☕️ MITI accused of ripping off concept, design by creative agency

1. MARKET SUMMARY 📈

2. NUMBERS AT A GLANCE 🔢

YouTube turned 20 years old last week on April 23rd. YouTube celebrated the milestone by publishing statistics of the biggest video platform in the world.

• There are over 20 bil uploaded videos on the platform (inclusive of shorts, and podcasts).

• YouTube now sees over 20 mil videos uploaded daily, fitting for its 20th birthday.

• YouTube Music and YouTube Kids also turn 10; Music was originally codenamed Woodstock.

• In 2024, users posted 100 mil comments a day, with creators hearting comments from 10 mil viewers daily.

• Engagement is sky-high: videos get 3.5 bil likes daily, and 300+ music videos have hit over a billion views.

Here’s YouTube’s first-ever video uploaded by its co-founder, Jawed Karim. About a year after its founding in 2006, Google acquired YouTube for a cool USD1.65 bil.

I started watching YouTube when the interface looked like this — how things have changed!

3. IN MALAYSIA 🇲🇾

Singapore says no to Malaysian influence in its election
The Singaporean authorities have instructed Meta to block access for users to several Facebook posts by several foreigners that attempted to interfere in the ongoing general election. Under the Parliamentary Elections Act (PEA), it is an offence for foreigners to participate in election activity or publish online election advertising. The ‘foreigners’ who allegedly meddled in Singaporean politics were PAS national treasurer, Iskandar Abdul Samad and PAS Selangor youth chief, Mohamed Sukri Omar, who both of them stated that Singaporeans should vote along the lines of race and religion. Singaporeans will go to the ballot box on May 3.

In responding to the matter, Singapore Muslim Affairs Minister Masagos Zulkifli said that race or religion-based politics have no place in the island-state. Masagos added that Singapore has worked very hard to build harmony over the decades through mutual respect and a collective commitment to progress together, and such foreign intervention could erode that trust that has been built.

Sukri Omar, one of the individuals who allegedly attempted to make the divisive Facebook post in regard to Singapore’s political scene, denied that he was trying to interfere in Singapore’s upcoming GE and said that he has the right to be concerned about the welfare of Singapore’s Malay-Muslim community. PAS should just jaga tepi kain sendiri.

BN retains Ayer Kuning state seat
Barisan Nasional (BN)’s Yusri Bakri has won the Ayer Kuning state seat in Perak with a 5,006-vote majority. The Ayer Kuning was left vacant previously after the previous incumbent, BN’s Ishsam Shahruddin, passed away.

Speaking after his party lost the by-election, PAS deputy president, Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man, blamed the defeat on low voter turnout and not his party’s strategy during the election, which was focusing on the ‘pig agenda’ - the existence of pig farms within the Ayer Kuning area. In the previous Ayer Kuning election in 2022, the voter turnout was 74.85%, which was not surprising as it was held as part of the 15th General Election (GE15). However, during the recent by-election, the voter turnout was a measly 58.06%, where Tuan Ibrahim blamed the Election Commission (EC) for it, as he stated that the EC did not do enough to encourage voters to cast their ballot and for scheduling the by-election just a few weeks after Raya. Let’s test it out - hypothetically, if the voter turnout for this by-election is the same as the previous one in 2022 and all the remaining voters choose to vote for PAS, the PAS candidate, Abdul Muhaimin Malek, would win with a 349-vote majority. Slim majority.

MITI will probe itself for the alleged concept-stealing for the Osaka Expo 2025
The Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI) will initiate a probe into the claim made on social media that the ministry has not given the appropriate credit or payment to a creative agency’s concept for the Malaysia Pavilion at the Osaka Expo 2025. Within the viral claim made by @feyilyas via Instagram, the user claimed that MITI has used the agency’s concept, theme, narrative and architectural direction for the Malaysia Pavilion, without credit or compensation. The user also added that the creative agency has invested a substantial amount to bring in world-class partners and assist in securing approvals for the concept proposal. Malaysia is expected to generate RM13 bil worth of exports and investment via its participation in the Osaka Expo 2025, which is expected to be attended by 28.2 mil visitors. To attain all of this on a bed of alleged plagiarism does not leave a good taste for Putrajaya.

Malaysia is topping the charts

• Best stews in the world
  The online food platform, TasteAtlas, has put Malaysian chicken curry as the best stew in the world. TasteAtlas said on its website that the food ratings are based on opinions from its global community as well as the quality and authenticity of traditional dishes. We can also see other ASEAN dishes such as Thailand’s Phaneng Curry & Massaman Curry and Indonesia’s Rendang & Gulai, in the top 10 of the list. Too bad Malaysian food trumps y’all.
  View the list here.

• Malaysian weddings are expensive
  Universiti Malaysia Kelantan (UMK) entrepreneurship and business professor Dr Nik Maheran Nik Muhammad revealed that Malaysia’s wedding expenses (across all races) are among the highest in ASEAN, where each wedding costs an average of between RM50,000 and RM200,000. In comparison, Cambodians and the Filipinos spent less on weddings, at RM71,000 and RM22,800 respectively. Among the key findings by Dr Nik Maheran -

  • Inflation, rising venue and catering costs, and societal expectations have skyrocketed the wedding costs in Malaysia;

  • Chinese couples tend to allocate more funds towards luxurious venues and gourmet catering, while Malay and Indian couples often prioritise elaborate decorations and invitations;

  • Financial struggles are a key reason why many young Malaysians, particularly Chinese men, are delaying marriage (the Chinese Malaysian marriage rate is at 6.6 per 1,000 in 2022).

4. AROUND THE WORLD 🌎

China considers exempting some goods from US tariffs
China has made itself clear that it is willing to fight the US till the end in the tariff war, but sources are saying that it is also now considering to exempt some US imports from the 125% tariff. China’s Ministry of Commerce task force is said to be collecting lists of items that could be exempted from tariffs and is asking companies to submit their own requests. Some have reported that Beijing was preparing to include eight semiconductor-related items, although no memory chips. A list of products eligible for exemptions was circulating on social media, which includes items ranging from vaccines and chemicals to jet engines. Despite a tough stance, China's economy is entering the trade war flirting with deflation. After all, demand is weak and consumer spending and sentiment have never properly recovered from the pandemic levels.

Trump deep-sea mining order violates international law
The US President issued a controversial executive order last Thursday, aimed to “establish the US as a global leader in responsible seabed mineral exploration". In other words, Trump wants to enable the US to start deep-sea mining in international waters that it is outside its jurisdiction, effectively bypassing a long-running round of UN negotiations on mining in international waters.

Apparently, the deep sea contains billions of tonnes of potato-shaped rocks, called polymetallic nodules, which are rich in critical minerals like cobalt and rare earths. Many countries, including China, have delayed issuing permits for such works until countries agreed a framework for how resources could be shared. But does the US care? Nope. The administration estimates that deep-sea mining could boost the country's GDP by USD300 bil over 10 years and create 100,000 jobs. Nevertheless, deep-sea mining is largely still unsafe, given the danger that it poses to biodiversity and the ocean structure, according to a report based on a deep-sea mining experiment done in 1979.
Learn: What we know about deep-sea mining - and what we don’t

Israel minister says US Republicans support bombing Gaza ‘food and aid depots’
In a post made on social media on Wednesday, Ben-Gvir, Israel’s far-right minister, has said that he had met with “senior Republican Party officials” at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, who expressed support for bombing Gaza’s food and aid depots. Ben-Gvir is known as one of the leading voices in Israel calling for the escalation of Israel’s assault on Gaza. Ben-Gvir also said that among the officials present was Republican Congressman Tom Emmer, considered to be the third-highest-ranking member of the US House of Representatives and a leading voice in the US Congress supporting Israel. The Times of Israel and the Jewish News Syndicate were among the news outlets that cited Ben-Gvir’s office in reporting Emmer’s presence, which also appeared to be confirmed by video of the event. To date, the Health Ministry in Gaza has said at least 51,300 Palestinians have been killed since the war began in Oct 2023.

Pakistan announces retaliatory measures against India
Tension is still building up between Pakistan and India. Islamabad has issued a series of retaliatory diplomatic moves against India who accuses the deadly Pahalgam attack on Pakistan. Pakistani leaders are calling it “frivolous, devoid of rationality and defeat logic”, and denounced India’s measures announced on Apr 23 as “unilateral, unjust, politically motivated, extremely irresponsible and devoid of legal merit.”  A day after India withdrew from the Indus Waters Treaty, Pakistani PM Shehbaz Sharif proceeded to pause a canal irrigation project, and announced an impending closure of the Wagah border with India. It also suspended visas issued to Indians under the The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) programme, reduced the Indian High Commission staff in Islamabad to 30 and closed its airspace to all Indian aircraft, while all trade activities with India were suspended.

Shorts

1. Nine killed as car rams into a festival crowd in Vancouver

   Tragedy struck the city of Sunset in Vancouver, Canada, as a 30-year-man rammed his car into a huge crowd at the Lapu Lapu festival on Saturday, killing nine people and injuring many more. The festival was attended by thousands of people from the Filipino Vancouver community as they commemorate a Filipino anti-colonial leader from the 16th century. The driver has already been taken into custody.

2. Massive explosion at Iranian port killing 25 and injuring hundreds

   A massive explosion occurred at the Shahid Rajaee Port in Iran on Saturday, killing 25 and injuring 800 others. Port customs believed that the explosion was probably from a fire that broke out at the hazardous and chemical materials storage depot. It was so powerful that it was felt and heard about 50 km away, with choking smoke and air pollution spreading throughout the area prompting closure of all schools and offices in nearby city Bandar Abbas. The explosion coincides with the Iran-US meeting in Oman for high-level talks on Tehran’s nuclear programme, with both sides reporting progress.

3. Jeffrey Epstein accuser dies of suicide

   Most outspoken accuser of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, Virginia Giuffre, has reportedly died by suicide on Friday in her farm in Western Australia. She alleged Epstein trafficked her to Prince Andrew, the Duke of York when she was 17, which the Prince has strenuously denied. Giuffre was also a prominent campaigner and was closely associated with the Me Too movement. Her relatives cherished her as a fierce warrior in the fight against sexual abuse and is lauded as a beacon to other survivors and victims. For some reasons, witnesses in high-profile US cases tend to drop dead. Sus.

4. Wrexham club celebrates promotion to Championship

   Lesser-known English football club Wrexham made history as they sealed a place in the English football championships, sending its fans into euphoria as they celebrated the win alongside Hollywood stars co-owners Rob McElhenney, Ryan Reynolds and wife Blake Lively. Having languished in the fifth tier of English football since relegation from the Football League in 2008 and nearly going out of business, Wrexham were transformed when they were bought by Reynolds and McElhenney in 2021.

5. FOR YOUR EYES 📺

1. Highlight of the Pope’s funeral.

2. If it ain’t a happy Monday for you that is filled with stress and anxiety:

3. Various KL landmarks from the lens of Studio Ghibli by photographer @heartpatrick