☕️ Malaysia Airlines says customer data may be affected in vendor breach

1. MARKET SUMMARY 📈

2. NUMBERS AT A GLANCE 🔢

12,471 – The number of people who left New Zealand for Australia in the first quarter of 2026, marking the highest number of departures since the first quarter of 2013 – 13 years. This accelerated exodus also comes just weeks before an election, dealing a further blow to PM Christopher Luxon’s government. His opponents have slammed the government for failing to contain living costs and create more jobs, which would have encouraged more New Zealanders to stay instead of seeking higher wages in Australia. The number of departures often increases in the first quarter, as young people finish their studies and look for opportunities abroad. Still, Luxon has defended his administration by pointing out that more citizens are also returning to New Zealand. Around 13,460 citizens came back from Australia in the 12 months ending Mar 2026, the most since Sept 2021.

JPY200,000 (RM5,154.10) – Japan raised fees for foreigners seeking permanent residency in the country by 20 times to that amount, implemented as part of a series of changes to Japan’s immigration policy in a bid to manage Japan’s rapidly growing foreign population. The changes to the policy come from PM Sanae Takaichi’s administration, and include other measures such as new income, pension, and Japanese-language requirements. This also follows Japan implementing a five-fold increase in visa fees for all foreigners in July, the country’s first visa fee hike in 50 years. Authorities said this was meant to reflect inflation and exchange rate fluctuations. However, while immigration remains politically sensitive and restrictive in Japan, the country’s ageing population also means that it is increasingly relying on foreign workers to plug a labour shortage. Japan’s foreign resident population surpassed 4.12 mil at the end of 2025, a record 9.5% increase from 2024.

USD417 mil (RM1.7 bil) – Thailand is moving to force the sale of land worth that amount, about 2,161 acres, as it cracks down on foreigners who evade an ownership ban by holding property via local proxies. Foreigners are prohibited from owning land in Thailand, but some use Thai nominees to circumvent the restrictions, a practice under growing scrutiny after a series of cases in major tourist and business centres. PM Anutin Charnvirakul has ordered officials to accelerate investigations of high-risk cases by Dec and enforce laws requiring illegally held land to be sold. Authorities will also look to prevent new nominee arrangements from entering the property system, with stricter checks on buyers as part of the effort.

3. IN MALAYSIA 🇲🇾

Melaka election to test PH-Bersatu cooperation
November 14 will be the day we know whether the Pakatan Harapan (PH) - Bersatu alliance works or not, as both parties are avoiding direct contest in four seats - Lendu, Sungai Udang, Pantai Kundor and Bemban. Despite the PH-plus arrangement with Bersatu falling through, and despite a number of Bersatu members signing the confidence and supply agreement (CSA) with Putrajaya, Bersatu decided to go solo for the Melaka state election except for the named four seats. What PH would like to see is whether Bersatu can split the Malay votes, which will avoid a total ‘Malay tsunami’, triggered by Barisan Nasional (BN) and Perikatan Nasional (PN). If Bersatu does successfully break the BN-PN momentum, we can foresee the PH-Bersatu partnership continuing into the general election. Close to 690,000 registered voters will be able to cast their ballots on November 14. Previously, BN won 21 of the 28 seats, while PH secured five seats and PN claimed two seats.

Condo management cannot impose blanket pet bans
In a case between former national hurdler Noraseela Mohd Khalid v JMB of Shang Villa Condominium, the Shah Alam High Court sided with the former, which would prevent the joint management body (JMB) from imposing a blanket ban on keeping pets in private residential units through its house rules. The court stated that the mere presence of pets in a residential unit is not a breach of any house rules, which need to adhere to By-law 14 of the Strata Management (Maintenance and Management) Regulations 2015. Additionally, the court added that general complaints about animals were insufficient to ban pets from the residential unit. This judgment confirms that a JMB is not above the law. House rules cannot be used to circumvent statutory safeguards or to create powers the legislation does not confer. A win for oyen parents.

No end to Zetrix’s problems
After a collapsing share price and JPJ lawsuit, now LHDN is coming after Zetrix AI (fka MyEG) and the company saw a wave of resignation of its directors in the past week. Recap of the company’s battles:

• LHDN has sent Zetrix a RM353.13 mil tax bill over transfer pricing matters for the assessment year 2021 to 2023. Transfer pricing, in short means the pricing of transactions between associated persons or related parties. In layman’s terms, when left hand sells to right hand.
  Learn more here.

• Zetrix AI will also face a civil legal dispute with the Government after Putrajaya plans to pursue legal action over Zetrix AI’s failure to remit RM314 mil in revenue collected on behalf of the Road Transport Department (JPJ);

• Zetrix AI also allegedly breached a RM2 bil sukuk covenant after its MD Wong Thean Soon’s stake fell from 29.25% to about 1.84%. So far, bond holders are not demanding immediate repayment. A covenant basically is the T&Cs of a loan.
  Learn more about covenant here.

• Zetrix AI also lost all three audit committee members, and the majority of its board members resigned within a month, citing personal commitments. From 7 directors, now down to 3. View the directors here.

As of Friday, Zetrix AI shares were down 1.5 sen or 18.75% at 6.5 sen, valuing the company at RM525.1 mil. The counter has fallen over 90% in just six months. The combined amount JPJ and LHDN are pursuing Zetrix for is larger than its market cap. 

Shorts

1. Some Malaysia Airlines’ customer details may have been leaked

   Malaysia Airlines stated that some customer information may have been affected after its reservation-technology provider, Amadeus, was involved in a cybersecurity incident. Malaysia’s flag carrier said in a statement that the incident may have affected information processed between August 2023 and September this year. However, Malaysia Airlines reiterated that its IT systems were not breached and there was no evidence that financial information had been accessed. Malaysia Airlines was not the sole victim as the attack on Amadeus also affected Cathay Pacific Airways, Japan Airlines, South Korea’s Asiana Airlines and others. Left right, up down, front back, inside out - every single organisation becomes an ‘equal opportunity’ target for hackers as AI drives down the opportunity costs of hacking. So don’t think that just because you are nobody or small company, you wouldn’t be a target.

2. Ex-border control chief’s future is still uncertain

   Following the accusation of voluntarily causing hurt to police personnel at KLIA on Sep 28, the Home Ministry announced that former Malaysian Border Control and Protection Agency (AKPS) director-general Mohd Shuhaily Mohd Zain will return prematurely to the Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM). Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Mohd Khalid Ismail said that his new assignment within the police force will only be determined after the King has consented to his departure from AKPS. The IGP stated that his appointment to AKPS previously received the consent of the King, so his departure would need His Majesty’s consent also.

3. A petrol station in Sungai Buloh is under investigation for selling ‘watered-down’ RON95

   Selangor Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Director, Hanif Asa’ari, said that a petrol station at Batu 14 in Sungai Buloh is being investigated for selling RON95 petrol mixed with water. His office received a complaint on October 19, and officers were sent on the same day to take fuel samples from the petrol pumps to be analysed by the chemistry department. The final report has not been released yet, but previously Hanif added that his office had received 10 complaints of watered-down petrol allegedly being sold at seven petrol stations in the state. Someone really thought alchemy could work with hydrocarbon. 

4. AROUND THE WORLD 🌎

Geopolitics of the Middle East

Gulf states must rethink their overreliance on US defence
The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) has questioned the Gulf states overreliance on American support and their ‘overdependence on expensive, high-end systems’. It added that the Gulf states have to reconfigure their trillion-dollar defences given the damage inflicted on their economies and the questionable continued value of US bases in the face of Iranian attack. In the weeks before the Apr 8 ceasefire, the Gulf region had faced 4,670 Iranian one-way attack drones and more than 1,400 ballistic missiles. The estimated damage to energy infrastructure cited by the report is put as high as USD58 bil (RM235 bil).

Despite huge investment in mainly US armaments, the report identified significant shortcomings. It also noted that the US-Iran war has shown that longstanding defence and security partnerships with the US “have failed to ensure adequate protection against Iranian aggression”, and that “their respective militaries are also not adequately prepared for the new kind of attritional air war to which they are being exposed”.

Letter from Vance “received well” by Iran security chief
US Vice President JD Vance has sent a letter to Iran’s hard-liner security chief, Mohsen Rezaei, in an 11th-hour push to restart peace talks. Rezaei is expected to officially respond to Vance’s letter on Thursday, but it was reportedly “received well” by Iran. The aim of the letter is said to gauge whether the US and Iran can narrow their differences enough to stave off a potential new round of US strikes on Iran. Vance’s letter also proposed a meeting between US and Iranian officials soon, with Vance heading the US delegation again. If Iran accepts, the negotiations could take place as soon as next week, said the officials, naming Qatar or Turkiye as possible venues.

Vance has consistently appeared more averse to drawn-out military conflict with Iran than Trump. While publicly backing the war, the vice president reportedly preferred to continue with more intensive diplomacy before the US joined Israel in the war on Iran in February. He has since privately voiced concerns about the protracted conflict, according to US media reports.

Binance: Major crypto exchange hack, Malaysia expansion
World’s largest cryptocurrency exchange platform Binance has said that it has used company money to buy tokens to replenish 90% of USD 6.3 bil (RM25.6 bil) stolen in a huge hacking attack. As for the remaining 10%, it’s still WIP as those tokens are more illiquid to source at such scale. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) identified the culprits as the North Korean hacker group called TraderTraitor, the same group blamed for a USD1.5 bil (RM6.09 bil) theft from the Bybit platform in February last year. Binance suspended user withdrawals after the incident, but said that they were on track to resume on Nov 1.

Meanwhile, Binance is reportedly in discussions with Malaysian regulators for a licensed business in the country, after being blocked for five years. The Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) ordered Binance in July 2021 to cease operating in Malaysia after the regulator found it was then illegally running a digital asset exchange.

Yuge hack, but let’s put into perspective:

DoorDash to buy Instacart for USD17 bil (RM 68.9 bil)
Food delivery company DoorDash (market cap of USD77.6 bil) is planning to acquire grocery delivery company Instacart, in a deal worth about USD17 bil expected to close at the end of 2027 or in the first half of 2028. The deal, which will be at least 75% cash, values Instacart at USD65 (RM264) per share, representing a 26% premium over its closing price on Oct 22. In a joint announcement, the companies said the deal would mean Instacart customers could shop at more than 50,000 additional stores, and that DashPass and Instacart+ members would pay one membership fee instead of two. The combined company will be a more formidable presence in the competitive grocery delivery industry, rivalling companies like Amazon and Walmart.

Shorts

1. Central Kalimantan is still burning

   Indonesia’s forest and land fire hotspots have reportedly declined sharply from 160 to 96 a day earlier, but Central Kalimantan remains one of the main priorities for fire control efforts as fire hotspots in the region continue to rise. Fire in the peatlands also continues to pose challenges to firefighting, as it continues to burn and spread underground even after surface flames have been extinguished or rainfall has occurred. The Forestry Ministry said high-confidence hotspots declined by 64 nationwide as of 9 pm on Saturday, but Central Kalimantan recorded an increase from 12 to 15 hotspots.

2. Farewell, Professor X

   Acclaimed British actor Sir Patrick Stewart, who played Captain Jean-Luc Picard in “Star Trek” and Professor Charles Xavier in the “X-Men” films, has died at the age of 86, after battling Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy body dementia. Stewart is best known for his performances in film and TV, but is also much loved in theatres for his stellar Shakespearean characters and other classics such as Macbeth. Stewart developed alopecia at the young age of 19 and has rocked the bald look ever since. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in June 2010. Avengers: Doomsday (Stewart reprised his role as Prof X) will be out this Dec 18.

5. FOR YOUR EYES 📺

Helloween stuff

1. Start with the best Halloween costume of the year. If need context, read here.

2. Tesla trolling again with skeletons in its cybercab.

3. Smart parenting. Turning festive celebration into an intellectual practice. Any parents did this with their kids with Raya and CNY angpows?

4. Not happi with this section coz Halloween not our culture?