an “unmarked graveyard for thousands of desperate Rohingya refugees”, with an estimated 5,000 thought to have drowned at sea over the last decade. Thousands have continued to make the dangerous journey in 2026, with more than 2,800 refugees already making the crossing in hopes of reaching Malaysia or Indonesia.

Nearly 18 years – Malaysia’s Parliament had to wait this long to receive the audit report on the Legal Profession Qualifying Board’s accounts. If there are no further delays, the report will be in by 2027. Law and Institutional Reform Deputy Minister M Kulasegaran said in Jan that the board is currently preparing its financial statements from 2008 to 2025 in stages for auditing, adding that the National Audit Department has begun auditing the accounts for the 2008 to 2012 period. The audit follows the board coming under scrutiny in late-2024 and 2025, after it emerged that its accounts had gone unaudited for nearly 18 years despite collecting substantial fees from law examination candidates.

3. IN MALAYSIA 🇲🇾

Mara eyes uni listings while UPTM quietly stacking strong numbers
Majlis Amanah Rakyat (MARA) is looking into the possible listing of two of its universities, Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL) and Universiti Poly-Tech Malaysia (UPTM), with early planning underway and a decision expected within the next year. Talks with advisers are still at an early stage, and any listing timeline could stretch near 2028. Both universities are currently profitable and early checks suggest they may meet listing requirements, but details like structure, timing, and whether they would go on Bursa Malaysia’s Main Market or ACE Market are still being worked out.

Also, UPTM declared a RM19.97 mil dividend for FY2025 to Mara via Mara Corporation, marking its third straight year of steady payouts. The university has seen consistent growth from 2023 to 2025, driven by higher enrolment, cost efficiency, stronger industry-linked programmes, and wider use of digital and hybrid learning. It is now targeting double-digit revenue growth and stronger margins in 2026, supported by expansion in Cyberjaya and Sarawak, with future plans to become a stronger regional player in professional education aligned with Malaysia’s Bumiputera human capital goals. Learn more about MARA here.

TNB to pay RM4.7 mil payout after Cameron Highlands dam flood case wraps up
The High Court in Seremban has ordered Tenaga Nasional Bhd to pay RM4.74 mil in compensation to 100 residents affected by the 2013 flood in Bertam Valley, Cameron Highlands, after the utility company was found negligent in releasing water from the Sultan Abu Bakar Dam without proper monitoring. The judge awarded RM912,459.76 in special damages, RM3 mil in general damages and RM830,000 in exemplary damages, noting the company could have avoided the water release had the dam been properly maintained.

An earlier ruling by the KL High court on May 25, 2018, had already found the company negligent for releasing water three times on Oct 23, 2013, which caused floods in Bertam Valley, Cameron Highlands. The court also noted the dam, operating since 1963, lacked a proper water monitoring system. That finding was upheld by the Court of Appeal on Dec 11, 2018, and a final appeal was rejected by the Federal Court on Nov 12, 2019, after which the case moved on to assess compensation for victims.

Learn more about the various type of damages in our legal system here.

War in the Middle East, more global events in Penang
Penang is set to see more international events coming its way as some programmes originally planned for the Middle East are being shifted to the Asia-Pacific region due to ongoing tensions there, according to the Penang Convention and Exhibition Bureau (PCEB). More than 20 events are on the shortlist for Penang, with more expected as bidding continues. These include events from sectors like finance, management and healthcare, some of which could bring in over 1,000 participants each and stretch into 2027, 2028 and beyond, with the state’s calendar already lined up as far as 2032.

Before they are confirmed, each event still needs local organisers and subject experts in Penang to be brought on board. The move also ties in with PCEB’s partnership with Marriott International Malaysia, which aims to grow business events in the state, including making the Penang Golf Challenge a yearly networking platform.

Shorts:

1. KLIA Aerotrain almost back to 24/7 after long upgrade work
   The KLIA Aerotrain is expected to return to full 24-hour operations by the end of May, as the restoration enters its final stage after technical tests were completed by Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd. A full report was submitted to the Land Public Transport Agency (APAD) for safety clearance before round-the-clock service can resume. The system has faced repeated technical issues due to its 25-year-old infrastructure, including a major breakdown in Mar 2025 that led to a full suspension and forced passengers to walk along the tracks to the satellite terminal.

2. Long weekend ahead: Wesak + King’s birthday holidays lined up
   Malaysia will have two public holidays at the end of May, with Wesak Day on May 31 followed by the official birthday of Sultan Ibrahim on June 1. The Ministry of Human Resources Malaysia said the King’s birthday is a compulsory public holiday under the Employment Act 1955 and cannot be replaced. Wesak Day is a paid holiday that employers may choose to observe. Since Wesak Day falls on a Sunday this year, the next working day becomes a replacement holiday. For workplaces that observe Sunday as the rest day, June 1 remains the King’s birthday holiday, while June 2, 2026 (Tue) becomes the replacement Wesak Day holiday, unless changed with employee consent. Workers earning RM4,000 or below, or those under the Act’s First Schedule, must be paid the required rate if they work on a public holiday.

4. AROUND THE WORLD 🌎

Price of war
Physical shortages of oil supply will begin appearing
Chevron's boss has said that the world will begin to feel physical oil shortages due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which carries about 20% of global crude oil supply. Asian economies are likely to contract first as they adjust demand to the reduced supply.

Asia is the most dependent on the Gulf's oil production and refining, and the next region likely to feel the impact is Europe. He added that the shortage could be "potentially as big as in the 1970s". The US, a net crude exporter, would be less affected than other parts of the globe, but eventually the effects would be felt there as well.

The Second-Order Effects: The world is running out of key fuels, not crude oil
Zooming in on the oil crisis, analysts at Goldman Sachs are more specific with their reports. While it feels like the global economy is running out of oil, it may actually be running short of key fuels that keep planes flying and industrial supply chains going. This is because while overall oil inventories remain above critical levels, shortages are emerging in specific refined products, especially jet fuel, petrochemical feedstocks like naphtha, and liquefied petroleum gas used to make plastics and chemicals.

Crude oil may be available, but it can’t always be converted into usable fuel quickly enough due to refining constraints, trade disruptions, and export restrictions. Analysts also said that even if flows through Hormuz recover soon, full normalisation of deliveries would still take at least several weeks.

Humanitarian aid is not flowing
Sadly, it's not just oil disrupted by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. It is also slowing down or blocking food and medical aid from reaching the most vulnerable people on the planet, largely in Africa. Aid organisations are calling for a “humanitarian corridor” to be opened through the Strait of Hormuz to allow for humanitarian aid to pass. Major aid agencies, still reeling from US and European funding cuts, have been badly caught out, because many export humanitarian supplies, including food and medicines, from hubs in India and Dubai to communities in need. 

According to the World Food Programme (WFP), the disruption meant 45 mil more people could go hungry, in addition to the 318 mil people already considered food insecure before the Feb attacks. This is only the tip of the iceberg. Many more communities in need around the world are suffering from the increase in shipping and fuel costs due to this ridiculous war.

AI
Anthropic x Wall Street in USD1.5 bil collab to build the ‘McKinsey of AI’
Anthropic has teamed up with some of Wall Street's biggest investors for a USD1.5 bil (RM5.94 bil) joint venture for "AI-native enterprise services". The unnamed AI firm is a way for its backers to drive returns across their portfolio companies, create a playbook for transformation through the tech, and ultimately justify the billions these firms are pouring into AI infrastructure.

The four founding partners are Anthropic, Blackstone, Hellman & Friedman, and Goldman Sachs' asset management arm. The first three firms contributed USD300 mil each to the deal, while Goldman contributed USD150 mil. The remaining funding comes from a consortium of major investors, including Apollo, General Atlantic, Leonard Green, GIC, and Sequoia Capital.

Musician sues Google AI Overview for wrongly accusing him as a sex offender
Ashley MacIsaac, a three-time Juno award-winning Canadian fiddler, has launched a USD1.5 mil (RM5.94 mil) civil lawsuit against Google, alleging that the online giant defamed him by falsely identifying him as a sex offender in a Google AI Overview of his life and career.

He claimed that Google is liable for defamatory claims that he had been convicted of multiple criminal offences, including the sexual assault of a woman, internet luring involving a child with the intention of sexually assaulting the child, and assault causing bodily harm. Google’s AI Overview also wrongly stated that he had been listed on the national sex offender registry for life. MacIsaac said that he learned of the inaccurate information when the Sipekne’katik First Nation cancelled a concert appearance planned for Dec 19, after members of the public complained, citing the misinformation they read on Google.

Shorts:

1. Monster truck show accident kills three
   A monster truck suffered a mechanical failure during a show in southern Colombia and veered into a crowd, killing three people and injuring at least 38. A 10-year-old girl died at the scene where the vehicle crashed through a barrier and ploughed into the crowd, before coming to a stop, hitting an electricity pole. Police believed the truck lost control after the brakes failed during the show. Viewer discretion advised - watch incident here.

2. Blast at fireworks factory in China's Hunan kills 21
   A blast occurred at a firework factory in China, killing 21 people and injuring 61. State media reported that it happened at Huasheng Fireworks Manufacturing and Display Company in Liuyang, under the administration of Changsa, the capital of Hunan, and a hub for fireworks manufacturing. Five rescue teams of nearly 500 personnel, together with three rescue robots, were dispatched to the scene, adopting a "human–machine coordinated approach" to conduct grid-style searches. Fireworks are essential to Chinese life, and not just culturally - last year, China exported USD1.14 bil (RM4.52 bil) worth of fireworks, more than two-thirds of global sales.

3. FIFA faces World Cup broadcast crisis
   Football fans in India and China may not be able to watch the FIFA World Cup that starts next month, thanks to a deadlock over broadcast rights in India and no official decision in China - an unusual thing to happen at this stage. In India, a Reliance-Disney joint venture has offered USD20 mil (RM79.25 mil) for 2026 World Cup broadcast rights, a fraction of FIFA's ask, which was not acceptable to football’s global governing body. There has also been no deal announcement for China, which FIFA says accounted for 49.8% of all hours of viewing on digital and social platforms globally during the 2022 World Cup. The two countries together accounted for 22.6% of total global digital streaming reach for that World Cup, and both are the world’s two most populous countries.

5. FOR YOUR EYES 📺

The Mind

1. The Pen is Mightier Than the Keyboard - taking notes via handwriting vs typing. Research papers accessible in the last tweet.

2. When being angry reduces your IQ. A hack to reduce anger.

3. Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey trailer. Starring Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong’o, Zendaya and Charlize Theron.