☕️ Don’t play play with Singapore’s e-cigarette crackdown - jail, rehab, caning if caught

1. MARKET SUMMARY 📈

2. NUMBERS AT A GLANCE 🔢

Primatologist Jill Pruetz, after 25 years of pioneering research, has gained a wealth of data on a tribe of wild Fongoli chimpanzees. However, these 35 chimps exist on the extreme edge of what is possible for their species, offering clues to human evolution while displaying adaptation to the heat of the savannah at a time when temperatures are on the rise. The tribe has been observed soaking in pools and resting in caves to cool off during the hot season, which reaches a peak of 49 degrees Celsius. The females have also proven to be the most groundbreaking members of the tribe by being the only non-human animal to systematically use tools to hunt. They have been observed whittling sticks into spears, usually with their teeth, to hunt bush babies in the rainy season, by impaling the small primates as they shelter in tree holes. This is some real Planet of the Apes stuff. Ape together strong, right? Check out the spear-hunting in action here.

Botswana lifted the quota for elephant trophy hunting in Dec 2025, raising the allowed number from 410 to 430. The government’s decision is an attempt to keep the elephant population in check while helping rural communities generate revenue. However, conservationists and scientists have raised concerns that the sharp increase in quota numbers would undermine the long-term health of elephant populations and exacerbate human-wildlife conflict. Trophy hunting is the practice of legally killing wild animals and taking a highly valued part of their bodies, like a tusk or horn. The world currently has 460,000 elephants, and the African continent is home to 415,000. Botswana has more than 130,000 elephants, nearly one-third of all the elephants in Africa. Back in 2024, Botswana threatened to export 20,000 of their elephants to Germany in a dispute over elephant conservation.

Still in Africa, a new study by the National Centre for Earth Observation at the Universities of Leicester, Sheffield and Edinburgh in the UK found that human activity has caused some rainforests to switch from being carbon sinks to carbon sources. In effect, the forests went from removing carbon from the environment to contributing carbon to it. Currently, Africa’s forests are responsible for 20% of global carbon removal. The largest forest in Africa, the Congo rainforest (view map here), is the second largest in the world after the Amazon and is often called the ‘lungs of Africa’. The report found that between 2011 and 2017, Africa’s forests lost 106 mil tonnes in biomass each year, severely reducing their ability to absorb carbon. The impact of human activity stems from increased logging for natural resources or additional farmland, as well as the exponential increase in carbon output due to the burning of fossil fuels.

3. IN MALAYSIA 🇲🇾

Putrajaya to freeze all military procurements
After PM Anwar Ibrahim instructed to temporarily shelve procurement decisions linked to corruption issues, the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) is now in full alert mode and seeking more information on the directive to assess the impact on the nation’s defence readiness and operational continuity. All procurements for the Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF) and the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) will be affected, spanning across two ministries, MINDEF and the Home Ministry. The temporary freeze will be in effect until all procurement processes are reviewed and restructured to ensure transparency.

According to a defence industry source, major military procurement often involves multiple ministries, including the Finance Ministry itself, and the procurement procedures alone are robust on their own. But certain top officials manipulated the process, either by tweaking the tender requirements to favour a certain company (like what happened with the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) scandal) or when multiple bids are submitted by proxies of the same company.

To recap, the LCS case saw the government paying RM6.083 bil to Boustead Naval Shipyard Sdn Bhd via direct negotiation, yet not even a single vessel was delivered. Read The Edge’s cover story on this LCS scandal here and here. 

In the similar organisation (i.e. army) but a different matter, MINDEF is also probing into the party ‘Yeye’ or hedonistic culture, with 15 officers identified so far involved. Deputy Defence Minister Adly Zahari stated that inquiries are ongoing across all military branches, and if there is any breach of discipline, the ministry may bring the case before a military court.

PNB: Borrow in USD, pay in Gamuda shares
Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB) is working together with Gamuda Bhd with the former to issue its USD300 mil secured exchangeable sukuk. The sukuk is PNB’s first sukuk in US dollars, and the offering will be exchangeable into ordinary shares of Gamuda. While this move may be a symbolic one for PNB, as a matter of promoting Malaysia as a prominent Islamic financial hub and to push investment in products that have underlying assets (i.e. shares), but this decision is a positive move for Gamuda. Gamuda has started to feel the heat in its domestic playground as two of its biggest competitors, Sunway Group and IJM Corporation, will become one, via a RM11 bil acquisition of the latter by the former. So, this ‘collaboration’ with PNB may give a slight edge to Gamuda in the market. In 2006, Khazanah issued the similar instrument using Telekom Malaysia Bhd shares as the underlying asset.

Sukuk is the Shariah-equivalent of bonds. This financial certificates represent partial ownership in an asset or project, acting as an Islamic alternative to conventional bonds by avoiding interest (riba) and instead linking returns to the asset's performance. Learn more here.

The pig farms will be relocated to no-man’s land
After weeks of fiasco that involved the Sultan Selangor, Selangor state executive councillor Izham Hashim said that all pig farms, especially in Tanjung Sepat, will be relocated to Bukit Tagar. The place is the exact definition of ‘tempat jinn bertendang’ as there are no residential homes in the area, and it is near a landfill. The new state-of-the-art pig farm will be environmentally friendly, and the Sultan Selangor has consented to this proposal. However, one key aspect of the proposal is that the new pig farm will not be for export purposes, but only for domestic consumption. At the moment, Selangor has 69 active pig farms, with 120,000 pigs that could only meet 30% of the local demand. So, there is a possibility that this centralised pig farm in Bukit Tagar will be huge. To the east, Sarawak aims to export RM1 bil worth of live pigs by 2030.

School in the spotlight

The knife-wielding 15-year-old is deemed fit to stand trial
The lawyer of the 15-year-old male student who was accused of murdering his schoolmate at a school in Bandar Utama has stated that the boy has been declared fit to stand trial. The boy will be charged under Section 302 of the Penal Code, which carries a death sentence or imprisonment between 30 and 40 years and 12 strokes of the rotan. At the moment, the accused is being held at a correctional centre in Puncak Alam, receiving counselling and therapy sessions on a monthly basis.

Now all students must achieve at least a grade C in Bahasa Melayu, English, Mathematics and History
Education Director-General Mohd Azam Ahmad announced that under the new Education Blueprint 2026 - 2035, all students in primary and secondary schools must obtain at least a grade C in Bahasa Melayu, English, Mathematics and History, and failing to do so will lead to the students having to undergo ‘corrective actions’. The new Blueprint will be launched by PM Anwar Ibrahim tomorrow.

4. AROUND THE WORLD 🌎

We come to realise we just couldn’t avoid Trump. Don’t think a day goes by without a mentioning of the T word. Trump today in 2 parts

Part 1: Greenland - 25% tariff, protest

The 25% tariff: Trump had posted a lengthy post on Truth Social on Saturday, threatening up to 25% tariff on 8 European countries including Denmark, Germany, France and the UK – until the US is allowed to purchase Greenland. He said that it will be effective Feb 1, “on any and all goods sent to the United States of America”. He added that the tariff will increase to 25% on June 1, “due and payable until such time as a Deal is reached for the Complete and Total purchase of Greenland”. The EU continues to reaffirm their support for Denmark. Interestingly, a spokesperson on foreign policy for the chancellor’s Christian Democrat party, Jürgen Hardt, suggested that Germany could threaten to boycott the World Cup Trump is hosting this summer “as a last resort in order to get Trump to see sense on the Greenland issue”.

MAGA - Make America Go Away: On the same day, cities around Denmark including Copenhagen and Greenland’s capital, Nuuk, have erupted with protests against Trump’s plan to take over Greenland. The protests were organised by Greenlandic and Danish NGOs, who demand respect for the Danish Realm and for Greenland’s right to self-determination. Opinion polls suggest 85% of Greenlanders oppose the territory joining the US.

Part 2: Gaza - The Board of Peace

The Members: The White House is in the midst of naming members of Trump’s “Board of Peace” meant to oversee the post-war transition in Gaza, and it has been reported that Trump has invited leaders of Egypt, Turkiye and Jordan to join it. The White House has named 11 members so far - a mix of high-level government officials, billionaires (of course) and a family member too (of course).

USD1 bil member fee: With Trump, there’s a dollar to be made in any deals. The Gaza Board of Peace is apparently going to be formed under a broader Board of Peace, described in Trump’s charter as “an international organisation that seeks to promote stability, restore dependable and lawful governance, and secure enduring peace in areas affected or threatened by conflict.” But, the Trump administration is asking countries that want a permanent spot on his new Board of Peace to contribute at least USD1 bil. Critics are worried that Trump is trying to build an alternative, or rival, to the United Nations, which he has long criticised. The draft appears to suggest that Trump himself would control the money, something that would be considered unacceptable to most countries who could have potentially joined the board.

Israel not happy: Meanwhile, Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu raised opposition to the “Gaza executive board”, saying its composition “was not coordinated with Israel and runs contrary to its policy”. Is there any Palestinians on the board? There are none. Reporters said that Palestinians in the war-ravaged territory have noted that many of the people named to the “board of peace” have been major supporters of Israel and its war on the Gaza Strip. The Gaza people’s main concern is that the board members could prioritise “dominance [and] control over justice, reconstruction and the self-determination of the Palestinian people”.

Business

MrBeast takes crypto investor Bitmine USD200 mil investment
The biggest Ethereum (second largest crypto after Bitcoin) holding company in the world, Bitmine Immersion Technologies, has announced that it will invest USD 200 mil in Beast Industries, the holding company founded by YouTube star MrBeast aka Jimmy Donaldson. MrBeast announced plans to launch a financial services platform in December, in which Bitmine’s chairman Tom Lee said that he believes it will play a pivotal role in one of the financial sector’s fastest-growing markets. In a pitch deck shared in early 2025, Beast Industries described customized offerings that would target MrBeast’s audience, supported by financial literacy content. The deck listed nine potential offerings, including student loans, insurance, and credit insights. Beast Industries took in over USD 400 mil in revenue in 2024. In 2025, MrBeast sought to raise USD 200 mil to extend a USD 300 mil Series C round he’d raised in 2024 at a USD 5 bil valuation. With a following of at least 462 mil on MrBeast’s main YouTube channel, it’s easy to understand the appeal - that’s about 5% of the global population.

ChatGPT to start carrying adverts
OpenAI has announced that adverts will soon appear at the top of AI tool ChatGPT for users on the free service and a new subscription tier, called ChatGPT Go. This cheaper option will be available for all users worldwide, and will cost USD8 a month. OpenAI says they will not influence ChatGPT’s responses and the firm will not share data about conversations with advertisers. The company said that it decided to explore ads “so more people can benefit from our tools with fewer usage limits”, despite boss Sam Altman once saying he hated ads and describing them as “a last resort”.

Don’t play play with Singapore’s e-cigarette crackdown
Singapore is really serious about its e-cigarette crackdown, with authorities putting in place tough punishments and more targeted laws on the way. One could be jailed, sent to rehab and even caned if caught with an e-cigarette in Singapore. The World Health Organization (WHO) bulletin has called Singapore’s campaign a “turning point” that will “influence the next decade of global tobacco and drug policy”. In September the government rolled out new penalties for vapers including state-mandated rehabilitation and fines of up to SGD 10,000. Sellers could be jailed for up to 20 years and receive up to 15 strokes of the cane. A massive public health campaign has also blanketed the island, with a hotline been set up for the public to report anyone suspected of vaping. More than 2,600 reports were lodged in the first nine weeks.

5. FOR YOUR EYES 📺

Let’s travel to space today

1. Olympus Mons - the tallest mountain in the solar system, standing about 22-26 km high, nearly 3x taller than Mt Everest. Watch to understand how its low gravity allowed it to grow to such heights.

2. Viewing the aurora - from above.

3. A lightning that shoots upwards with red tentacles- astronauts in the International Space Station captured one of the atmosphere’s rarest light shows called Transient Luminous Events, which is extremely difficult to see from the ground. A bit of Stranger Things vibes.