☕️ e.MAS 7 - Proton's first EV, estimated around RM120,000

1. MARKET SUMMARY 📈

2. NUMBERS AT A GLANCE 🔢

THB1.8 bil baht (RM230 mil) could buy you a slice of paradise on Koh Kham in Trat Province, Thailand. Thai officials have confirmed to Khaosod English that this sale is legitimate, although the island has changed hands before, likely due to challenging construction restrictions in the area. Officially, the island spans about 10 rai (approximately 16,000 square meters) and property taxes are paid annually to the Koh Mak Subdistrict Administrative Organisation (SAO).

RM120,000 — the estimated price of the country’s first fully electric vehicle (EV), the e.MAS 7, revealed by Proton over the weekend. The car will have two variants — Prime and Premium — the main difference is the range. Prime has a 49.92 kWh battery with a 345km Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP) range. The Premium has a 60.22 kWh battery with a 410 km WLTP range. The 12-in-1 Electric Drive System gives 160 kW of power and 320 Nm of torque, allowing the car to go from 0 to 100 km/h in 6.9 seconds. The maximum speed is 175 km/h. Check out the car here.
Learn: What is WLTP?

Malaysia has been ranked the fifth most popular food paradise in Asia, according to a survey conducted by the digital travel platform Agoda. The survey revealed that 49% of tourists visited the country primarily for its culinary delights. South Korea topped the list as the top food destination in Asia, with 64% of visitors citing food as their main reason for travelling, followed by Taiwan (62%), Thailand (55%), and Japan (52%).

3. IN MALAYSIA 🇲🇾

PLKN (the nightmare of millennials) 3.0 Is Back
Deputy Defence Minister Adly Zahari announced that the National Service Training Programme (PLKN) 3.0 will resume starting January 2025, in phases. Below are the details of the first phase of PLKN 3.0:

1. RM50 mil will be allocated in 2025 to restart PLKN;

2. The first intake involving 500 participants will focus on two military camps in KL and Pahang before it is expanded to 13 other camps by 2026;

3. PLKN 3.0 would target participants aged 16 to 35 among Form Four students, Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) leavers, and students from institutions of higher learning. However, the main focus will be on SPM leavers. So, to millennials who skipped the previous versions of PLKN or to those who went through PLKN and are currently suffering from PTSD, fret not, as PLKN 3.0 is unlikely to affect you.

Children in the crosshairs

1. Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil confirmed that his ministry’s agency, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has received complaints regarding the presence of sexual grooming groups online and is working together with Meta and the police’s Sexual, Women and Child Investigations Division (D11) to initiate an investigation. In the meantime, MCMC will assist with data preservation and account profiling. Sexual grooming is the action or behaviour used to establish an emotional connection with a minor under the age of consent to open doors for the children to be sexually abused. It can occur in various settings, including online or in person.

2. A 22-year-old Malaysian student in the United Kingdom has had her future in a spiral after Warwick Crown Court Judge Justice Tipples sentenced her to life imprisonment for murdering and stuffing her newborn in a cereal box. Before disposing of her baby, the student named Teo Jia Xin concealed her pregnancy out of fear that her family and friends in Malaysia would find out. Teo was impregnated by her boyfriend of three years and her partner knew she was pregnant for months. So, what happened to the guy?

3. Following the announcement by PMX via his Budget 2025 speech, Johor education and information committee chairman Aznan Tamin said the school for students with special needs, especially autistic children, will be built in Pulai, Johor Bahru. The school for special needs in Johor Bahru will be one of two such schools that will be constructed in 2025, with a total cost of RM300mil.

Business

1. After winning big in Taiwan, another Gamuda Bhd’s joint venture has secured an RM3.05 bil contract to build a hydroelectric plant in Sabah. The new dam is set to be completed by the end of the decade and will double Sabah’s renewable energy mix, contributing towards the state’s aim to achieve 35% renewable energy share in its generation mix by 2035.

2. The Retirement Fund Inc (KWAP) has acquired a minority stake in renewable energy operator Cyan Renewables for RM219 mil. This acquisition is part of KWAP’s strategic direction to achieve RM20 bil in transition assets by 2030. Cyan, which operates vessels for offshore wind farms, was established in 2022 and has its HQ in Singapore. Recently, the company has taken over Australian-based vessel operator MMA Offshore for USD726 mil.

3. A government-linked investment company (GLIC) under the Prime Minister’s Department (PMD), Pelaburan Hartanah Bhd (PHB) has been giving its top executive a really early Christmas present by paying a senior executive RM210,000 in bonuses despite only achieving 42% of the KPI score. In the expose by Malaysiakini that quoted PHB’s meeting minutes, the board of directors not only approved the bonus to the top executive as a ‘special payment’ but also revised their owned ‘board member fees’ — from RM2,500 to RM18,000 per month (for retainer fees for the board chairman) and RM3,000 to RM8,000 per month (for retainer fees for the board members). While Singaporean GLCs can make their country wealthy, it seems like some Malaysian GLCs only enrich their directors.

Shorts

1. Agriculture Minister Mohamad Sabu stated that its ministry will inspect the imported Shine Muscat grapes, as allegedly the fruit contains harmful chemical residues as claimed by Thailand. Shine Muscat grapes are normally imported from East Asian countries such as Japan and South Korea.

2. Housing & Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming said that due to the introduction of anti-corruption elements in the Local Authority Star Rating System (SPB-PBT), 12 local authorities (PBT) have been downgraded in their ratings. Nga added that the 12 local PBTs will be receiving counselling to assist in improving their ratings. Why not send the MACC straightaway?

3. The Public Service Department (PSD) has released a circular that granted a one-day unrecorded Deepavali leave for Hindu civil servants, which can be taken a day earlier (Deepavali eve) or the second day of Deepavali, starting this year. Need to be highlighted that this one-day holiday is only applicable to Hindu civil servants and not all civil servants. So, we still expect all UTC/JPJ counters to be opened throughout this week, please.

4. AROUND THE WORLD 🌎

Israeli retaliated on Iran, continues assault on UNIFIL
Israel has struck back at Iran on Saturday, by targeting 20 military bases across the Persian state, including missile and drone manufacturing sites and air defence systems, killing 4 Iranian soldiers. The anticipated attack was in retaliation to a missile barrage launched by Iran on Oct 1, where Iran sent an estimated 180 ballistic missiles fired towards Tel Aviv and military bases. 

As expected, Israel’s strong allies, the US and the UK, called the Israeli attack a legitimate act of “self-defence”, and urged Iran not to strike back and end it there. IDF spokesperson Rear Adm Daniel Hagari said the military had demonstrated its preparedness "to defend the state of Israel" and warned if Iran started a new round of escalation, Israel would be "obliged to respond".

Responding to the “calls”, Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that Iranian military officials should decide how to respond to the Israeli attack on Iran, but the event carried out by the “evil Zionist regime” should neither be minimised nor exaggerated.

Meanwhile in Lebanon, Israel in its continuous utter disregard of international laws has opened fire on UNIFIL's South Lebanon Dhayra post, prompting the peacekeeping guards to withdraw from the post for fears of being shot at. UNIFIL reported that the Israeli military has repeatedly demanded that they vacate its positions along the Blue Line and has deliberately damaged camera, lighting and communications equipment at some of these positions. Five peacekeepers have already been injured since the start of Israeli ground operation in Lebanon on Oct 1. UNIFIL positions have been affected at least 20 times, including by direct fire and an incident on Oct 13 when two Israeli tanks burst through the gates of a UNIFIL base, according to the UN.

Business

• Mercedes’s Q3 reports over 50% profit drop as sales plummet in China
  German auto-titan Mercedes-Benz seems to be struggling in the China market too - the luxury carmaker said that its profits in Q3 plunged by more than 50%. Their net profit came in at EUR1.72 bil (RM8 bil), down from EUR3.7 bil a year ago, while sales slipped almost 7% to EUR34.5 bil.  Vehicle deliveries fell 3%, dragged down by a 13% fall in China. Sales of its most profitable luxury cars worldwide fell 12%. All these are attributed to a challenging market environment and fierce competition, particularly in China. When China sneezes, the world catches a cold. View its earnings report here.

• Waymo raises USD5.6bil from Alphabet, a16z, Silver Lake, and more
  Autonomous vehicle company Waymo has sealed a USD5.6 bil funding round led by parent company Alphabet (Google’s parent co.) and joined by other Silicon Valley venture firms (a16z, Silver Lake, and more). Alphabet had previously announced in July that it was pledging another USD5 bil to Waymo, but did not disclose any details, saying only that it was a “multi-year” commitment. This is Waymo’s second external fundraising round, and its first since a USD2.25 bil Series B in 2020 that eventually grew to USD3.2 bil. The autonomous vehicle company says it will use the funds to expand into new cities and further develop its autonomous capabilities for “business applications.”

• iPhone16 is only allowed into Indonesia for personal use and prohibited for sale
  The Indonesian government is still not happy with Apple, who is yet to fulfil its pledge of investing IDR1.71 tril (USD109.4 mil) in Indonesia, which is required before it can obtain the licence to sell the phones locally. Apple has only invested IDR1.48 tril thus far. However, the government is still giving the public a chance to own an iPhone 16 - travellers to Indonesia are allowed to bring their iPhone 16 into the country but sales of the phones are not allowed. Each passenger is allowed to bring up to two iPhone 16s into Indonesia. Indonesia has seen about 9,000 iPhone 16s brought into the country as personal baggage, with taxes paid, between August and October. iPhone 16 units that enter Indonesia through postal services for non-commercial use are also allowed as they do not need to meet the local investment target.

Women called to be one step ahead of osteoporosis and reduce the risks early
Osteoporosis is known to haunt women of menopausal age, exposing them to bigger risks of falls and bone-breaking incidents. According to the Royal Osteoporosis Society, 1 in 2 UK women over 50, will get a fracture due to osteoporosis. 

Women make up two-thirds of osteoporosis sufferers, thanks to hormones which plummet around menopause and declining bone strength by 10-20%. Women in their late 40s are more prone to fragility fractures, with low bone mineral density that makes their bones look like a Crunchie bar inside - honeycombed with big holes.

Research has shown that there are effective ways to protect women from fractures, namely muscle-building, weight-bearing exercise, along with intake of vitamin D, magnesium and calcium-rich foods. Doctors may also offer a form of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) to slow bone loss and promote new growth, where oestrogen in HRT plays a role in maintaining bone density, balancing the constant removal and regrowth that occurs in menopause. 

Shorts

1. Influencer couples who split could face a tough fight over valuable social media accounts
   Social media accounts have now become a valuable asset, particularly to influencers who make a fortune from creating contents for millions of followers. It's messy for influencer couples though - what happens if they get a divorce? According to a report in WSJ, lawyers are facing problems on how to assess the value of their joint social media accounts, especially in couples who showcase their love life online as their content. For the lawyers charged with pinning a dollar value to the accounts to divide them fairly, it’s way harder than assessing a house or car. For context, advertisers in the US pay content creators USD26 bil in 2023, according to Statista. There are 27 mil paid content creators in the US, and 44% of them say social media is their full-time job.

2. Japan convicts man of abusing AI to generate ransomware
   25-year-old Ryuki Hayashi has become the first person in Japan convicted for criminal activities related to generative AI, where he was found guilty of creating a ransomware-like computer virus using illegal source code obtained via generative AI. He was sentenced to 3 years in prison and suspended for 4 years. He became a police suspect after allegedly using fake identification to obtain a SIM card registered under someone else’s name in March. However, Tokyo police have said that the virus did not cause any damage as Hayashi is thought to have failed to obtain a programme needed to put the malware into practical use.

5. FOR YOUR EYES 📺

Today’s special: Elon Musk and Space

1. Elon Musk explains the economics of getting to Mars from Earth

2. Elon Musk sharing about overregulation encountered by SpaceX. Interesting read, for its comedic value (on the regulators side).

3. An interesting perspective of the recent landing of Starship’s Super Heavy caught by a spectator