☕️ Jho Low and Tabung Haji: What's the link?

1. MARKET SUMMARY 📈

2. NUMBERS AT A GLANCE 🔢

600MW – That’s the generation capacity of 18 waste-to-energy (WTE) projects by 2040, of which two plants are already operational, and three more are under construction. These 18 plants are part of the government’s long-term efforts to modernise solid waste management and boost renewable energy generation. WTE technology uses controlled combustion to significantly reduce the volume of waste sent to landfills while generating electricity from the heat produced. Such facilities can reduce up to 85% of solid waste volume, with the remaining 15% taking the form of ash that can potentially be recycled for commercial and construction use.

Up to USD114 bil (RM466.48 bil) – Refreshing these stats. Shows just how susceptible all of us are to scams and its machineries, regardless of intelligence - no amount of intelligence beats emotional manipulation. The UN Office on Drugs and Crime estimates that global losses from online scam operations reached between USD88 bil and USD114 bil in 2025. Scam centres employ as many as 300,000 workers across Southeast Asia, including in Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos, to use online schemes to defraud often older people in the West. The International Organisation for Migration has warned that trafficking people through online scam centres has become one of the world’s fastest-growing forms of human trafficking, with victims from more than 80 countries duped into aiding their criminal operations. Such criminal networks increasingly target educated jobseekers through advertisements on social media and have successfully recruited people with strong English skills and university degrees by offering fraudulent jobs. When the victims arrive at the scam compounds, they often have their passports confiscated, face physical and psychological abuse, and are prevented from leaving. Remember, if it sounds too good to be true, it usually is.

AUD2,500 (RM7,222.41) – Students applying for visas in Australia have to pay that amount as a non-refundable fee. The amount was recently increased from AUD2,000 in early Jul, a price hike of 25%, marking Australia’s international student visa fees as the highest in the world. In comparison, visa fees in the US and Britain are USD535 (RM2,189.17) and GBP558 (RM3,083.88) respectively. However, students from Southeast Asia were exempted from the 25% price hike for an Australian visa, instead seeing only an inflation-adjusted increase of AUD50, for a total of AUD2,050. This exemption is due to Australia looking to boost ties with its regional neighbours. Australia hiked visa fees in an attempt to address a surge in migration since the COVID-19 pandemic. The fee increased from AUD710 to AUD1,600 in Jul 2024 and to AUD2,000 in Jul 2025.

3. IN MALAYSIA 🇲🇾

Court draws the line
Apex court rejects Kedah lottery ban bid: Kedah’s attempt to stop lottery operations in the state has come to an end after the Federal Court refused to hear the state government’s appeal, effectively allowing licensed lottery operators to apply to renew their business premises licences. A three-member bench unanimously ruled that Kedah’s application did not meet the legal threshold required for the Federal Court to hear the appeal. The court also ordered the state government to pay RM50,000 in costs.

The dispute began in 2021 when Kedah Menteri Besar Muhammad Sanusi Nor announced that local councils would stop renewing licences for lottery outlets as part of an effort to curb social ills. The policy took effect on Jan 1, 2023, leaving licensed operators unable to reopen physical outlets despite holding valid federal licences. The ruling means the earlier High Court and Court of Appeal decisions remain unchanged, with both courts having found that Kedah had exceeded its powers. The courts ruled that while local councils regulate business premises, the licensing of pool betting falls under the Finance Ministry's jurisdiction. But of course, PAS people will continue their fight even when the nation’s apex court has made its ruling.

Ex-driver jailed for threatening judge: Words, wrongly applied, have their consequences. In a separate case, the former driver of a Kuala Lumpur High Court judge was sentenced to three months' jail after pleading guilty to criminally intimidating the judge. The accused admitted sending threatening voice messages and making a phone call to the judge’s secretary. Prosecutors said the offence was serious because threats against members of the judiciary could undermine public confidence in the justice system.

Wong Chen bersama Bersama
Wong Chen joins Bersama: Former Subang MP Wong Chen has officially ended his 17-year stint with PKR and joined Bersama, becoming one of the party’s latest high-profile recruits as it prepares for the next general election. Wong resigned as an MP before leaving PKR to comply with the anti-hopping law, before submitting his application to Bersama, which was approved just minutes before his announcement. He is expected to lead the party’s policy development work and help prepare a series of policy papers over the coming months.

Bersama membership grows: The announcement comes as Bersama claims its membership continues to grow rapidly. Co-leader Rafizi Ramli said the party now has about 29,200 members, with around 25% coming from PKR, another 15% from parties including Umno, PAS and Bersatu, while about 60% are first-time political members.

No by-election for Subang: Meanwhile, the Election Commission (EC) confirmed there will be no by-election for the Subang parliamentary seat following Wong’s resignation. Under Article 54(1) of the Federal Constitution, a by-election is not required if a seat falls vacant within the final two years of Parliament's term, unless the vacancy affects the government's majority. As the Dewan Rakyat Speaker did not make such a notification, the seat will remain vacant until the next general election. (Read the full reason for a by-election to happen here)

Malaysia’s most wanted man involved in Tabung Haji scandal
Jho Low-linked firm among TH investments: Fresh details from the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) into Lembaga Tabung Haji (TH) have put renewed focus on investment decisions linked to the 1MDB scandal, with Putrajaya Perdana emerging as one of the most controversial cases. The RCI highlighted sworn court testimony alleging that Putrajaya Perdana remained under the control of fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho, better known as Jho Low, when Tabung Haji approved its investment in 2014. Although no court has made a formal finding on that ownership, the government said the testimony raises serious questions about the decision-making process at the time.

TH lost RM145.3 mil in 1MDB-linked deal: The government said Tabung Haji’s purchase of a 30% stake in Putrajaya Perdana eventually drew the pilgrim fund into transactions linked to 1MDB, resulting in losses of RM145.3 mil. Finance Minister II Amir Hamzah Azizan said the investment was approved despite internal valuations placing the company below the purchase price, while parts of the due diligence process were completed only after approval had been obtained.

Seven TH investments wiped out: The RCI identified 14 problematic Tabung Haji investments, with seven suffering total losses. The biggest impairment involved Saudi Arabia-based Al-Rawda Real Estates Development & Project Management Co Ltd, where TH eventually wrote off RM1.86 bil after paying more than RM1.5 bil upfront without a meaningful bank guarantee. Other failed investments included Putrajaya Perdana, TH Marine and Alfareeda Residential Fund.

Finance Minister II Amir Hamzah Azizan said the losses reflected governance failures rather than market conditions, pointing to weak oversight, poor risk management and investment approvals that failed to protect depositors' money. He said the RCI found evidence of weak safeguards throughout the investment approval process, including transactions that proceeded without adequate security or proper due diligence.

During the parliamentary debate, Religious Affairs Minister Dr Zulkifli Hasan also questioned why the previous administration did not release the completed RCI report in 2022, when UMNO’s Ismail Sabri was the PM. To Bersama co-founder and former Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli, all major parties bersama-sama are to blame:

Balaji out, Yew in - crypto investor eyes Forest City revival
Forest City could soon get another chance to reinvent itself after a Malaysian crypto investor expressed interest in taking over the former Network School campus, which was forced to shut down last month. Jeff Yew, who previously headed Binance Australia and now leads Monochrome Asset Management (AUM of AUD128 mil), is exploring plans to establish a new technology campus focused on artificial intelligence, blockchain and computer science. Unlike the previous project, Yew said the initiative would adopt a "Malaysia-first" approach by working closely with local authorities while creating more opportunities for Malaysian entrepreneurs and students.

The site was previously occupied by Balaji Srinivasan’s technology-focused Network School, which attracted entrepreneurs and professionals from around the world. The campus closed after Malaysian authorities found licensing breaches during investigations that began following allegations involving Israeli nationals studying at the site. Yew said discussions with Srinivasan’s team are still at an early stage and no agreement has been reached, but he believes the location still has strong potential to become a regional technology hub. The proposal could also provide a boost for Forest City (Sultan Ibrahim owns a substantial stake in this project), which has struggled to attract residents and businesses since its launch.

4. AROUND THE WORLD 🌎

No to guns in Thailand for now
In the wake of a violent school shooting that killed eight, Thailand’s government is stopping the issuance of gun permits. Last week, a 14-year-old pupil at Debsirin Nonthaburi School outside of Bangkok took his grandfather’s handgun, shot his grandparents before aiming it at five staff members and a 12-year-old girl. After that, he took his own life. Police are saying that he taught himself how to handle a gun through social media and watched numerous violent videos. Anxiety over his studies and family issues might have been the root cause. Thailand has one of the highest rates of civilian gun ownership, with 10.3 mil firearms. Cambodia and the Philippines came in after that. Recently, the Philippines also saw a similar school shooting. Thank god this is one area Malaysia did not excel for the wrong reasons.

Meanwhile, the Thai government is working to pass new gun control laws that might require owners of unlicensed guns to hand them over, introduce mental health assessments for gun permits, and impose stricter ammunition controls. More drastically, schools might need to have screening to stop students from bringing in weapons. Sounds like an American high school now.

“You Human or AI?” Spotify to distinguish AI artists
Well, Spotify is swinging its AI hammer around. It is creating a label for AI-generated artists' identities called “AI personas” and will ask artists to self-disclose whether their identities are AI-created. Songs with AI labels will be blocked from personalised recommendations by default. The crux of the matter is money, of course. It has to differentiate deepfake artists from real performers who might lose out on streams to AI rivals. Here’s a shocking stat.

Spotify removed 75 mil spam tracks over 12 months as AI created a flood of fake music. For context, the legitimate catalogue stands at 100 mil. It doesn’t stop there. Spotify will also use human review and AI investigative tools to determine if artists are fake. But the big question is how Spotify can ensure that its process is robust enough that it will not affect real artists in this clampdown?

Even Timbaland created an AI singer:

Another AI-made song, Black to Pink (listen here), which I initially thought was by Blackpink. Kinda good.

South Korea - To The Moon
South Korea’s “Seven Major SEED” to shoot for the moon
As the country rides the boom and bust of the global AI trend, South Korea is trying to plan for what’s next with the big bucks the country is making. That’s why it’s now introducing the “Seven Major SEED” initiative, and it all sounds like sci-fi. Here are its aims:

1. Deploy indigenous small modular reactors by 2035.

2. Land on the moon by 2030.

3. Develop a domestic 100-qubit quantum computer by 2029.

4. Develop technologies related to space data centres.

5. Establish an AI-bio infrastructure by 2030.

6. Commercialise brain-computer interface products by 2035.

7. Expand domestic processing and recycling of critical minerals.

South Korea is not in a great spot for the long-term. It has a very low fertility rate of 0.8, way below the replacement rate of 2.1. Its population is projected to decline in the coming years as it deals with low birth rates. UN projects that the population will halve by 2088. That is why it’s in a big hurry to secure a technological competitive edge to deal with a shrinking population and keep the economy growing.

Temasek set to jump on the Samsung and SK Hynix bandwagon
Temasek is making a ‘calculated bet’ on the South Korean ‘casino market’. It intends to invest in Samsung and SK Hynix as its first entry into the South Korean stock market and is now in talks with the Korean government about the timing of the investment. Temasek is going in directly, without the middlemen of asset management companies. It views the memory semiconductor sector in the AI value chain as the most undervalued and thinks that Samsung and SK Hynix still have room to grow despite their share price increases of about 880% from last year’s low.

After all, Temasek is looking to increase its AI-related investment in its portfolio from 6% to 15% within the next five years. Overall, its strategy is to invest across the AI ecosystem, which includes semiconductors, data centres, cloud, AI model developers and software infrastructure. Currently, it holds investments in Nvidia, TSMC, ASML, OpenAI and Anthropic.

Single-stock leverage ETFs? You need mock trading training first
Well, the training wheels are back on. South Korea now requires new investors in single-stock leveraged exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to undergo mock trading exercises for at least five days, with simulated trading totalling at least five hours. Both local and foreign investors would have to do it. This was understandable as the country’s retail investors got wiped out from single-stock leveraged ETFs centred on Samsung and SK Hynix. Furthermore, regulators also raised the minimum cash deposit to KRW30 mil (RM86,667) for trades in these ETFs. Trading turnover has declined significantly from KRW12.4 tril on Jul 30 to KRW700 bil on Aug 11 as a result. These mock trading exercises are provided for free from Korea Exchange’s website.

5. FOR YOUR EYES 📺

Work place stuff - salary, career, job, looking busy

1. Recruitment and workforce solutions provider PERSOL has released its 2026 salary guide. Full report here - basic registration needed.

2. Bored with your current job? Fancy a new adventure? The bonus, we thinks, subject to you making it out alive.

3. Deep.

4. You have read this far. How many of the below you came across today already? Enjoy the struggle!