☕️ The Art of Durian: Growing China market, 3 top-secret premium durian variant, durian experience centre

1. MARKET SUMMARY 📈

2. NUMBERS AT A GLANCE 🔢

40.3 days – That’s the amount of time an average person spends per year (~11%) on social media, equating to an average daily time of 2 hours and 39 minutes. Taking the world average life expectancy of 73 and assuming the sign-up age on social media platforms is age 16, the average person would spend 6.3 years or 8.6% of their lives on social media. That doom-scrolling really adds up, doesn’t it?

17.4 mil – Vozinha, Cape Verde’s 40-year-old goalkeeper, became an overnight worldwide sensation after a stellar performance led to his team drawing 0-0 against World Cup favourite Spain. His 50,000 Instagram followers ballooned to 17.4 mil, surpassing sports legends such as the NFL’s Tom Brady, who has 15.5 mil followers. However, experts and analysts suggest that the prospects of such a boom in social media fame can be fleeting, and it comes down to whether or not athletes like Vozinha can harness that fame to generate lucrative financial opportunities. Cape Verde got knocked out by Argentina (3-2) over the weekend, but they put up a good fight until the end, into extra time and amazing goals - highlights here.

Messi vs Vozinha anime style below. Made with ByteDance’s Seedance 2.0. Scary how AI is progressing, for better or worse.

79,274 gigawatt-hours – The electricity consumption of data centres in Malaysia is expected to increase to that amount, taking up a third of the nation’s projected electricity supply by 2035. This compares with just 10,544 gigawatt-hours or 7% of the national electricity supply consumed at present. According to Energy Transition and Water Transformation Minister Fadillah Yusof, the government is taking measures to ensure stable and reliable power, such as extending the operation of existing thermal plants and adding gas-based generation capacity through an open bidding process.

3. IN MALAYSIA 🇲🇾

Durian akan runtuh
China, here we come: The Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (Matrade) Minister Counsellor and Trade Commissioner at the Embassy of Malaysia in Beijing, Niqman Rafaee M Sahar, said that Malaysia is targeting to increase its durian exports to China to up to RM932.3 mil by 2030. The country is targeting both the fresh and frozen durian markets, as fresh durian exports grew by more than 500%, from about RM20.4 mil to RM150.6 mil in 2025 alone. Frozen durian exports reached nearly RM822.3 mil in 2025. At the moment, Malaysia controls 4-5% of China’s durian market, betting almost exclusively on our Black Thorn and Musang King variants.

Beyond Musang King: However, the Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (Mardi) is not resting on its laurels as Mardi is prepping three top-secret premium durian variants. At the moment, the varieties are currently being evaluated for fruit quality, consumer acceptance and suitability for cultivation by farmers. Additionally, Mardi is intensifying its efforts to increase the supply of its homegrown existing premium durian varieties, namely MS88, MDUR78 and MDUR79, that were introduced in the early 2000s. To date, about 25,000 trees of MS88 has been planted over 242 hectares of land.

Durian centre of excellence: MyBolehBoleh, with the support of the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture Malaysia (MOTAC), has launched the Kuala Lumpur Durian Experience Centre (KLDEX) (view IG here), during the Malaysia Durian Festival 2026. Spanning 1,900 sq m, KLDEX brings together a durian museum, immersive theatre, food and beverage outlets, interactive workshops and cultural storytelling under one roof.

No sex offender registry = more sexual abuse
Commenting on the recent case of suspected molest and sodomy of two teenage students, police stated that the college that employed the suspect did not conduct any background check before hiring him. The suspect had a record involving sexual offences and has been working at the automotive college for about two years. At the moment, the suspect, who allegedly molested a 15-year old boy in a hostel toilet and sodomised another 15-year-old boy at his house in Section 18, has been arrested.

This case has triggered the conversation over establishing a national sex offender registry to enable schools, childcare centres, tuition centres, religious institutions, sports academies and organisations working with children to conduct proper background checks before hiring employees or accepting volunteers. At present, employers and schools have no practical or standardised mechanism to determine whether an applicant has a history of sexual offences against children.

Shorts

1. Axiata plans to spin off Edotco
   Maybank Investment Bank projected that the divestment of Edotco Group Sdn Bhd could unlock RM3.1 bil to RM5.6 bil to Axiata Group Bhd, paring Axiata’s net debt from 2.4 times to 0.6 - 2.1 times. Edotco operates and manages more than 47,000 towers across eight countries - Malaysia, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, the Philippines and Laos. Axiata has a 63% stake in Edotco, while sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional Bhd owns 32% and the rest is held by Retirement Fund Inc, also known as KWAP.

2. Sultan Kedah urges review the Penang lease payment

   Kedah Sultan Sallehuddin called out Putrajaya to review the lease payment for Penang based on current rates. His Royal Highness stated that the lease payment is based on a long-standing agreement where the fee is outdated and far lower than what it should be. In 2021, Kedah demanded RM100 mil a year from the federal government as a “lease payment” for Penang island and Seberang Perai. Putrajaya has been paying RM10,000 per annum since forever before the fee is revised to RM10 mil annually in 2018.

4. AROUND THE WORLD 🌎

Massive six-day funeral for slain Ali Khamenei begins
Up to 30 mil people gathered in the sprawling Grand Mosalla mosque in central Tehran for the funeral of the former Iranian supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, on Saturday. His ⁠37-year reign ended in February by the first airstrike of the war launched by the US and Israel. After a day lying in state indoors for senior Iranian leaders and foreign officials to visit, Khamenei's coffin was displayed outdoors on Saturday under glass, along with those of his daughter, son-in-law, daughter-in-law and 14-month-old granddaughter. The scale of the six-day, five-city funeral has been conceived to relay political and religious messages of resistance to the rest of the world. At the request of Iraqi politicians, Khamenei’s body will also be carried through the Iraqi Shia cities of Karbala and Najaf. Three sons of Ali Khamenei - Mostafa, Meysam and Masoud - were seen praying beside his coffin and those of four other family members on Sunday, but Mojtaba, the son who has succeeded him as Iran's supreme leader, was nowhere to be seen. From Malaysia, Agriculture Minister Mat Sabu will be representing the country as PM Anwar, who was invited to attend could not make it due to prior commitments.

CSAM - child sexual abuse materials

UK agencies warn parents of AI child sexual abuse imagery
The National Crime Agency (NCA) in the UK has warned parents about posting images of their children online, as it could be used to create AI-generated sexual abuse material. The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) has detected a sharp rise in the use of AI tools to create child sexual abuse imagery, with 3,440 AI-generated videos found by analysts in 2025 compared to just 13 in 2024.

A UK school was recently targeted by criminal gangs who used publicly available pictures of pupils to create sexual images of the children using AI, then threatening to release the images unless a payment was made. Such cases are feared to recur in the future, as AI-generated child sexual abuse images become more widespread and realistic as the technology improves. Parents are encouraged to review the privacy settings on social media accounts, think carefully about who can access images of their children, and talk openly with family, friends, schools and clubs about image sharing and consent.

BBC investigation: Instagram found running paid ads promoting child sexual abuse material
An investigation by BBC has found that Meta-owned Instagram has been running ads promoting child sexual abuse in India, using words like "rape video" and "child video”. Some links take users to channels on the messaging app Telegram, where they can buy the material for as little as INR99 (~RM4.24). Note that the distribution of child sexual abuse material and adult pornography are criminal offences in India, while Meta's policy states that ads must not contain adult nudity, genitals or content that sexually exploits or endangers children. But Instagram responded to reports by BBC, saying the post did not violate its "community guidelines". 

Adverts are an important source of income for Meta - In January, it reported that almost 98% of its USD 200 bil revenue for the financial year ending 2025 came from advertising. Analysts estimate that ads account for more than 90% of Instagram's revenue.

FIFA World Cup

Will England survive at Azteca?
The Mexico vs England match on Sunday evening in Mexico City (that’s 8 am today in Malaysia) is the most talked-about fixture of this knockout round. The game will be played in Azteca Stadium, the largest in Latin America, and is a fortress-like home of co-hosts Mexico. The pitch sits 2,240 metres above sea level, meaning that the air is thinner and each breath delivers less oxygen to the body, and the ball travels faster and farther. For footballers, it means increased heart rate, shortness of breath, dehydration, quicker and more intense fatigue and delayed recovery. While England don’t have enough time to adapt physiologically before the knockout tie, co-hosts Mexico are accustomed to living and training at altitude and have played three of their four World Cup games at the Azteca. If it isn’t coming home, it’s the altitude’s fault.

French team can play beautiful football, but can also go to war
The Les Bleus have survived what journalists call a “disgraceful” and “embarrassing” dark arts by the Paraguay team, securing a quarter-final date with Morocco at Boston Stadium on Thursday through a 1-0 win against Paraguay. Paraguay was seen using “dirty tricks” in the heated game, which included foul moves that went unpunished. The extreme 38.3C heat had an impact too, with the game going down as one of the hottest World Cup matches of all-time. Yet France still found a way to overcome the heat and Paraguay's rough tactics. Highlights here.

Shorts

1. Nine monks rammed and killed in Thailand?
   A group of Buddhist monks in a pilgrimage procession was run over by an 11-year-old boy who drove his parents’ truck without permission, killing at least 9 of them in the town of Mukdahan, Thailand. The group of 34 Buddhist monks and five lay followers had been undertaking a ⁠pilgrimage from a temple in the province to another in neighbouring Ubon ‌Ratchathani. Police said the boy had taken his parents’ pickup truck without permission and had driven it for about 10 km when he lost control of the vehicle and crashed into the monks. Watch incident here - viewer discretion seriously advised.

2. JusT&T Married - Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce are married
   It’s official - megastar Taylor Swift and NFL footballer Travis Kelce are now married. The couple held a highly anticipated wedding at New York City’s Madison Square Garden, officiated by Adam Sandler, who is also the couple’s friend. Thousands of the “Swifties” gathered in blistering heat outside Madison Square Garden hoping to catch a glimpse of the festivities, even though the event was almost entirely hidden. In conjunction with the wedding, Swift and Kelce have also donated USD 26 mil to twenty named charities, including organisations in meaningful locations to the couple such as Nashville and Kansas City.

5. FOR YOUR EYES 📺

1. Mr Money interviews HR thought leader AuntyHR (IG here - valuable insights on HR law, career advice, work ethics etc.) on the various generations at work - Gen X, Gen Y and Gen Z. Tbf, each generation was brought up in a different environment, influence and exposure. So the key thing is to adapt rather than assign fault to a single generation. Change is the only constant.

2. Asset declaration is important to provide transparency. In PSM’s case, interestingly. It raised a different set of unique questions - how responsible is one with their finances? If they aren’t, how capable are they for public leadership when public finances drive policies? Don’t get the wrong idea that only the rich can run for public office - dive deeper into his debt composition and you will understand why.

3. Instead of an egalitarian society, a feudalistic one we are, but why?

Gen Y, this is for you - Tokyo Drift but orchestra version by Kazakhstan’s first independent symphony orchestra. Have a good start to the week!