☕️ Najib applies to 'wfh' to serve his remaining prison sentence

1. MARKET SUMMARY 📈

2. NUMBERS AT A GLANCE 🔢

Forbes recently reported that Brazil's Livia Voigt, at just 19 years old, has become the youngest billionaire globally, with an estimated net worth of USD1.1 bil (~RM5.22 bil). Her wealth stems from a minority stake in WEG, an electrical equipment producer co-founded by her late grandfather. Alongside her 26-year-old sister, Dora Voigt de Assis, Livia is among seven newcomers on the list of the 25 youngest billionaires, with a total combined net worth of USD110 billion. There were no self-made billionaires under the age of 30 this year, marking the first time in 15 years.
Read: The World’s Youngest Billionaires 2024

McLaren Racing's CEO, Zak Brown, has stated that the value of every Formula One team is now over GBP1 bil (~RM6 bil), owing to the changes made under the ownership of Liberty Media Corp. Brown further added that this success has led to a surge in popularity in the US, resulting in a rapid growth in revenues. Before Liberty took over, Formula 1 was not as successful as it is now. As a result of this increased success, Liberty now has the ability to be selective in choosing who gets to join the league. For instance, in January, Michael Andretti's bid to join the series in 2025 with General Motors was rejected.

A striking concentration of wealth is evident in top-ranked American universities, where just 20 institutions possess half of the USD800 bil in endowments accumulated by all American colleges. These highly selective universities have the financial capacity to offer substantial financial aid to students, making admission to them increasingly competitive. Over the past two decades, acceptance rates at the top twelve universities have dropped to one-third of their previous levels, exacerbating the allure of these institutions. However, insiders concede that elite universities, particularly those within the Ivy League, have become increasingly disconnected from ordinary Americans and have seemingly drifted away from their traditional academic and merit-based principles.

3. IN MALAYSIA 🇲🇾

Will the KK Mart saga come to an end?

1. KK Mart founder apologised to His Majesty
   Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Ibrahim granted an audience to Chai Kee Kan (KK Chai), the founder and executive chairman of the KK Mart Group. During the 15-minute meeting at Istana Negara, KK Chai apologised to His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim for the controversy caused by the sales of the offending socks last month. Sultan Ibrahim also reminded all parties to stop taking advantage of the situation, including inciting the rakyat as His Majesty does not want this issue to prolong any further.

2. Umno Youth chief Muhamad Akmal Saleh doesn’t want to let it go
   Muhamad Akmal Saleh insisted on continuing the boycott of KK Mart over the issue, in apparent ignorance of His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim’s reminder not to prolong the issue. Malaysiakini quoted Akmal asking, “Did the King ask to stop the boycott?” Umno supreme council member Bung Moktar Radin stated that the party leadership had instructed Akmal to cease emphasising the socks issue and the calls to boycott KK Mart. This backtracks the council’s previous stance of backing Akmal’s boycott call.

As long as political points can be gained, the answer is no.

Cyber Security Bill 2024 has been passed by Dewan Negara
The Cyber Security Bill 2024 was unanimously passed by the Dewan Negara on April 3, after the third reading by Digital Minister Gobind Singh Deo. The bill aims to bolster the nation’s cyber security by enforcing specific measures, standards, and processes to manage cyber security threats. Gobind emphasised that the implementation of the bill would enhance the government's ability to safeguard the Critical National Information Infrastructure (CNII) from cybersecurity incidents.

The CNII sector, which includes government, banking and finance, transportation, defence, national security, information, communication, and digital sectors, is often targeted in cyber attacks, posing significant risks to the nation. Additionally, sectors such as healthcare, water supply, waste management, energy, agriculture, industry, trade, science, technology, and innovation are also identified as critical components requiring protection against cyber threats.

The catch is — federal and state governments will have immunity from prosecution for failing to comply with the proposed Cyber Security Bill 2024 provisions. However, Gobind assured that the government will take all measures to ensure that all agencies under the federal and state governments comply with the provision under this bill.

‘Casio King’ Robert Tan Hua Choon claims trial on the Spanco case
Tan Hua Choon, 83, has pleaded not guilty to charges of cheating the Finance Ministry. The charges relate to a contract to supply, maintain, and manage government fleet cars valued at RM3.966 bil. According to the charge sheet, Tan is accused of cheating the ministry’s private and public cooperation unit between February 27 and 28, 2019. Specifically, he is alleged to have misrepresented that Spanco Sdn Bhd has at least 30% bumiputera interests in the tender process, which resulted in the company securing the contract. However, the charge sheet did not provide any further information on what was allegedly false about the bumiputera equity.

Shorts

1. Commute KL-KB by 4-hour train in 2027

   The East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) will be completed on schedule in December 2026 and will begin operations by January 2027, according to the Transport Ministry. The ECRL provides a four-hour travel time between Kuala Lumpur and Kota Bharu, cutting down significantly from the usual seven-hour car ride. Construction progress of the 665km infrastructure is at 64% (March 2024) across Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang, and Selangor. Less traffic jams during Raya in 2027!

2. Najib Razak going all out to be placed at home
   In his application for leave to seek judicial review filed on April 1, Najib Razak claimed that Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah issued an order during the January 29 meeting of the board for him to serve the remainder of his reduced sentence under house arrest. Najib asserted that although the supplementary order or Addendum Order was made on January 29, it was omitted when his partial pardon was announced on February 2. Biar betul.

3. Sprint, Smart, Litrak and Kesas Highways will maintain the current toll rates
   The group CEO of Amanat Lebuhraya Rakyat (ALR), Sazally Saidi, has announced that the current toll rates for all four highways — Sprint, Smart, Litrak and Kesas — under their management will remain the same until the end of their concession periods. This decision will result in direct savings of approximately RM800mil to RM1bil for both motorists and the government in terms of toll compensations.

4. AROUND THE WORLD 🌎

Magnitude 7.2 earthquake strikes Taiwan, strongest quake in 25 years
The epicentre of the quake was 18km south of Hualien city, with the quake leaving at least nine dead and over 900 injured. Rescue operations have evacuated about 70 people trapped in tunnels near Hualien, but efforts are still ongoing to reach another 80 people trapped in a mining area. The quake is also the strongest one felt by the island nation since September 1999, which killed 2,400 people and destroyed 5,000 buildings.

Multiple video accounts of the effects of the earthquake are up on social media, such as compilations showing landslides and swaying cars and even this video of how the quake affected a swimming pool. Another video here shows water spilling from a rooftop pool, turning the building into a massive waterfall - quite a scene. Mainland China’s social media saw a wave of concerned messages as well, a turnaround from the usually hostile rhetoric towards Taiwan. However, these messages also carried among them “suggestions” for the People’s Liberation Army to provide support for earthquake victims, seen as a shot taken at Taiwan’s autonomy.

Taiwan’s 508m-tall Taipei 101 is one of the tallest buildings in the world. A giant metal ball helps the skyscraper withstand earthquakes and strong winds — watch here.

Big trouble in China

1. Freak storms in China kill at least 7, affect 93,000

   Extreme weather conditions that began on March 31 have seen storms with typhoon-like winds with rain and golf-ball-sized hailstones ripping through the southern Chinese province of Jiangxi. 7 people have been killed by the storms, with three blown out of their high-rise apartments in their sleep. The storms have since affected 93,000 people in 54 counties, with an estimated USD21 mil in economic losses, according to officials.

2. 3 Body Problem: Poisoner sentenced to death, had practised on cats, dogs
   One of the key players behind the Netflix adaptation of the science fiction novel ‘3 Body Problem’ was sentenced to death a day after the show’s release. Lawyer Xu Yao murdered China’s “billionaire millennial” Lin Qi, a gaming tycoon whose company, Yoozoo Games, owns the rights to film adaptations of the “Remembrance of Earth’s Past” book series, of which 3 Body Problem is the first. The tycoon had sidelined Xu shortly after the latter helped land the Netflix deal in 2020. Lin was then found poisoned months later, with the court describing the plot as “premeditated” and “extremely despicable”. The next bit gets a bit gory — NFSW.

   Xu had built a lab near Shanghai and experimented with hundreds of poisons from the dark web, testing his concoctions on cats and dogs. He then poisoned beverages in the Yoozoo Games office, leading to four other employees falling ill but surviving the poison. Lin himself was given the poison by Xu in the form of gifted probiotic pills. The tycoon checked himself into a hospital when he felt unwell after taking the pills and was initially in a stable condition. However, his condition deteriorated, leading to his death 10 days later at the age of 39.

UK, US sign landmark AI safety agreement
The agreement will have both nations working together to develop methods for evaluating the safety of AI tools along with the underlying systems. It also represents the first bilateral agreement of its kind. The event was attended by AI bigwigs, including OpenAI’s Sam Altman, Google DeepMind’s Demis Hassabis, and tech billionaire Elon Musk. The agreement is expected to give both governments a better understanding of AI systems, allowing them to provide better guidance on the technology. So far, AI firms in the US and UK have been self-regulating.

Amazon walked out on its “Just Walk Out” for “Dash Cart”
The firm is phasing out its checkout-less grocery stores, which featured “Just Walk Out” technology, which relied on cameras and sensors to track what people were taking from the stores, with over half of Amazon Fresh stores equipped with this technology. When it was first introduced, Amazon lauded the technology and cited the involvement of artificial intelligence (AI) in the form of machine learning algorithms. Behind the scenes, the technology also relied on more than 1,000 people in India watching and labelling videos to ensure accurate checkouts, according to The Information. Perhaps the AI here stands for Actually Indians.

Amazon will instead be switching to “Dash Carts”, a system where a scanner and screen are embedded in the shopping cart, allowing users to checkout as they shop. These smart-shopping carts are touted as a more reliable solution, with Amazon Fresh stores also moving to feature self-checkout counters in future for non-Amazon members.

Shorts

1. Huawei plans lowest dividend payout since 2019

   The Chinese tech giant plans to pay USD10.65 bil in dividends to current and retired staff, according to a Shanghai Clearing House filing. This points to a dividend payout of about USD0.21 per share, its lowest payout since 2019. This comes despite Huawei’s revenue rising nearly 10% last year due to major contributions from its consumer business. The dividend distribution was not revealed in the filing. A total of 151,796 current and former workers had been involved in the shareholder scheme as at end-Decemeber. Huawei is private and wholly owned by its employees.

2. WeWork secures USD8 bil in rent reduction
   Beleaguered co-working space provider WeWork successfully negotiated a reduction in landlord rent commitments by over 40%, translating to about USD8 bil. This reduction involved amending about 150 leases, and the firm is in the process of exiting a further 150 leases. The firm is now aiming to exit Chapter 11 bankruptcy by the end of May.

3. Zimbabwe declares national disaster over prolonged drought
   President Emmerson Mnangagwa of Zimbabwe made the declaration, joining neighbouring Zambia and Malawi, who have also declared states of disaster due to the same prolonged drought. Mnangagwa stated Zimbabwe needs USD2 bil to tackle hunger, as the drought has wiped out about half of the nation’s maize crop.

4. White House wants the Moon to have its own time zone
   The White House wants NASA to develop a new time zone, Coordinated Lunar Time (CLT), for the Moon. The reason? Time moves relatively quicker there compared to Earth by about 58.7 microseconds due to different gravities. That time difference can have a significant impact when trying to synchronise spacecraft, and the US government hopes the new time zone will help coordinate national and private efforts to reach the Moon.

5. FOR YOUR EYES 📺

1. It is that time of the year again when Khairul Aming shares his generosity with his staff.

2. Apple Vision Pro (AVP) gets a big update — the ability to share the experience with other AVP users on a real-time basis.