☕ Mandatory 4-week paternity leave for Singaporean dads

1. MARKET SUMMARY 📈

2. NUMBERS AT A GLANCE 🔢

Out of 1.55 mil goods vehicles inspected by the Road Transport Department (JPJ) between last year to July this year, a total of 856,873 summonses were issued, resulting in fines exceeding RM257 mil (average of RM300 per fine). In other words, we can assume, 55.2% or 1 in 2 of these good vehicles stopped during these enforcement operations committed some form of offence. 81,263 of these summonses were for the lack of a competent driving license (CDL) - that’s putting a lot of our lives at risk. Other offences include exceeding load limits, carrying hazardous goods, using mobile phones and not wearing seat belts.

Singaporean Gen Zs are YOLO-ing. In UOB’s ASEAN Consumer Sentiment Study 2024 in Singapore, 26% of Gen Z here are financially unprepared. Those aged between 18 to 25 do not have enough rainy day savings, life insurance coverage or investments, nor do they make other essential financial plans. Although they are new to the workforce, Gen Z’s lack of adequate financial buffers is worrying. The survey was conducted across Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam (n=5,000). Nevertheless, Singaporeans are the most positive about its domestic economy, compared with its Asean peers with about 68% of respondents feeling postive about Singapore’s economy.

4,831 convicted farmers were pardoned by Morocco’s King Mohammed VI for illegally growing cannabis. Morocco is the world’s leading cannabis producer and has allowed for the cultivation, export and use of the drug for medicine since 2021, but does not allow it for recreational purposes. Cannabis has been grown in the Rif region of Morocco for centuries, providing a living for between 80,000-120,000 families in 2019. The 2021 legalisation was intended to improve farmers’ income and protect them from drug traffickers. Meanwhile, for some laughter, here’s a dog high after a surgery.

3. IN MALAYSIA 🇲🇾

Loke: Govt hopes to retain unlimited travel pass My50 in Budget 2025
Transport Minister Anthony Loke expressed hopes for the continuation of the aptly named RM50 My50 unlimited monthly travel pass in the upcoming Budget 2025, which is set to be presented in October. My50 allows Klang Valley residents access to bus and rail services, usually used in commutes to and from the workplace. Highlighting the government's increased allocation for the My50 initiative which rose from RM100 mil to RM200 mil last year, Loke pointed out its significance towards enhancing public transport accessibility in Klang Valley. 

The My50 pass has gained popularity, with over 200,000 monthly users and daily rail commuters exceeding 900,000, indicating a growing reliance on public transport amidst traffic tie-ups. Combine that figure with people who opt for the bus, the tally stands at over 1.1 mil riders each day- that’s an impressive 3% of our population utilising public transport daily! However, Loke insists that there is more to be done as congestion issues are still as serious as ever. Hopefully, this will lead to even fewer cars in our daily traffic jam coming back from work.

Forex scam: 400 victims, RM100 million losses
A dubious foreign exchange (forex) investment scheme has allegedly defrauded approximately 400 victims in Malaysia, resulting in losses totalling around RM100 million, according to the Malaysia International Humanitarian Organisation (MHO). MHO Secretary-General Datuk Hishamuddin Hashim reported that 385 police reports have been filed nationwide, with some cases being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code. Victims, who lost between RM10,000 and RM1 million each, gathered at a press conference to share their experiences and seek justice.

The scheme, which began in 2016, initially provided returns to investors until 2022, after which payments ceased as victims were met with various excuses from the operators. Hishamuddin explained that the investment platform was registered in Indonesia and Labuan through the Labuan Financial Services Authority (LFSA), with marketing conducted through companies registered in Malaysia. The alleged mastermind is a broker from Indonesia, working alongside a Malaysian promoter, and a Russian forex expert- this combination of maestros supposedly lent a veneer of legitimacy to the scheme.

Government launches National Fraud Portal to combat financial scams
On that note, Finance Minister II Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan recently launched The National Fraud Portal (NFP), an initiative set to bolster Malaysia's strategy in combating online fraud. The platform aims to streamline the NSRC (National Scam Response Centre) process, which was previously handled manually and time-consuming. Instead of creating a new unit, could the government not just streamline, improve and automate the NSRC? Or a not-spoken objective is job creation. 

Since its pilot stage, the NFP has reduced the time to track fraudulent transactions by 75% and increased the average monthly amount of frozen funds by financial institutions by 28% or RM4 mil. 16 financial institutions are participating in the NFP, with its benefits expected to grow further through continuous improvement and increased participation. As of June 2024, Bank Negara governor Abdul Rasheed Ghaffour revealed that the NSRC has opened in excess of 12,000 investigation papers and has frozen a total of RM72 million from accounts identified through police enforcement orders.

Shorts

1. Ronda-ronda LHDN in Klang Valley
   In a significant operation dubbed Ops Metro 2024, over 1,000 officers from the Inland Revenue Board (LHDN) and the Royal Malaysian Customs Department (JKDM) are inspecting nearly 4,000 businesses in the Klang Valley to ensure tax compliance. The joint initiative, which began on August 19 and runs until August 22, aims to enhance tax compliance through five key activities: audits, investigations, collection, conducting census, and legal actions. Additionally, police support is being provided to ensure the safety of officials during the operation.

2. RM1.39 billion tax showdown: TNB challenges IRB assessments in court

   On another tax matter, Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) has received additional tax assessment notices from the Inland Revenue Board (IRB) for the years 2020 and 2021, totalling RM685.82 mil and RM705.24 mil, respectively. TNB stated that these notices are similar to previous ones currently under court review, for which they have secured an interim stay order as they dispute payment.

3. Foreign gang member shot dead by Bukit Aman officers during car stop

   The Bukit Aman Criminal Investigation Department (CID) confirmed today that a man shot dead on Jalan PJS 9/1 in Subang Jaya was part of an African armed robbery gang member. The incident occurred when officers attempted to stop the man who was driving a red MPV at 6:59pm, leading him to open fire on the police, leaving the suspect dead and a revolver being found on the scene. Authorities have been tracking this gang, which has been active since 2018 and is linked to 45 robbery cases totalling RM8 mil in losses. There are reportedly 10 more gang members believed to be in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor still on the loose. Watch the incident here (warning — graphic).

4. AROUND THE WORLD 🌎

Blinken: “Last chance” for a ceasefire in Gaza
It is like a “now or never” ultimatum given to Hamas, regarding the ceasefire talks. According to US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken in a “constructive meeting” that he had with Netanyahu, Israel has agreed to a “bridging proposal” put forward by the US and implied that Hamas is bound to do the same. He added that it is also “maybe the last chance” for a ceasefire in Gaza. 

Nothing was elaborated about the bridging proposal in his press conference though, sending doubts about whether Biden has edited the proposal to fit Netanyahu, or if it is the same proposal that was offered to the UN Security Council in late May and Netanyahu has changed his mind. The Israeli leader has been consistent with his stance that he won’t agree to a deal that brings the war to an end without the destruction of Hamas.

Hamas remains adamant that a ceasefire deal must result in a permanent end to Israel’s war on Gaza. The Palestinian group is wary that Biden is backing away from the May deal and accused the US of buying time for Israel for them to have their way. They continue to urge the world to pressure Netanyahu to sign the deal proposed by US President Joe Biden on 31 May and backed by the United Nations Security Council on 11 June. We are in the 10th month since the war broke out.

UK tech tycoon missing after superyacht sinking in Sicily
A luxury superyacht named Bayesian, carrying 12 guests and 10 crews on board has capsized in the sea near Sicily after encountering a heavy storm and tornado-like waterspout phenomena overnight.  On it was UK’s tech tycoon, Mike Lynch, alongside his family and a small group of his financial and legal advisors, reportedly celebrating his acquittal in a major US fraud case with Hewlett-Packard who bought his software company Autonomy for USD 11 bil in 2011.

Bayesian is owned by Lynch’s wife, Angela Bacares, who was safely rescued alongside 14 others. Six are still missing, including Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter. One body was found outside the wreckage. The search operation continues to find all the missing persons.

In a disturbing coincidence, Mike Lynch’s co-defender in the said fraud case, Stephen Chamberlain, was fatally struck by a car while jogging in Cambridgeshire only 2 days before the yacht incident. Chamberlain worked alongside Lynch as Autonomy's former finance vice president and was also acquitted in the high-profile fraud case. Anything that involves the US, we got to put on our tinfoil hat. 

Boeing and its unending safety issues

• Boeing has announced on Monday that it has paused the flight tests of its latest model 777X, after finding structural damage on one of the wide-body aircraft. It was not immediately clear whether this issue would impact the delivery of the jetliners to 481 confirmed customers, even though they are already, in fact, 5 years behind schedule.

• The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has ordered airlines to inspect their Boeing 787 Dreamliners, following the sudden midair dive incident in March that injured 50 passengers en route to Auckland, New Zealand from Sydney, Australia.

  The airworthiness directive (AD) specifically points out the inspection for the captain’s and first officer’s seats, after Chile’s aviation authority said earlier this year that preliminary inquiries into the incident found out that the captain’s seat experienced an “involuntary movement forward” during the flight that could have affected the flight controls, to put it in layman terms.

  158 US-registered aeroplanes and 737 aeroplanes worldwide are affected by the AD.

Shorts:

1. Donald Trump deepfakes Swift and Swifties images for traction
   Seems like Trump is doing everything he can for his muddy campaign, this time faking images with Taylor Swift as the main character backing him in the US elections. Swifties are not spared too — one image showed them wearing T-shirts with the text: “Swifties for Trump”. Another depicted Swift dressed as Uncle Sam, a character from a first world war US Army recruitment poster, urging people to vote for Trump. Swift supported the Democratic Party in 2020 and publicly criticised Trump during his presidency amid nationwide protests following George Floyd’s murder by police officers. Up to now, she has not publicly endorsed any presidential candidate for November’s election.

2. Mandatory 4-week paternity leave for Singaporean dads

   Eligible working fathers with Singaporean children born on or after 1 April 2025 will be able to enjoy a 4-week mandatory government-paid paternity leave, as announced by PM Lawrence Wong during the National Day Rally speech last weekend. This is in-line with his plans to create a more family-friendly environment for the Singapore workforce. Currently, working fathers are entitled to 2 weeks of government-paid paternity leave on a voluntary basis by employers. However, since it was introduced a decade ago, only about 25% of fathers took the leave, and now it has increased to 53%. Wong hopes that the longer the leave, the more fathers will take it to enjoy quality time with their babies (and hopefully make more).

3. Missing pair of scissors causes cancellations, delays at Japan's 2nd-busiest airport

   It got to be one hell of a scissors. Passengers at the New Chitose Airport experienced some travel disruptions for about 2 hours after a pair of scissors went missing from a store in the departure lounge. Passengers who had already been through security had to go through checks again, causing huge queues at the checkpoints. 36 flights were reported cancelled, and 201 were delayed. Hokkaido Airports announced that the scissors had been found at the same store that it went missing only 2 days later, after taking some time to really confirm that it is the same pair of scissors. Leave it to the Japanese for being meticulous and detailed.

5. FOR YOUR EYES 📺

1. The Premier League will ban the sponsorship of gambling firm sponsorship on the front of the clubs’ matchday shirts following the end of the 2025/26 seasons. These companies are making the most of it now before the ban kicks in.

2. You have seen a big, massive house. How about a literally long (rumah panjang), massive house?

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