☕️ Melaka polls move closer, probably after Sept 18

1. MARKET SUMMARY 📈

2. NUMBERS AT A GLANCE 🔢

More than SGD2 bil (RM6.38 bil) – Johor Regent Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim will have to deal with that amount in taxes should he proceed with his plans to sell land in Singapore, whether he pays it himself or gets the buyer to handle it. Initial reports said the tax bill, which is also known as a land betterment charge, would be a complication to any deals, as the Johor Regent was said to be asking buyers to foot the bill. Several Singaporean and Malaysian property developers have chafed at the additional cost, as well as the uncertainty over the exact amount of the bill given the complexity of the deal. In response to these reports, the Johor Regent took to X to say that he has no issues about paying taxes. He said that, as a regular taxpayer, this is normal. He also said he was more than happy to contribute to both countries. Learn: What is a land betterment charge?

RM3 bil – IJM Corp Bhd said it is on track to distribute that amount (~29% of its market cap of RM10.4 bil) to its shareholders over the next three years, with RM575 mil distributed so far. The remainder RM2.5 bil worth of dividends will be distributed by 2028, mainly from the planned listing of IJM Construction Sdn Bhd and IJM’s toll assets. The Group CEO said that dividends would provide shareholders with a basis to value the group better compared to just reading IJM’s annual earnings. However, the monetisation of the firm’s highway assets, expected at about RM600 mil, is still up in the air, as IJM will have to get governmental approval and attract investor appetite for said assets. The group expects the monetisation of the highway assets to take place in 2028.

RM1.5 mil – That’s how much the National Union of the Teaching Profession (NUTP) allocates every year to help its members who face legal action in the course of their duties as teachers. According to its president, the assistance covered civil suits and criminal prosecutions, with legal costs in some cases reaching RM80,000. He also added that civil suits were increasingly being filed directly against teachers rather than against the government or the Education Department. As of Aug, NUTP has provided legal assistance in 16 cases, including three currently undergoing trial in Kelantan.

3. IN MALAYSIA 🇲🇾

Melaka polls move closer

Assembly dissolution may come after Sept 18: Melaka could be heading to the polls soon, with Chief Minister Ab Rauf Yusoh hinting that the state legislative assembly may be dissolved after Sept 18. His remarks came shortly after Deputy PM and BN Chairman Zahid Hamidi urged him not to delay the process. The current state assembly term ends in Dec, while the last election in 2021 saw Barisan win 21 of the 28 seats, Pakatan Harapan take five and Perikatan Nasional secure two.

Rauf given room to negotiate: At the same time, Zahid has given Ab Rauf the mandate to negotiate cooperation with any party ahead of the state election. He said any potential partner must be sincere, loyal and able to help Barisan retain control of the state. Zahid also reminded Melaka Barisan that its priority is to defend the 21 seats it won in 2021. Beyond election strategy, he highlighted Melaka’s 1.6% unemployment rate and strong participation in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), with more than 56% of SPM school leavers pursuing TVET. He also noted that nearly 53% of Melaka’s population is under 40, giving the state a large potential workforce.

Haze puts schools on alert
Selangor schools to close if API tops 200: Schools, kindergartens and childcare centres will close if Air Pollutant Index (API) readings exceed 200 as haze conditions worsen across parts of the country. In Selangor, authorities are closely monitoring school locations after several areas recorded unhealthy air quality, including Johan Setia, Shah Alam, Petaling Jaya, Klang, Banting and Kuala Selangor.

The state government has also stepped up preparations, including plans to distribute face masks in areas with the highest readings. Open burning remains strictly prohibited, and the public has been urged to report any incidents to the authorities.

Parents can keep children home during haze: Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek said parents may choose not to send their children to school if they are worried about the haze, as long as they inform the school. Under the National Haze Action Plan, all outdoor activities are suspended once the API exceeds 100, while schools are closed when readings go above 200. As of Monday morning, Samarahan in Sarawak recorded a very unhealthy API reading of 226. Another 40 areas nationwide were in the unhealthy range, while 24 recorded moderate readings.

Long car repairs could mean compensation
Vehicle owners left without their cars for long periods because of warranty repairs may be able to claim compensation for alternative transport costs. Deputy Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister Dr Fuziah Salleh said this could include rental cars or e-hailing expenses, as long as owners can prove the costs were caused by their vehicles being unusable. Consumers who have followed warranty requirements and sent their vehicles to authorised service centres may also be considered for replacement vehicles, mobility assistance or other forms of compensation when delays are not their fault. Under the Consumer Protection Act, suppliers are required to fix problems within a reasonable time, while consumers may seek compensation for proven losses caused by the failure. If the issue cannot be resolved directly with the supplier or service centre, owners can also take their case to the Consumer Claims Tribunal.

There is currently no fixed maximum period for vehicle repairs. What counts as a reasonable time depends on factors such as the type of damage, spare parts availability and technical complexity. The ministry is now looking at whether clearer timelines should be introduced for major warranty repairs. It is also studying a possible right-to-repair framework, which could give vehicle owners better access to technical information, spare parts and repair equipment. However, owners are still advised to use authorised service centres during the warranty period to avoid affecting their coverage.

Shorts:

1. Stolen iPhone ‘reward’ lands man in jail
   A 33-year-old man in Melaka has been jailed for four months after demanding RM200 to return a woman’s stolen iPhone 17 Pro Max. Muhammad Nazirul Jasmi approached the victim after her phone went missing, claimed his friend was chasing the thief, then returned the device and demanded payment. He later reduced the amount to RM50 but continued pressing her after she refused. He pleaded guilty to extortion at the Ayer Keroh Magistrate’s Court.

2. Taanusiya puts Malaysia back in Miss World top three
   Taanusiya Chetty finished #3 at Miss World 2026 in Vietnam, matching Malaysia’s best result since Lina Teoh achieved the same placing in 1998. The 26-year-old Kuala Lumpur native also won the Beauty with A Purpose award, which highlights contestants’ humanitarian and community work. Taanusiya, who is an educator, also drew attention for her response on environmental responsibility, her tarian silat performance and a viral video of her speaking English, Malay, Mandarin and Tamil. She will now join the Miss World winner in carrying out humanitarian duties internationally.

4. AROUND THE WORLD 🌎

Anak Krakatau eruption grounds flights and 270,000 people in Indonesia
In 1883, Krakatau erupted and sent ashes as high as 80 km into the sky. It blanketed about 800,000 square kilometres, turning the area into total darkness for two and a half days. It then drifted around the globe and acted like a solar radiation filter, possibly lowering global temperatures by 0.5 degrees Celsius. It even gave ‘birth’ to a mini volcano - Anak Krakatau.

Fast forward to Sept 6, this mini volcano has erupted like its parent. Ash reached as high as 6 km on the Java side, and 15 km on the Sumatra side. Not as high, but still quite severe. 2,000 flights were grounded, while airports had to suspend operations. And this left 270,000 people stranded across Indonesia. Schools had to close, and students went back to online classes as they did during the pandemic. Ships travelling near the Sunda Strait (where Anak Krakatau is) are prohibited from entering an exclusion zone of a 3 km radius around it. People who were travelling had to find alternative transport options that included roads and trains.

Authorities so far have said that the situation remains uncertain, ‘We cannot ascertain when this ‌will end due to the dynamic weather’. And they are conducting tests every 30 minutes to test whether the ash spread is widening or subsiding.

AI - for good, for bad
Jensen Huang congratulates OpenAI’s ‘AGI’ model
Well, Jensen Huang definitely has a wide smile on his face. OpenAI has recently released its latest AI model, Astra. And he has publicly congratulated OpenAI and said that ‘AGI has arrived’. AGI stands for artificial general intelligence and refers to an AI model that can match or exceed the cognitive abilities of human beings across any task. Basically, it’s faster, stronger and smarter than all of us.
And yes, the model was trained with Nvidia’s chips.

Here’s how OpenAI describes Astra: ‘the world's most intelligent and aligned model, and capable of performing the most demanding professional work with unmatched speed, accuracy, and judgment.’ Not everyone is convinced. Gary Marcus, an AI researcher and critic, said that Astra only fulfilled about one or two of the 10 conditions for AGI. But Huang is not blinking an eye. In a follow-up post, he said that ‘400k GPUs are coming online next’. Are we truly starting the Terminator arc right now?

Forget drones, AI robots from China will fight your war now
It was kinda chilling to go from AGI to this story in China. If you didn’t know, there is a World Humanoid Robot Games where companies come together to showcase their robots in various capabilities - think Olympic, but for robots. This year, it was held in China, where robots ran faster than Usain Bolt over 100m, jumped, danced, and … boxed.

Two days later, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) called for researchers to accelerate the transfer of robotics into military training grounds to build ‘robotic combatants’. China is already working to incorporate and deploy robots for eventual wartime deployment. Researchers at NUDT’s test centre in Xi’an described a scenario of six combat robots that consist of humanoids, robot dogs or unmanned vehicles that would be split into two assault teams. They would then work with ground troops to clear buildings.

Want to know what the more chilling part? Chinese manufacturers account for 95% of global humanoid shipments in 2025, according to BofA Global Research.
It seems like the Terminator franchise missed the elephant in the room — China.
Bonus: One robot even did a signature Ronaldo Sui after scoring

Trump’s 10-hour AI-generated Truth Social posts
Well, someone spent all of his department's tokens, that’s for sure. Trump went on a 10-hour-long rampage posting dozens of AI-generated images on the Truth Social platform. And if you have seen them, well, we are sorry for your eyes. Here’s one where he portrays himself ‘crushing Iran’.

And then, the White House published an AI video depicting Trump as the Green Lantern, building a wall to prevent immigrants from coming in, and then reviving American manufacturing.

He also posted images that showed the Strait of Hormuz becoming a US territory, while New Mexico becomes ‘New America’. Then, there is one that showed Lake Ontario (which borders both America and Canada) becoming “Lake America”. His diplomatic department must be in flames now.

Let’s not forget that Trump previously also did a ‘Spider-Man’-themed post showing that Spider-Man is, in fact, an ICE agent.

It’s not stealing if it’s a freebie, right? Chiikawa and Kura Sushi learn that the hard way
Japanese sushi chain Kura Sushi is learning that if you run a freebie promotion campaign, your staff will peddle your freebies as merch to sell to others online. It ran a hyper-popular campaign featuring Chiikawa merchandise like pouches and plates on a first-come, first-served basis through the end of Sept. Customers can also win key chains, magnets and other trinkets. The thing is, they were all LIMITED. Of course, customers booked and reserved in advance, with a Kura Sushi spokesperson saying that virtually every table at its restaurants had been booked for the rest of the month. Kura Sushi’s staff saw an opportunity, stole them and resold them online. Kura Sushi abruptly ended the campaign, as expected, and customers cancelled their reservations. It looks like the craze for merch is still going strong.

5. FOR YOUR EYES 📺

Putting tech into good use

1. A taste of self-driving cars. Tesla just rolled out its taxi service, Cybercab, in Austin. A car without steering. Coming after Uber’s lunch.

2. Grab but for blood delivery in Malaysia. A more sophisticated system by Zipline here that can deliver as far as 120 km.

3. Combining nature and robotics - cyborg cockroaches to examine pipes. The cockroach used is Madagascar hissing cockroach, harmless to humans and do not pose any threat of diseases unlike the ones we commonly scream and run away from (i.e. American and German cockroaches).