☕️ Malaysia U-Turn Series: SST on imported fruits to be reviewed

1. MARKET SUMMARY 📈

2. NUMBERS AT A GLANCE 🔢

The average length of songs topping the Billboard Hot 100 has decreased by around 18% since 1990, signifying a major shift towards brevity in popular music. The average track length has shrunk from four minutes and 22 seconds in 1990 to just three minutes and 34 seconds in 2024, making songs the shortest they have been since the 1960s. This trend is evident on streaming platforms like Spotify, where half of the songs predicted to be summer hits are under three minutes. As summed up by South Korean artist Jennie, with her two-minute-and-three-second song “Like Jennie,” the prevailing mentality among artists seems to be: ”Don't bore us, take it to the chorus.”

An almost 200-year-old condom, described as being in "mint condition," has just gone on display at an exhibition at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. Dating back to 1830, this rare artefact is believed to be made from a sheep’s appendix and features a striking print depicting a nun and three clergymen. The museum acquired the unique item at an auction last year, with curator Joyce Zelen noting that they were the sole bidders, as "no one else noticed it." After its acquisition, an inspection using UV light confirmed the condom had never been used. It now forms a central part of a new exhibition exploring 19th-century prostitution and sexuality, alongside various prints, drawings, and photographs from the era. View the protection gear here.

Global wealth surged in 2024, pushing the number of millionaires worldwide to a record 23.4 mil. According to Capgemini's annual World Wealth Report, the global population of individuals with at least USD1 million in investable assets grew by 2.6%. This impressive increase was largely propelled by strong gains in American stock portfolios. The US gained 562,000 millionaires, 7.6% YoY and Asia Pacific saw an increase of 2.7% millionaires YoY. However, the Middle East and Europe both recorded a decline of 2.1% in millionaires.

3. IN MALAYSIA 🇲🇾

MACC said not all whistleblowers are the same
In the Sabah mineral mining licenses corruption case, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) revealed that the individual who leaked information of the alleged corruption involving two Sabah assemblymen, amongst others, is not protected under the Whistleblower Protection Act 2010. This is because the said individual is also involved in the alleged offence that he or she is whistleblowing. MACC Legal and Prosecution senior director, Wan Saharuddin Wan Ladin, stated that to qualify for protection, a report must be made in good faith, and reports made with malicious intent, such as to seek revenge or defame others, do not meet the criteria for protection. These provisions existed to preserve the integrity of the whistleblower framework and prevent it from being misused as a ‘shield’ by those trying to escape accountability. MACC is set to charge the whistleblower and the two Sabah assemblypersons soon.

In light of this matter, Transparency International Malaysia is calling for Putrajaya to reform and strengthen the protections for whistleblowers. Quoting its president, Raymon Ram,” If we are to genuinely support transparency and anti-corruption efforts, our laws must protect – not punish – those who take steps to correct wrongdoing in the public interest.”

SIS is no longer sus
A four-panel Federal Court, chaired by Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat, in a majority decision (3 to 1), dictates that the Selangor religious authorities were wrong to label Sisters In Islam (SIS) as deviant and contrary to Islamic teachings. The court said the Federal Constitution only gives power to the authorities over ‘persons professing the religion of Islam’, not companies. With this landmark decision, it has ended SIS’s more than a decade-long struggle to clear its name after in July 2014, the Selangor Islamic Religious Council issued a fatwa declaring SIS had deviated from Islamic teaching, allegedly subscribing to ‘liberalism’ and ‘religious pluralism’. If you are wondering why there were an even number of judges on the panel, the answer here.

Shorts

1. Malaysia U-Turn Series: SST on imported fruits to be reviewed
   In a country where we are used to politicians making u-turns, in the current episode to the ‘Apa Lagi Mau U-Turn’ series, Deputy PM Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said that Putrajaya will review the expanded list of the Sales and Service Tax (SST), in particular the SST imposed on several imported goods such as apples and mandarin oranges. This follows the outcry from the public and industry players, including Mydin Holdings Bhd MD Ameer Ali Mydin Mohamed, who lambasted Putrajaya’s decision to SST-ed imported fruit as it will also affect low-income consumers.

2. RM660 mil waste-to-energy plant to be built in Melaka 
   Housing & Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming has announced that Putrajaya has awarded a RM660 mil contract to a consortium comprising Malakoff Corporation Bhd and Alam Flora Environmental Solutions Sdn Bhd, to construct the country’s second waste-to-energy (WtE) plant in Sungai Udang, Melaka. The project will be a public-private partnership between the Ministry of Housing and Local Government (KPKT) and the consortium and will be develop based on the build-operate-own (BOO) model. The plant will be operational by 2029 and can generate up to 22 megawatts (MW) of electricity, almost double the energy generation of the first WtE plant at Ladang Tanah Merah, Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan.

4. AROUND THE WORLD 🌎

Nuclear winter or Chernobyl?

Israel hits nuclear sites as Tehran mulls options
The air war between Israel and Iran continues, with Israel striking nuclear targets but Iran this time hitting a hospital, to which Israeli PM Netanyahu has promised vengeance, with his defence minister ordering the Israeli Defence Force to “destabilise the Ayatollah regime”. Iran is mulling other forms of retaliation, such as closing the Strait of Hormuz to traffic, which will in turn affect global oil shipping. Iran warns that, should the US join the hostilities, Iran will view it as their right to “disrupt their oil trade’s ease of transit”.

Meanwhile, a top US official has warnings of his own to offer, speaking on behalf of US President Trump to Tehran-backed armed group Hezbollah, warning them that intervening between Israel and Iran would be “a very, very, very bad decision”. However, Trump is also catching flak, as part of his MAGA Republican base, including some of his most prominent allies, have stood up against him. The reason? To keep the US away from getting involved in another Middle East war. Guess someone else remembers 2003.

Russia warns of possible Chernobyl-style disaster
The head of Russia’s nuclear energy corporation has warned that an Israeli attack on Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant could very well lead to a “Chernobyl-style catastrophe”. While an Israeli military spokesperson said Israel had struck the site, an official later called this statement a mistake, and neither confirms nor denies if the site was actually hit. Bushehr is Iran’s only operating nuclear power plant and was built by Russia. This comes as Russian President Putin and Chinese President Xi condemned Israel over its strikes on Iran, which they say violate the UN Charter and other norms of international law. In response to US and Israeli statements about possibly killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Russia’s possible reaction, Putin said he did not even want to discuss the possibility.

Interest and 9-figure signing bonus

Fed Chair expects to see more tariff-driven price hikes in coming months
US Federal Reserve Chair Powell believes goods price inflation will pick up over the course of the summer, as the effects of US President Trump’s tariffs make themselves known to US consumers, who would likely bear some of those costs. This comes in contradiction to Trump administration officials, who have said that the tariffs would not be passed on to consumers.

OpenAI CEO reveals Meta's USD100 mil siging bonus
OpenAI chief Altman revealed that members of his team have been receiving offers from social media giant Meta, with the offers coming with perks such as a USD100 mil signing bonus. This comes as Meta looks to boost its AI arm, with its efforts including the acquisition of 49% of startup Scale AI. Altman was happy to report that none of his best people have jumped ship. An analyst said this was a reflection of the overall tech industry at this time – that a handful of elite researchers and engineers can provide a decisive competitive advantage.

Base44 - 6-month-old vibe-coding startup sold for USD80 mil
Israeli startup Base44 was acquired by Wix for USD80 mil cash just 6 months into its founding. USD25 mil will serve as a retention bonus to the team. With a solo founder, Maor Shlomo, and 8 employees, the company grew to 250,000 users, hitting 10,000 users in its first 3 weeks. The company was profitable in May, generating USD189k in profit. Vibe-coding is a new way of software development that relies heavily on AI to generate code based on natural language prompts, essentially allowing non-technical people (essentially most of us) to build softwares. Shlomo’s deal announcement and reflection on his journey on Linkedin here.

16 bil passwords leaked across Apple, Facebook, Google, and other services
Security researchers reported discovering a massive data breach involving a set of 30 databases containing a total of 16 billion records, of which only one was previously reported by the media. These databases house between millions to billions of records of user accounts for various services, and researchers claim new massive datasets emerge every few weeks, which is a sign of how prevalent infostealer malware is. It is virtually impossible to determine just how many people are affected due to possible overlaps, but it is likely that many people have multiple compromised accounts. Unprotected databases are still the most common cause of leaks, with many organisations still not understanding the shared responsibility model of cloud services and that they need to safeguard the data they generate.

Thai PM about to lose her job over a leaked call
Commenting on the alleged leaked conversation between the Thai PM Paetongtarn Shinawatra and former Cambodian Premier Hun Sen, PM Anwar Ibrahim stated that it was unfortunate that the alleged audio clip was leaked. PM Anwar added that for everyone’s interest, things need to cool down. Previously, a telephone conversation between Thailand's PM Paetongtarn Shinawatra and former Cambodian Premier Hun Sen was leaked, where Shinawatra was allegedly criticising the Thai military for causing the border skirmish, to Hun Sen, whom she referred to as ‘uncle’.

Although Paetongtarn stated that the language used in the conversation was part of a ‘negotiation tactic’ and she has no issue with the military, however, the damage was done. Thailand’s Bhumjaithai party, the second largest party in the ruling coalition, has announced its withdrawal from the government and all eight ministers from the party have tendered their resignations. Bhumjaithai’s departure leaves the ruling bloc with only a few seats above the 248 needed for a parliamentary majority. If any other coalition partner pulls out, the government may be forced to call a snap election.

In light of what is happening to the sitting Thai PM, analysts start to question whether PM Anwar’s decision to appoint former Thai PM Thaksin Shinawatra, the father of the current Thai PM, as his personal advisor, was a stroke of genius or an Erik Ten Hag-level blunder. Fuadi Pitsuwan of the Surin Pitsuwan Foundation described Thaksin’s influence in Thailand as ‘precarious’ and that relying on him was ‘dangerous’. Fuadi said that PM Anwar is better off listening to his Wisma Putra officials in managing the regional crisis.

5. FOR YOUR EYES 📺

We will end this week on some not-too-pleasant deep thinking about humanity’s future and its intersection with AI.

1. A thought experiment on how AI will take over the world in less than a decade. If this was pre-ChatGPT, I would have taken this as an interesting sci-fi documentary. Given how rapid AI has developed post-ChatGPT, this documentary is kinda eerie.

2. ChatGPT and its likes is killing our brain, literally. Read the full research here.

3. Fret not - we will end it with something more therapeutic and non-AI related. Science and history explain the gravitational attraction of breasts (NSFW). Came across this YouTube account recently - Elephants in Rooms. From its name, the creator, Ken LaCorte attempts to address sensitive topics in a respectful, knowledgeable and objective manner. Check out his other topics.

Been a while we have not asked for your $upport. Show us some of you $upport here. Thanks ahd happy weekend folks!