☕️ Perikatan Nasional got a new chairman

1. MARKET SUMMARY 📈

2. NUMBERS AT A GLANCE 🔢

USD2,200 (RM8,560) — That’s how much an Olympic gold medal costs now following the surge in precious metal prices. An influx of speculative money into precious metals, driven by the increasingly unpredictable nature of the global economy, has pushed the cost of medals in the ongoing Milan Cortina Winter Olympics to more than eight times higher than at the Turin Games 20 years ago. For the Milan Cortina Games, gold medals weigh 506 grams and are made from 500 grams of silver plated with six grams of pure gold. Assuming the weight and composition of the medals at the Turin Games in 2006 were the same, a medal then would have only cost about USD267.

116 tonnes — As of Nov 2025, stablecoin issuer Tether held that much physical gold, putting it on par with central banks such as those in South Korea, Hungary, and Greece. This also makes Tether the largest holder of gold outside central banks, according to investment bank Jefferies. Tether’s aggressive accumulation of gold saw it account for almost 2% of global gold demand and nearly 12% of central bank purchases in the third quarter of 2025, likely contributing to the surge in gold prices at the time.

67,800 years — That’s the estimated age of several handprints stencilled on limestone caves on the Indonesian island of Muna, making them the oldest known paintings in the world. According to analyses by Indonesian and Australian researchers, the tan-coloured drawings were created by blowing pigment over hands placed against the cave walls to leave an outline. A distinctive feature of the stencils is that some of the fingertips were tweaked to appear more pointed. According to one researcher, this style is found only in Sulawesi.

3. IN MALAYSIA 🇲🇾

Samsuri named PN chief
Dr Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar has been appointed chairman of Perikatan Nasional following the resignation of Muhyiddin Yassin, with the coalition’s Supreme Council endorsing Muhyiddin’s decision effective January 1, 2026. The PAS Vice-President and Terengganu Menteri Besar is regarded as a technocrat whose professional background makes him broadly acceptable to all PN component parties, including Bersatu, Gerakan, and MIPP. Analysts have noted that his profile offers a compromise within PAS, as party president Hadi Awang had declined the role due to health reasons, while concerns over reinforcing a strong Malay-Muslim narrative may have also influenced the decision to appoint a more technocratic figure.

Prof Dr Sivamurugan Pandian of Universiti Sains Malaysia said that the elevation of Ahmad Samsuri signals an effort to project a more moderate and professional image, though PAS now holds a more dominant position within the coalition. Discussions are also ongoing over the appointment of a new opposition leader, following the sacking of Hamzah Zainudin from Bersatu, with the component parties agreeing that the post should be held by PAS.

Malaysia eyes gene therapy for thalassaemia
Health Minister Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad told the Dewan Rakyat on Monday that Malaysia is exploring gene therapy as a curative treatment for thalassaemia, though high costs remain a major hurdle. The treatment involves extracting a patient’s own stem cells, modifying them in a laboratory to correct genetic defects, and reintroducing them into the body. Internationally, it has shown impressive results, with more than 90% of patients no longer requiring lifelong blood transfusions. Several such therapies have been approved by global regulators such as the US Food and Drug Administration and the European Medicines Agency. That said, the price tag of RM13 mil per patient is completely beyond the government’s existing financial capacity. Currently, it costs around RM3 mil to treat a thalassemia patient from infancy up to the age of 40. Dzulkefly revealed that 9,554 patients are currently receiving treatment from public hospitals nationwide. At RM13 mil price tag, it will cost RM124.2 bil to treat these 9k+ patients.

What is thalassaemia: Thalassaemia is a hereditary blood disorder caused by impaired haemoglobin production, which reduces the blood’s ability to carry oxygen and leads to varying degrees of anaemia. Many carriers are asymptomatic and often unaware of their status. If both parents carry the gene, their child has a 25% chance of developing severe thalassaemia, which may require regular blood transfusions and can lead to complications such as iron overload, slow growth, jaundice, bone deformities, and enlarged organs.

Maxis–U Mobile deal hits stalemate
Negotiations for Maxis Bhd to acquire U Mobile Sdn Bhd have reportedly stalled due to a pricing impasse, with U Mobile’s shareholders seeking RM14 bil - nearly half of Maxis’ current market cap of RM31 bil. Maxis is understood to have increased its offer from RM10 bil to RM12 bil, but was rejected by U Mobile’s shareholders. U Mobile’s major shareholders include Straits Mobile Investments (48.26%), the King of Malaysia Sultan Ibrahim (22.31%), and Berjaya boss Vincent Tan (13.66%), who is reportedly backing the higher valuation in anticipation of a planned initial public offering that could value the company between RM11 bil and RM12 bil. Speculation of a potential deal has been circulating since mid-2024, particularly after U Mobile was appointed to deploy Malaysia’s second 5G network, with the letter of award issued in March 2025.

Financially, U Mobile posted a net loss of RM722 mil on revenue of RM3.73 bil for the financial year ending December 2024, while Maxis reported a net profit of RM1.56 bil on revenue of RM10.63 bil for its latest financial year.

Shorts

1. 6.8-magnitude earthquake hits Sabah, no tsunami threats 
   A 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck 49 km west of Kudat off Sabah at 12.57 am, with tremors felt across Sabah, parts of Sarawak, and Peninsular Malaysia. The Malaysian Meteorological Department has reported no tsunami threat or damage. Universiti Malaysia Sabah geologist Prof Emeritus Dr Felix Tongkul said although the magnitude was high, the earthquake was generally mild as it happened very far below the Earth’s surface at about 620 km deep, resulting in the shaking spreading over a wide area.

2. LRT3 to run by June 2026

   The LRT3, also known as the Shah Alam line, is now set to begin operations in June 2026, Transport Minister Anthony Loke said. Trials are completed for 14 of 22 train sets, while the remaining eight are still undergoing testing due to technical issues. Launched in 2016 with an initial RM9 bil budget, the project now costs RM21.93 bil after station revisions and is expected to serve 67,000 commuters daily. Some quarters reported that the contractor is liable for RM2.73 mil per day for the Liquidated Ascertained Damages (LAD), Loke said the compensation amount will only be known after the work is fully completed. Is there a prediction markets whether there will be another delay again?

4. AROUND THE WORLD 🌎

Mexico's El Mencho Mayhem

Country's most wanted drug lord killed in military operation
Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, Mexico’s most wanted man, was killed during a military operation aimed at arresting him. Also known as “El Mencho”, the 59-year-old former police officer had been the leader of the feared Jalisco New Generation (CJNG) drug cartel. He died as he was being taken to Mexico City after being seriously injured in clashes between his supporters and the army. During the operation, four CJNG members were killed, with three army personnel injured. The US had given Mexico information that assisted the operation. The US State Department had offered a USD15 mil (RM58.37 mil) reward for information leading to El Mencho’s capture.

Cartel members respond with widespread violence
In retaliation, gunmen from El Mencho’s cartel torched cars and blocked highways in more than half a dozen states, in a wave of violence that has forced schools to close and caused panic. Reports indicate there is no clear successor to El Mencho, as his brother, son, and daughter are in prison. The violence is also being seen as the start of internal disputes between regional bosses in the cartel, angling to take power. This was previously seen when Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán was arrested, which led to a civil war between the different factions of the Sinaloa cartel. The violence comes at a sensitive time, as Mexico is set to host the upcoming FIFA World Cup. Some images of the happenings here.

Business and tech

India, Brazil ink mining pact, Modi eyes USD20 bil trade in five years
The pact will see the two nations expand cooperation in mining and minerals, as India looks to meet rising domestic steel demand and support capacity expansion amid a global race for raw materials. Brazil is among the world’s top producers of iron ore, with control over large reserves of minerals critical to steelmaking, and the deal is expected to improve India’s access to raw materials and technologies needed to sustain long-term growth in its steel sector, which currently has a steelmaking capacity of 218 mil metric tonnes. Indian PM Narendra Modi said that talks between India and Brazil have been focused on ways to deepen their trade partnership, with both nations committed to taking bilateral trade “much beyond USD20 bil (RM77.82 bil)” in the next five years. Bilateral trade between the two countries is currently about USD15 bil.

Singapore ride-hailing market larger than geography suggests, says ride-hailing firm chief exec
Kay Woo, the South Korean co-founder and group chief executive of MVLLABS, the parent company of ride-hailing platform Tada, said that Singapore’s ride-hailing market is larger than its small geography suggests. He said the city-state accounted for between 45% and 50% of Southeast Asia’s ride-hailing dollar value, even if it lags behind Indonesia and Thailand on trip count. However, rising labour costs will be stress-testing ride-hailing operators in Singapore, including Tada. In response, Woo intends to maintain Tada's zero-commission pledge, meaning it will not take a cut from drivers' fares, saying it has shown itself to be sustainable. The platform has 40,000 drivers registered in Singapore and 300,000 globally and claimed that its commission-free, 60-cent fixed network fee allowed it to be profitable.

Carmakers turn focus to "eyes-off" driving, raising safety, liability concerns
The focus of automakers is now on Level 3 autonomous driving, which aims to allow drivers to take their eyes off the road to attend to other tasks, unless the car alerts them to take control. Achieving this would mark a key milestone on the road to fully driverless cars, while helping automakers monetise their sizeable investments in autonomous technology. Notably, the estimated cost to develop a Level 3 system for operation on highways is up to USD1.5 bil (RM5.84 bil). This focus has also raised liability concerns, with analysts saying that the move to eyes-off technology increases the chances that the vehicle manufacturer would be held liable in the event of a crash. A law journal article noted that a publicly acceptable regulatory solution needs to be implemented quickly if automakers want the technology to reach the market.
Learn: The 6 Levels of Vehicle Autonomy Explained

International crime

UEFA, FIFA leaders face ICC for allegedly aiding and abetting Israeli war crimes
FIFA head Gianni Infantino and UEFA head Aleksander Čeferin have been referred to the International Criminal Court (ICC) by a group of Palestinian footballers, clubs, and advocacy groups. The 120-page filing accuses the duo of aiding and abetting war crimes, specifically the transfer of civilian population into occupied territories, and crimes against humanity, specifically apartheid. This marks the first time sports leaders are being accused of these crimes. With football being one of the world’s most popular sports, this case would set a legal precedent for accountability of such crimes in the sporting world. Both Infantino and Čeferin are alleged to have enabled illegal Israeli settlements by recognising football clubs based in the stolen settlement land of the occupied West Bank. The hypocrisy here is that the two organisations banned Russia from playing in FIFA and UEFA games following the Russian occupation of Crimea in 2014.

In more Western hypocrisy, there’s the case of Jeffrey Epstein, where names of Western elites are redacted from the Epstein report but victims’ names were exposed:

More about Epstein: When this paedophile was first convicted in 2008 for soliciting prostitution from a minor, he was able to broker a deal with the prosecutors to leave prison for 12 to 18 hours a day, six days a week under a “work-release” programme. What’s the point of putting him in prison?

Duterte maintains innocence in face of ICC trial
Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte maintained his innocence in full, according to his lawyer, Nicholas Kaufman, who argued that the charges of murder as a crime against humanity are politically motivated. Kaufman also argued that Duterte had been misunderstood, saying that Duterte’s rhetoric was meant to “instill fear and respect for the law”. Prosecutors at the International Criminal Court have pushed for Duterte’s trial to proceed, having labelled him as “pivotal” in the murder of thousands of people during his rule. Duterte is charged with three counts of murder as a crime against humanity, with dozens of victims that are allegedly only a fraction of the real death toll in his clampdown on alleged drug users and criminals. His war on drugs allegedly resulted in the killings of thousands of civilians, with many of whom were children.

5. FOR YOUR EYES 📺

On Ipoh limestone hill - the ESG, the dollars

1. The ESG aspects (environmental, social, governance) by Cilisos.

2. The dollars - the business of quarrying this limestone. RM120 mil business a year.