☕️ How much food in $$$ Malaysians waste annually?

1. MARKET SUMMARY 📈

2. NUMBERS AT A GLANCE 🔢

Deputy Finance Minister Lim Hui Ying revealed to the Dewan Negara that as of February 29, the Inland Revenue Board (IRB) had enforced a total of 182,666 cases of travel restrictions abroad. Among these cases, 171,571 involved individuals with income tax arrears, while 11,095 cases involved individuals with Real Property Gains Tax (RPGT) arrears. So, if you’re planning an overseas trip, make sure you’ve paid your dues to the IRB. You can check travel restrictions at the Immigration Department’s site here.

In 2023, electronic payment (e-payment) adoption among Malaysians continued to surge, with a total of 11.5 bil transactions recorded compared to 9.5 bil in the previous year, according to data from Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM). This growth was further highlighted by a 20% increase in transactions per capita, rising from 285 to 343 transactions per capita in 2023. The expansion of e-payment usage was driven by increased consumption activity, with the total value of selected retail e-payment transactions climbing by 17% to reach RM592 bil.

China has funded more than 20,000 infrastructure projects across 165 countries from 2000 to 2021 under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), with aid or credit worth USD1.3 trillion (an average of USD65 mil per project). According to AidData, a research group, around two-thirds of Chinese financing goes to countries where neither China nor America holds a clear advantage. The group has identified a give-and-take strategy: if a foreign government increases its share of votes at the UN General Assembly (UNGA) that aligns with China’s by ten percentage points, it can expect an average increase of 276% in financing from Beijing. That’s some soft power. Malaysia is one of the major beneficiaries of the region. Here are some projects that have a “touch” of BRI — Bandar Malaysia, Malacca Gateway, Forest City, Gemas-Johor double tracking, East Coast Rail Link, Malaysia-China Kuantan Industrial Park and port, and KL-SG HSR.

3. IN MALAYSIA 🇲🇾

How much food in $$$ Malaysians waste annually?
Starting with the good news — 60.65 tonnes of food and drinks collected from 139 Ramadan bazaars nationwide worth RM724,770 (RM11.95 per kg) were saved in the MySaveFood@Ramadan 2024 programme, according to Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Deputy Minister Senator Fuziah Salleh. The corresponding greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) of 113,763 kg have also been prevented. The food and drinks saved were given to students, welfare homes, the homeless and those in need. 60.65 tonnes (60,650 kg) might sound a lot, but in 2023’s Ramadan, 86,117 tonnes of food waste were recorded. So, not even 0.1% of last year’s food waste was saved from the dumps.

Our estimation of food waste (take it with a fist of salt)
Using RM11.95/kg (2024’s value) multiplied by 86,117 tonnes of food waste (2023) = RM1.029 bil of food waste was recorded during Ramadan 2023. Separately, Malaysians threw away 17,379 tonnes of food waste daily in 2023, equivalent to 473g per individual. Using the same calculation method, that’s RM207.7 mil per day, RM75.8 bil per annum worth of food gobbled up by dump sites. That’s quite a staggering sum, assuming our coffee mathematics math out correctly. Please help double-check, fact-check it.

Yes yes, the base year ain’t correct, but this is our best effort to derive an approximation of just how much food we all, if not most of us, wasted. Tonnage means nothing to most of us — until there’s a dollar value to it. The methodology to calculate the value of food saved was not shared by the deputy minister, but the value per kg sounds about right, we thinks. 

Malaysian uni performance - QS World University Rankings 2024
Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings by Subject 2024 offers independent data on the performance of 240 programmes at 25 Malaysian universities. Malaysia’s performance rate is the third-highest in Asia and the sixth-highest in the world (hmm), The Star reported. Some highlights:

• Universiti Malaya (UM) is the nation’s most represented institution, with 38 of its subjects ranked. 21 of them appeared in the top 100 globally.

• Two Malaysian universities made it in the world’s top 20 for two subjects - Taylor’s University for Hospitality (19th) and Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS (UTP) for Petroleum Engineering (20th).

• 38 programmes ranked for the first time and two of it debuted in the top 50 — Taylor’s University for its Marketing programme (21-50 band) and UM for its Data Science and AI programme (29th) (hmm). 

According to QS senior VP Ben Sowter, the development of partnerships with industry correlates with improved performance in employment and research. 
View the 2024 rankings here.

“In 10 years DAP will become master”
The author, Tamrin Ghafar, will be questioned over the above-titled article he published on a blog on Apr 4. Tamrin Ghafar is the son of the former deputy PM Ghafar Baba. In the post, he said all Malays and Malay rulers must be aware that a disaster will strike them if DAP takes over. He pointed out that DAP has the largest bloc of MPs in today’s federal government with 42 seats and threw the question of a future where “22% of DAP ruling over 70% of the Malays in the Malay land?”. Former law minister Zaid Ibrahim has criticised Bukit Aman’s move, saying that he was surprised the cops would summon someone over a prediction. Salah DAP lagi?
Read the post here. 

Business

1. Word is going around that Berjaya founder Vincent Tan is planning to take Bursa-listed Berjaya Food Bhd (BFood)  private and is in talks with banks to finance the deal. BFood owns 100% of Starbucks Malaysia and also runs Kenny Rogers Roasters in Malaysia. As of 30 June 2023, Starbucks Malaysia had 393 stores nationwide and Kenny Rogers had 80 stores. Starbucks Malaysia was hit hard by the Israel boycott, resulting in BFood’s latest quarterly revenue ending 31 Dec 2023 falling by 34.4% compared to the preceding quarter to RM182.6 mil and recording a net loss of RM42.6 mil. BFood market cap currently stands at RM1.24 bil and is 55% owned by Berjaya Corp.
   View its latest quarterly earnings here. 

2. Mega Fortis launched its draft prospectus en route to a Main Market listing. The company is backed by OCBC, Southeast Asia’s second-largest bank by assets. The bank’s total stake is 25.99% (9.45% direct, 16.54% indirect) in the company that manufactures security seals. Up to 35% of the company will be offered to new investors. The IPO price is to be determined. 

   Mega Fortis manufactures up to 530 mil pieces of security seals annually, which are used on boxes of playing cards, containers and cables to prevent tampering and secure goods during transportation and storage. The company claims its products are used in about 120 countries and currently serve 38 casino operators. Net profit tripled to RM12.5 mil on revenue of RM161.3 mil in the financial year ended 30 Jun 2023.
   View its draft prospectus here.

4. AROUND THE WORLD 🌎

Gaza Updates
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh’s children — Hazem, Amir, and Mohammad –- were confirmed killed following an Israeli airstrike. There were also reports that four of his grandchildren were killed in the same strike. Haniyeh claims they were visiting relatives for Aidilfitri when they were killed and stressed that Palestinian leaders will not back down if their families and homes are targeted. Israel responded that the three were targeted as soldiers who were on their way to “carry out terrorist activities” but did not address if any of Haniyeh’s grandchildren were killed.

However, according to Israeli media, the strike also appears to have been conducted without senior commanders or political leaders being consulted. This includes Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, alleging they were unaware of the strike. This air strike also comes on the heels of two other criticised attacks made by Israeli forces, namely the destruction of an aid convoy and the attack on the Iranian embassy in Damascus, Syria.

The strike on the Iranian embassy has also led to Iran threatening revenge, to which Israel replied it would “meet all its security needs”. The strike has escalated tensions in the region, leading to Germany and Russia stepping in and counselling restraint in the face of an Iran-Israel face-off. You know things are bad when Russia, of all countries, is telling them to chill.

US President Joe Biden has come forward with “ironclad” support for Israel in the face of Iranian aggression. However, Biden has also advised Netanyahu to “just call for a ceasefire” in Gaza, openly stating that he disagrees with Netanyahu’s approach regarding Gaza, with a warning just last week that ongoing US support is dependent on Israel allowing more food and medicine into Gaza.

Business: The death penalty and Boeing bo-eng with more issues

1. Vietnamese tycoon sentenced to death in multi-billion dollar fraud case

   Real estate tycoon Truong My Lan was sentenced to death by a Vietnam court for her involvement in a USD12 bil fraud case. The chairwoman of the Van Thinh Phat Group was arrested in 2022, where she was charged with embezzling funds from Saigon Commercial Bank, with additional charges, including the bribery of government officials and violation of bank lending rules tacked on later. The latter two saw Lan sentenced to 20 years in prison each, with the embezzlement charge carrying the death penalty. She was also required to pay USD27 bil in compensation, as her arrest had triggered a run on the bank. The most widely publicised instance of the death penalty being awarded for corruption in Vietnam was in 2013, when two former executives of Vietnam National Shipping Lines were found guilty of embezzlement. Meanwhile, in Malaysia, one official convicted of corruption charges over the 1MDB scandal is now seeking house arrest.

2. Beleaguered Boeing falls further with new whistleblower allegations 
   Another whistleblower has stepped forward with allegations that Boeing has been taking production shortcuts for its 787 Dreamliner aircraft. The quality engineer, Sam Salehpour, alleged that Boeing’s shortcuts could impair the structural integrity of over 1,000 Dreamliners currently in service, “dramatically reducing the life of the plane”. Boeing has disputed these allegations, calling them inaccurate and stating the company had halted 787 deliveries for nearly two years to address structural imperfections. Still, with the company already under fire from a recent technical issue involving one of its aircraft, the firm faces lower confidence from investors, with Boeing’s shares down nearly 32% this year.
   Here’s to Salehpour’s safety and health, considering the previous Boeing whistleblower, who also raised concerns about production issues, was found dead. It was classed as an apparent suicide from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Shorts

1. The new giant of Chinese tech giants 
   TikTok owner ByteDance Ltd saw its profit soaring by about 60% in 2023, outpacing rival tech giants Tencent and Alibaba, with earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) reaching over USD40 bil compared to 2022’s USD25 bil as revenue. grew to USD120 bil from USD80 bil. This marks the first time ByteDance has surpassed Tencent in both profits and revenue, with the former relying on its short video platforms TikTok and Douyin to expand into international e-commerce. TikTok also has plans to take on Instagram by launching a photo-sharing app, which it describes as a “dedicated space for images and text”, currently called TikTok Notes, according to some users.

2. Simon Harris now the youngest-ever Irish PM 
   Simon Harris, age 37, has been elected Ireland’s new prime minister and its youngest one yet. He succeeded Leo Varadkar after his nomination was confirmed 88-69. He was also the Minister for Health who helped decide Ireland’s initial response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

3. South Korea's opposition party retains control of parliament with a landslide majority 
   The opposition Democratic Party, along with smaller opposition parties, won a joint 192 out of 300 seats in the national assembly, marking a crushing defeat for current President Yoon Suk Yeol and the People Power Party. Opposition leader Lee Jae-myung, who lost the 2022 presidential election by a narrow margin, may also be galvanised to make another run with a Democratic Party-controlled parliament.

4. Russia & Kazakhstan face record floods as world marks new global heat record
   More than 110,000 people were forced to evacuate in Russia and Kazakhstan, with over 97,000 in Kazakhstan alone, due to record floods as the Ural River, which flows through Kazakhstan and the Orenburg region of Russia, burst its banks after fast-melting snow swelled the river. A state of emergency has been declared by both nations, with the Kremlin forecasting that worse flooding is still to come. Last March was also the world’s warmest on record, marking a 10th straight month of record high temperatures, with sea surface temperatures also hitting new highs, according to the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service.

Weekend Read — How a 500 milliseconds delay saved the internet. The greatness and also the downfall of the open-source nature of the internet.

5. FOR YOUR EYES 📺

1. Joker (2): Folie à Deux will be a musical starring Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga. Folie à deux means “shared madness” or “madness for two” in French. The previous Joker movie was the first R-rated movie in history to earn more than USD1 bil at the global box office.

2. The total solar eclipse that happened across North America. Here’s why you should not look at the eclipse with the naked eyes.

3. We did a poll previously regarding time spent on social media and some of you spent real serious amount of time on it daily. The TEDx talk below puts into perspective the time costs in $$$ when we doom scroll on Instagram and TikTok.