☕️ PKR: PJ MP quits, readmits Sheraton Move MPs

1. MARKET SUMMARY 📈

2. NUMBERS AT A GLANCE 🔢

USD71.5 bil (RM292.07 bil) – The estimated bill for Gaza’s recovery and reconstruction, and is likely to further increase, according to the latest United Nations Conference on Trade and Development report. The report also said Gaza’s economy has experienced the world’s “most severe crisis on record”, attributed to the 59 years of Israeli occupation which have imposed “structural constraints” that have “systematically stunted the Palestinian economy”. This has forced Gaza to depend on aid, even as poverty deepened and productivity was undermined. However, since Israel launched its war on Gaza in Oct 2023, the consequences of the occupation have reportedly skyrocketed, with Israel’s military operations having damaged or destroyed 92% of Gaza’s economic establishments, leaving over 90% of Gaza’s working-age population unemployed and erasing USD2.8 bil in cumulative labour income. In 2025, Gaza’s GDP per capita was USD212 or USD0.58 per day, an 83% drop since 2022.
View: Satellite images of Gaza before vs after

US22.3 bil (RM91.09 bil) – A recent US Defence Department watchdog report found that US forces have fired that much in munitions fighting Iran this year. This does not include the other aspects of Operation Epic Fury, which come to about USD33.4 bil when totalled. The report also said that the amount of munitions fired has led to “strategic inventory shortfalls” and revealed industrial base bottlenecks. The Pentagon is currently addressing those issues by stockpiling critical materials, components, and munitions, while streamlining procurement processes. This report also follows constant assurances by the White House and Pentagon leadership that there are no munitions shortages during the Iran war.

EUR500 mil (RM2.29 bil) – That’s how much the Dutch royal family made through its links to the Dutch East India Company and the country’s colonies, according to a Leiden University study. Essentially, the study found that slavery had helped finance a Dutch “Golden Age”, driven by maritime trade in the 16th and 17th centuries. King Willem-Alexander, the reigning monarch of the Netherlands, had commissioned the study in 2022, and said the findings were “explicit and striking” as he accepted the study at the university. He felt “personally affected”, calling the conclusion “painful and confronting”. King Willem-Alexander had previously apologised for his ancestors’ lack of action against slavery in 2023.

3. IN MALAYSIA 🇲🇾

Melaka state election earliest by end-Oct
Melaka caretaker chief minister Ab Rauf Yusoh said that there are three possible election timetables, with voters could go to the polls as early as October 31, ahead of the imminent announcement by the Election Commission (EC). Ab Rauf, who is also Melaka Barisan Nasional chairman, said the coalition was confident of retaining all 21 seats it won in the 2021 state election.

In related news, BN chairperson cum deputy PM Ahmad Zahid Hamidi announced that BN is expected to announce its electoral partner for the upcoming Malacca state election after the EC unveils the key dates on October 7. Zahid Hamidi hinted that close to formalise a partnership with PAS, with the coalition open to the idea of PAS using its own logo, as it did in the Johor and Negeri Sembilan state elections. However, at the grassroots level, BN plan to mobilise its machinery together with PAS.

PH x BN - it’s over: One coalition that BN may not work together in Melaka is Pakatan Harapan (PH) as Zahid Hamidi said that the relationship between BN and PH have hit ‘an all time low’ and he promised that BN would part ways with PH, the moment Parliament is dissolved. Why not now? Zahid said the commitment to stay until the parliament is dissolved was a promise made to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.

Business

Johor-Singapore RTS Link’s opening is now delayed to February 2027
RTS Operations (RTSO), the company appointed to run the cross-border rail line, announced that the RTS Link’s commencement is now pushed to February 2027, as the rail line need more time to complete all system tests and trial runs and to get the subsequent third-party safety certification and approval by RTSO’s grantors. RTSO’s grantors (the authorities which grant it the right to operate) are Singapore’s Land Transport Authority (LTA) and Malaysia’s Ministry of Transport. Previously, RTS Link was slated to operationalise by the end of the year.

Zetrix AI not catching any break
The Road Transport Department (JPJ) will suspend MyEG Sdn Bhd and Zetrix AI Bhd, both under MYEG Group, as its collection agents effective 12.01am on October 5. JPJ added that the decision was made partly due to outstanding obligations that have yet to be fulfilled. The Transport Ministry confirmed that Zetrix AI owes Putrajaya more than RM200 mil in payments collected for vehicle road tax, driving licence renewals and traffic summonses since its three-year contract began in May 2023. What’s funny is that it took this long to suspend the company. Post JPJ announcement, Zetrix AI share price fell to a 13-year low of 10 sen. On Aug 28, the stock plunged 50% to 29.5 sen and has lost more than RM6 bil in market cap since then.

Shorts

1. Petaling Jaya MP quits his post

   Petaling Jaya MP Lee Chean Chung has announced his resignation as the Member of Parliament, without any conditions. Lee added that on September 30, he has received a letter stating that his PKR membership has been suspended for three years. With that, he then decided to issue his resignation letter as a PKR member today. Previously, the decision to suspend Lee was due to growing unhappiness among grassroots members in the Petaling Jaya division following Lee’s involvement in Bersama’s events, despite him still being a PKR member. On another hand, PKR readmitted 3 former MPs who left PKR - Edmund Santhara Kumar, Kamarudin Jaffar and Steven Choong. The first were among 11 MPs who left PKR during the Sheraton Move in 2020. Choong left PKR in Feb 2021 after expressing support for the PN government. What is Anwar thinking?

2. Malaysia in talks to host F1 again

   PM Anwar Ibrahim stated that Putrajaya is actively discussing the return of Formula One (F1) racing to Malaysia. The last time Malaysia hosted an official Malaysian Grand Prix was in 2017, when rising hosting costs and declining ticket sales forced the country to drop out of the sport. However, after a nine-year absence, F1 unexpectedly returned to the Sepang International Circuit this past weekend. The weekend was a success with more than 216,000 people flocking to Sepang. But it was equally chaotic with poor transportation arrangements (watch here).

3. After 16 years, Azizulhasni won Asian Games keirin gold again

   National cyclist, Azizulhasni Awang clinched gold at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. He beat China’s Xie Han, who placed second. Xie Han is currently ranked 20th in the UCI Men Elite Sprint Ranking, with Azizulhasni ranked one place below him. This is Azizulhasni's third career Asian Games gold medal after emerging victorious in the men's individual sprint at Indonesia 2018 and the winning the keirin gold at Guangzhou 2010.

4. AROUND THE WORLD 🌎

UAE says Flydubai co-pilot used crash axe to attack
A United Arab Emirates (UAE) prosecutor general has said that the co-pilot of FlyDubai flight FZ1073 bound for Israel has attempted to carry out a "terrorist attack" with a crash axe, typically kept in the cockpit for use during emergencies such as crashes. The co-pilot was identified as an Omani national, Hammam al-Hammami, but the UAE authorities did not immediately respond to a request for confirmation of his identity. He was banned from flying on his country’s airline because of concerns about extremist views.

While Emirati authorities and the airline have not publicly identified the co-pilot, Israeli officials have previously said he is an Omani national. Israel does not have official diplomatic relations with Oman, and Netanyahu has said pilots from such countries were not permitted to operate flights to Israel. It was not clear how the co-pilot came to be assigned to the flight to Tel Aviv. He also said a day earlier that the co-pilot had undergone radical Islamist indoctrination and was clearly suicidal, though he said a motive had not yet been established. Israel seems to know so much already.

Thai Airways chief fired over Bangkok flood chaos
Thai Airways CEO Chai Eamsiri has been fired by the company following its chaotic response to the heavy floods that hit Bangkok last week. Chai said that the company did not give any specific reason, but Thai Airways said that he had been suspended pending a fact-finding investigation and review of its crisis management procedures. As Bangkok received a staggering 320 mm of rain over three days last week - as much as it typically receives in all of September - Thai Airways had been forced to cancel dozens of flights and suspend its cargo operations. Chai, who had publicly apologised for the chaos, joined the carrier in 1985, rising through the ranks to become its chief financial officer before being appointed CEO in 2023.

Cornell 7 gang-rape case: Are college students really protected from sexual abuse?
The detailed graphic lawsuit alleging a 7-person gang-rape on a female student at Cornell University last month has reignited fury in the US over the failure of universities and colleges to address sexual violence on campus. 

In this case, the accuser, Jane Doe, has said that in 2024 she was drugged with ketamine, assaulted and raped by seven members of the Chi Phi fraternity, a social club for male students. As devastating as it sounds, it is not an uncommon thing - an estimated one in four female students and one in 14 male students experience rape or sexual assault at some point during their undergraduate studies, according to a 2020 study by the Association of American Universities.

The investigation was closed in 2024, but was recently reopened after the victim’s civil lawsuit fueled allegations that prosecutors and the elite college had failed to hold the men accountable. Observers have noted that severe punishments like full expulsions are rare for fraternity members as they are often connected to elite networks and represent a key source of revenue for universities.

The Kindness Mob to fight cyber bullying
The Internet is a scary place, and one can easily fall prey to bullies and malicious, faceless people hiding behind keyboards. Tyler Brickley, a digital marketer from Kansas City, US, simply won’t have it - Brickley decided to build an army of kind people on TikTok to counter those evil people.

Dubbed the Kindness Mob (visit site here), Brickley said that it is a form of trolling where the mob uses kind words to bombard the comment section of a person who was being bullied or overlooked. Often, the flood of nice comments caused the bullying to stop. It is an example of what scholars call "social contagion theory", where positive or negative behaviour spreads from person to person like a virus. By Brickley's count, he's organised 350 mobs, and the average video gets 1,000 comments.

In September 2025, Brickley's following grew from 30,000 to 200,000 all at once. He admitted that it has led him into a “kindness burnout”, as every day, 20 to 100 people are nominated for the mob. Logistically, Brickley was drowning. But at least he managed to get some volunteers to assist him with the noble work. Experts say such initiatives have a “limited shelf life” as the person leading the initiative will usually burn out in a year or two. What society needs is a larger shift in social norms around how we treat people online.

Shorts

1. OpenAI safety leader quits over “broken” AI culture

   David Robinson, a safety leader at OpenAI, has quit the company due to what he calls a “broken culture” in the firm, where AI firms are not “being nearly careful enough” about developing the technology. He also said that Silicon Valley lacked an awareness of “how to handle dangerous technology” and “what it means to care for people”. Robinson called for two safety changes: that AI firms rely on safety expertise in other fields such as nuclear and aviation, and that they develop “new science” that ensures powerful systems in the future are capable of being reined in when they are operating autonomously.
   Have you been speaking politely to your AI?

2. G7 to release millions of barrels of oil and diesel

   The G7 - US, UK, Canada, Japan, Germany, Italy and France - has announced that 100 mil barrels of oil and diesel will be released to ease supply concerns that have caused prices to skyrocket. It includes a "substantial release" of diesel within 20 days, with discussions around "additional diesel releases as necessary”. There will be no "export restrictions on energy and energy products" among G7 members, even though the announcement came after Trump threatened to ban diesel exports from the US to European countries.

5. FOR YOUR EYES 📺

1. TIL: The ‘missed call’ from unknown foreign numbers is a thriving fraud industry known as False Answer Supervision, causing losses of USD17 bil annually. Read more here.

2. Cheating the casinos