☕️ +1 day extra holiday for Raya

1. MARKET SUMMARY 📈

2. NUMBERS AT A GLANCE 🔢

RM3.2 bil – That’s how much the government is paying each month to subsidise petrol and diesel and keep the Budi95 programme running. According to the Ministry of Finance, the total is now more than four times the RM700 mil spent from before the Iran conflict. Of the monthly RM3.2 bil, RM2 bil goes to subsidising petrol, while the remaining RM1.2 bil goes towards diesel. According to PM Anwar Ibrahim, Malaysia’s oil reserves can last until May. However, RON95 subsidies alone could reach RM24 bil by end-2026 if the Iran conflict continues.

If you are wondering why we are still affected as an oil exporting nation:

2.5 mil – That’s the number of criminal case registrations between 2021 and Nov 2025, an increase of 63%. Civil case registrations jumped 60% over the same period to 483,933. According to Chief Justice Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh, a rise in cases indicates that society has faith in its judiciary. However, the limited number of judicial officers in Malaysia has resulted in heavy caseloads, leading to delays and an uneven distribution of workloads across states and districts.
Learn: Difference between civil vs criminal cases.

83 seats – That’s how many seats UMNO has lost since 2004, according to PAS vice-president Idris Ahmad. He highlighted the number as evidence of the party’s decline over the years, claiming UMNO peaked in 2004. This was a response to UMNO President Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s call for PAS to honour the words of late PAS spiritual leader Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat, who said the Islamist party would dissolve if UMNO placed Islam as the foundation of its constitution. Zahid said that, upon taking over UMNO’s leadership, he placed Islam in the party’s constitution, therefore PAS should dissolve. Idris suggested that the two parties should compete instead of asking each other to dissolve.

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3. IN MALAYSIA 🇲🇾

The Ministry of Education (MOE) is reviewing WFH and home-based learning
Education director-general Dr Mohd Azam Ahmad stated that the MOE will hold a special meeting this week to review the policies, so that in the event PM Anwar announces the measure, the ministry will be ready. Mohd Azam added that the MOE will leverage its experience with WFH during the Covid-19 pandemic to develop a more robust strategy. The MOE needs to be very tactful in its decision-making as recent experiences showed otherwise. The MOE can take the New York example as home-based learning needs to align with nationwide WFH policies. If parents still need to go to the office while schools are closed, it just does not make sense. Siapa nak jaga the kids?

Even Ah Longs have manners
During a rush by the Malaysia International Humanitarian Organisation to an alleged loan shark premise, a phone that was found at the premise allegedly owned by one of the loan sharks contained a 69-page work code, detailing strict conduct, from dress codes and attendance to bans on gambling and drugs. The work code also includes the dos and don’ts, including restrictions on intimidation tactics commonly associated with illegal money lenders. Punctuality and dress code (i.e. no slippers, t-shirts on duty, no carrying bags that would make them look like Ah Long) are emphasised too. Such tactics include assaulting borrowers, splashing red paint on homes and padlocking their doors. The content in the phone appeared to be too damaging to the loan sharks that the owner of the phone attempted to buy it back for RM2 mil, but was rejected.

Raya matters: +1 day holiday, traffic app
PM Anwar Ibrahim announced an additional public holiday for the upcoming Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebrations. The extra holiday will be observed on either Friday or Monday surrounding the festival, depending on when the first day of Raya is officially declared.

• Scenario one: If the first day of Raya falls on Friday, March 20, then Monday, March 23, will be declared the extra public holiday.

• Scenario two: If the first day of Raya falls on Saturday, March 21, then Friday, March 20, will be declared the extra public holiday.

On a related note, Deputy Works Minister Ahmad Maslan said that highway users are encouraged to use TuJu, an application developed by the Malaysian Highway Authority (LLM), for the best route to avoid congestion. Get the app here - Apple App Store and Google Play.

Some of your burning questions on this additional public holiday are answered by AuntyHR here.

Business

Sunway’s IJM offer: Not fair, not reasonable
Supported by a report by its independent advisor, M&A Securities, IJM Corp’s board has urged its shareholders to reject an RM11 bil takeover bid by Sunway, as the former deemed the latter’s offer as ‘not fair and not reasonable’. As per M&A Securities, Sunway’s RM3.15 per share represents a discount between 46.1% and 51.4% to the estimated value of IJM shares, based on a sum-of-parts (SOPV) valuation. SOPV is a fairly accurate measure as it accounts for the synergistic value of a conglomerate. However, SOPV may overvalue a company if a conglomerate like IJM is being broken up post-acquisition. Sunway’s offer price represents a 14.5% premium to IJM’s last closing price at the time the proposal was announced.

The US-Malaysia ART deal is now voided
PM Anwar’s landmark deals during US President Donald Trump’s visit to Malaysia have all gone to waste. After the failed truce between Thailand and Cambodia, the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART) has now been deemed void after the US Supreme Court ruled Trump’s broad tariff measures as unlawful. Investment & Trade Minister Johari Abdul Ghani confirmed the matter, but we should not relax yet. The US (or Trump) is using other tools, such as the temporary 10% tariff under Section 122 of the Trade Act, which could be followed by a review under the more stringent Section 301, as bargaining chips with other nations.

China’s ByteDance gets access to top Nvidia AI chips in Malaysia
According to the Wall Street Journal, TikTok’s Chinese parent, ByteDance, is skirting the US-imposed ban on Chinese firms getting the latest US chips by working with partners outside China that provide cloud services that are powered by the latest chips. For example, ByteDance is working with Southeast Asian firm Aolani Cloud to deploy about 500 Nvidia Blackwell computing systems in Malaysia, where the whole setup will cost about USD2.5 bil. At the moment, Aolani operates about USD100 mil worth of hardware.

4. AROUND THE WORLD 🌎

US vs Iran, but Russia wins: Trump eases Russian oil sanctions

An unpopular decision: In an effort to ease the economic impact from the global oil crisis triggered by its war on Iran, the US has eased sanctions on countries buying Russian oil, with a waiver set to last for one month. Russia is happy, but not the pro-Ukraine campaigners and certainly not the Europeans. Experts argue that the move is a “serious bailout” for Putin’s regime, but Ukraine campaigners say that it is “a terrible decision that will enrich Vladimir Putin and prolong the war in Ukraine”. Britain, Canada and Germany are against the easing of sanctions. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said six out of seven G7 leaders believed anti-Russian sanctions should remain in place.

A possible win for Russia: Research estimates that monthly Russian oil exports could be boosted by around USD10 bil (RM39.38 bil) with half of this being paid in tax straight to the Russian government. A Finnish research organisation says the move would still allow Russia to clear some stocks and boost production.

The world still needs the Strait of Hormuz: Analysts say that allowing more Russian oil onto the market could help ease the upward pressure on the oil price, but the ultimate solution remains the same - oil needs to flow through the Strait of Hormuz again.

AI: When good becomes bad

Behold the AI “Brain Fry”
A Harvard Business Review study found that excessive use of AI at work can lead to “Brain Fry”, a phenomenon in which employees experience cognitive exhaustion from intensive oversight of AI agents. It is a mental fatigue from excessive use or oversight of AI tools beyond one’s cognitive capacity; in other words, too much effort needs to be made to make sure that the AI tool is performing accordingly. Participants in the study reported a “buzzing” feeling or a mental fog with difficulty focusing, slower decision-making, and headaches. This AI-associated mental strain carries high costs in the form of increased employee errors, decision fatigue, and intention to quit. The study found that employees in marketing, HR, operations, engineering, finance, and IT were most likely to report AI-related mental fatigue. Read the HBR study here.

AI toys raise concerns over “psychological safety”
Research done on AI-powered toys designed for toddlers has revealed a disturbing psychological risk - it could confuse children who are at a developmental stage for social interaction and cues. Researchers studied an AI toy called Gabbo that contains a voice-activated AI chatbot from OpenAI and is designed to encourage pre-schoolers to talk to it and carry out imaginative play. However, Gabbo misread emotions and talked over them, and could not differentiate between child and adult voices and responded awkwardly to declarations of affection. After the year-long observational study, researchers are calling for regulators to ensure products marketed to under-fives offer “psychological safety”. They also call for parents to keep AI toys in shared spaces where they can supervise the toys’ interactions with the children.

Loot box games to get a minimum 16 age rating across Europe
The Pan-European Game Information body (PEGI) ratings organisation will soon give games featuring loot boxes an age rating of 16 across Europe, including in the UK. Loot boxes are an in-game feature allowing players to buy random mystery items with real or virtual currency, but recent research has found they blur the line between gaming and gambling. The PEGI age ratings are displayed on games sold in the UK and other countries in Europe to indicate their suitability for children of different ages. However, experts say that while the new ratings are a positive change, it is hard to see what difference they would make unless parents also took them seriously and play a role in educating and decide whether such games are suitable for their child.

Shorts

1. Qatari fund offers USD1.5 bil to take over Papa John’s
   Qatari-backed investment fund Irth Capital is said to have made an offer of USD47 (RM185) per share to pizza chain Papa John’s International, which could value the company at USD1.5 bil if the takeover comes to fruition. Irth Capital already owns roughly 10% of the company. The bid marks a second takeover attempt after a previous bid alongside Apollo Global Management last year. Irth, established in 2024 and backed by a member of the Qatari royal family, is led by co-founders Sheikh Mohamed bin Abdulla Al Thani and Matthew Bradshaw. Everyone wants a slice.

2. Humans might fly to the moon this April

   The mission to the Moon is back on track - NASA just announced that it is on track to launch its Artemis II mission in early April, which will see astronauts fly around (but not land on) the Moon for the first time in more than 50 years. Over the course of the 10-day mission, the astronauts are due to travel around the far side of the Moon, which is the side we never see from Earth, and back home again. Artemis II has already been delayed by two years after problems were found with the heat shield on the first Artemis mission, which saw the Space Launch System and Orion capsule fly to the Moon without any personnel aboard.

3. No F1 races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia this year

   The F1 Grand Prix scheduled for Bahrain and Saudi Arabia in April has been officially cancelled due to the conflict in the Middle East. This means that there will be a five-week gap between the Japanese Grand Prix on March 29 and the next race, the Miami Grand Prix, on May 3. Without any rescheduling, the 22-race schedule would be the shortest since 2023. The Qatar F1 round has been rescheduled for Oct 24. Meanwhile, PETRONAS must be proud to have Kimi Antonelli, who became the youngest F1 driver ever to take pole position for a full Grand Prix at the China race last weekend.

5. FOR YOUR EYES 📺

Know your law

1. Is it illegal to film someone in public in Malaysia?

2. Killing in the name of defence.

3. Accounting 101: When there’s yuge profit, but there’s no yuge cash.