☕️ MACC: New chief appointed, Padini's certain bank accounts frozen

1. MARKET SUMMARY 📈

2. NUMBERS AT A GLANCE 🔢

700,000 barrels per day in domestic consumption – Malaysia needs to import crude oil despite having its own oil production because domestic consumption is much higher than the 350,000 barrels it produces per day. According to the Finance Ministry, 48% of Malaysia’s petroleum products are refined by Petronas, while the remainder is done by other oil companies in the country. Malaysia’s domestic production makes up 48% of its total consumption, while another 38% comes through the Strait of Hormuz. A further 7% is sourced from the Southeast Asian region, West Africa, and others, with the last 7% coming from West Asia.

RM1.1 mil for registration number P1P – The number fetched this amount through a special tender, with the “P_P” series raising a total of RM21.6 mil amid strong public participation. The registration number series was introduced in conjunction with the Road Transport Department’s 80th anniversary, with RM19.19 mil raised from bids and RM2.48 mil in service fees. Bids were submitted via the JPJeBid system, with 19,370 bidders taking part in the exercise. Transport Minister Anthony Loke said the initiative was a way to boost the department’s revenue, with the proceeds channelled to rakyat-centric programmes. The other million-ringgit car plate, P9P, went for RM1,000,777.

6,252 accepted back to Umno – Among the thousands of former leaders and members at division and branch levels welcomed back were former vice president Hishammuddin Hussein and former Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin. They were accepted back to the party unconditionally under the Gagasan Rumah Bangsa initiative, which was decided by the Umno Supreme Council and the Rumah Bangsa Committee.

3. IN MALAYSIA 🇲🇾

Azam Baki is out
Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Chief Commissioner Azam Baki will no longer be MACC’s chief past the end of his current one-year contract. PM Anwar, with the consent of the King, has appointed a retired judge, Abdul Halim Aman, as the new top man for the MACC job, as he is not associated with any major business interests or political parties. The unprecedented move seeks to calm months of political turbulence over alleged misconduct linked to the watchdog’s outgoing head. So, is Azam Baki off the hook from his current allegations of misconduct? According to Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil, the investigation report on Azam Baki is completed and now is on the table of the Chief Secretary to the Government, for him to decide on the next steps. He even added that the findings from the special investigation committee had been presented to the Cabinet. Prior to this, the government had established a special committee to examine the allegations related to Azam Baki’s share ownership. If nothing happens to him, we believe that the 200-odd people who protested against him over the weekend will not be happy.

As Azam Baki steps down, his successor has these cases to attend to:

Padini: MACC has frozen a few bank accounts related to Padini Holdings Bhd, a Malaysian-based apparel brand and Bursa-listed company. Padini said that the accounts, held by the group and its subsidiaries, were frozen pursuant to Section 44(1) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001. However, the accounts are not the ones used in its day-to-day operations, so the company’s shops are still open for customers. The company said the investigations involve certain external counterparties, who are not employees, officers, or part of the group’s management.

Misappropriation of RM230 mil by NGOs: MACC stated that up to 40 individuals will be called up to assist in the anti-graft investigation into the allegations that some NGOs took up an irregular amount of commission for collecting public donations. The NGO was taking 60% from the collected donations, while the remaining 40% was channelled to the respective states that authorised the fundraising activities. MACC even uncovered that some of the funds were used for the expenses of the individuals and their family members.

What’s new in sports

Badminton to become 3×15 format: After being endorsed during its annual general meeting, the badminton governing body, Badminton World Federation (BWF) will now adopt ‘3×15’ system after January 2027, where players will require only 15 points to win a game, with the player who wins two games taking the match. The current 3x21 system, adopted by the BWF in ‌2006, needs a player to score ⁠at least 21 points ⁠to win a game.

Pocket Rocketman clinches gold: National cyclist and our pride and joy, 38-year-old Azizulhasni Awang, stunned current world champion Harrie Lavreysen to claim keirin gold at the UCI Track World Cup in Nilai. This is his second keirin gold in the World Cup series this season after winning in Perth last month. An intense finish - watch the final sprint!

The one that got away
According to The Edge, PM Anwar has shelved the plan to adopt the Universal Recruitment Advance Platform (Turap) to replace the controversial Foreign Workers Centralised Management System (FWCMS), where both systems are developed by the same company - Bestinet Sdn Bhd, founded by Bangladesh-born Malaysian businessman Aminul Islam Abdul Nor. He has been linked to allegations of exploitation of Bangladeshi migrant workers through opaque business practices. Aminul has denied the allegations, but he is still wanted in Dhaka for charges of money laundering and trafficking of migrant workers. Back to FWCMS, Aminul stated previously that it does not cost the government anything, but it does cost Putrajaya a huge reputational risk due to the opaque workers recruitment practices deployed under FWCMS.

4. AROUND THE WORLD 🌎

Trump assassination attempt #3 - alive and well
US President Donald Trump was rushed offstage at the Washington Hilton hotel on Saturday, after gunfire broke out outside the ballroom (watch evacuation here) where the annual White House correspondents’ dinner media gala was taking place. Trump and the First Lady, Melania Trump, were unharmed in the attack. In a news conference after the incident, Trump said the suspect had been arrested. The US attorney for the District of Columbia said the suspect would be charged with using a firearm during a crime or violence and assault on federal officers using a dangerous weapon. Nothing surprising here - Trump has been targeted in multiple assassination attempts, including a near-miss shooting during his 2024 presidential campaign. Read more on the three assassination attempts on Trump here.

The irony is that the dinner was Trump’s first attendance at the gala as the President, after years of avoiding the event. Trump has previously declined five invitations to attend, across his first and second terms, despite the event being a decades-old tradition since 1921. Since he launched his first presidential campaign, Trump has taken a hostile approach towards the media, issuing both personal attacks on journalists and lawsuits against news organisations for coverage he deems unfair.

Never mind the chaos - watch one dinner attendee nonchalantly eating as the panic unfolded. He knows he’s not the target.

US-Iran peace talks: Trump scraps talks in Islamabad
How’s your portfolio looking this morning? If red, this could be the reason.Trump said yesterday that he has cancelled his envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner’s visit to Islamabad for a new round of US-Iran negotiations, due to too much travel and expense for what he considered an inadequate Iranian offer. The move has effectively dampened the hopes for a diplomatic breakthrough, as both Tehran and Washington showed little sign of softening their positions. Although a ceasefire has paused full‑scale fighting in the conflict, no agreement has been reached on terms to end a war that has killed thousands, driven up oil prices, fuelled inflation and darkened the outlook for global growth.

US has 3 aircraft carriers in West Asia since 2003
The US now has three aircraft carriers in West Asia for the first time in 23 years, with the arrival of the USS George HW Bush, joining the other two carriers in the region, the USS Abraham Lincoln and USS Gerald R Ford, the largest in the world. The last time the US amassed that amount of military assets in the region was during the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. All this amid the fragile ceasefire with Iran, which could also indicate the US’s preparedness to return to fighting if the ceasefire breaks. Why enter a ceasefire talk but park more aircraft carriers in the region? Analysts speculate this is to buy time for a larger attack. 

Nearer to home

Indonesia’s graft: “Simpanan pejabat” (aka gfs)
There is a way of “cleaning” graft money among corrupt government officials in Indonesia, and that is through a girlfriend or mistress dubbed as “simpanan pejabat” in the local language. After taking the graft money and channelling it to the families and charities, the balance of the money is usually spent on a mistress, who often enjoys a luxurious lifestyle. According to the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), many corrupt male officials, who account for 91% of the offenders, funnel their ill-gotten gains through their mistresses, and sometimes it also leads to adultery or vice versa. According to data from watchdog Indonesia Corruption Watch, only 103 defendants were indicted on money laundering charges between 2020 and 2024, despite there being 515 corruption indictments during the same period. Seems like the mistress method works very well. Friends with benefits, yes?

Thai and Vietnamese farmers may stop planting rice because of the Iran war
The West Asia conflict has led to higher freight costs for food exporters worldwide, including the biggest rice exporters, Thailand and Vietnam. Thailand’s target is to export 7 mil tonnes of rice globally this year, but its exports have totally stopped since the war because vessels are unable to sail through the Strait of Hormuz. Iraq is Thailand’s largest rice importer, buying 1 mil tonnes of the Thai grains in 2025 alone. In Vietnam, experts have warned that a prolonged war would disrupt the country’s exports. Although the impact is not yet severe, rising costs will lead to decreased efficiency in production and eventually, rice farmers will have to consider switching crops. For Vietnamese food exporters, the most painful metric is sea freight cost, which has been soaring by 25% to 35% to date.

Shorts

1. Meta, Microsoft: Cut staff costs, boost AI spend

   Employees at Meta and Microsoft are facing the brunt of the AI push, as both companies reportedly take drastic actions to trim their workforces to offset their heavy spending in AI. Meta plans to cut 10% of its workers, roughly 8,000 employees, beginning mid-May, and said that it would not be filling 6,000 open roles. Meanwhile, Microsoft is offering voluntary buyouts to its 8,750 out of 125,000 of its US employees. Meta has announced several multibillion-dollar deals with AI partners over the past few months, and Microsoft is racing to construct data centres around the world has announced new AI investments in Japan and Australia.

2. No French Open for defending champ Carlos Alcaraz

   Two-time French Open champion Carlos Alcaraz has announced his withdrawal from the upcoming French Open after a series of tests over a recurring wrist injury. The 22-year-old athlete will also withdraw from the ATP Masters 1000 Rome. Alcaraz’s team said that it will wait to determine the seriousness of the injury before putting a time frame on his return to the court. Get well soon.

5. FOR YOUR EYES 📺

It’s a robot world

1. Ping-pong: Robot vs Human. Guess who won? The robot, called Ace, was created by Sony’s AI research division.

2. One of China’s Six Little Dragons, Unitree, is out with another of its insane robotics stunt - robots on wheels. Straight out of a Transformer scene here.

3. The best robots aren’t those that can shoot missiles or skate, but are those that clean our houses. Watch this Italian guy ordering a robot to clean his house in Shenzhen, China.

4. Even robots love showboating. Halfway through the Beijing half-marathon last week, one of the robots stopped running and broke into some random dance and kungfu moves.