☕️ Najib Razak: I used Jho Low for country's benefit

1. MARKET SUMMARY 📈

2. NUMBERS AT A GLANCE 🔢

8,909 students have been offered placements at Maktab Rendah Sains Mara (MRSM) schools for the 2025 intake, out of 93,635 applicants. Around 35% of applicants met the minimum requirements for MRSM admission. The placements include 7,229 spots for Form 1 students and 1,680 for Form 4 students across 56 MRSM schools. Mara’s commitment to inclusivity is evident, with 60% of the placements reserved for students from low-income (B40) families, with additional priority for those from rural and urban poor areas.

15,444 kilometres (9,596 miles) is the distance Belgian ultrarunner Hilde Dosogne ran in 2024 to set the world record as the first woman to run a marathon every single day of the year. In addition to this remarkable feat, the 55-year-old raised around EUR60,000 euros (RM278,000) for breast cancer research. Dosogne’s achievement places her alongside Hugo Farias, the Brazilian who holds the male record of 366 consecutive days of marathons, set in São Paulo on August 28, 2023. Most of Dosogne’s marathons were completed on a flat loop near Ghent, Belgium.

10.92°C (51.66°F) was the average national temperature in China for 2024, marking it the warmest year on record since 1961, according to the China Meteorological Administration. This is 1.03°C higher than the average. China, the world’s leading emitter of greenhouse gases, has pledged to peak its carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 and achieve net zero by 2060. The United Nations also confirmed that 2024 is set to be the warmest year ever recorded globally, reflecting the surge in extreme weather events driven by climate change.

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3. IN MALAYSIA 🇲🇾

Missed Hajj Connections

• Tour Agency Under Investigation

  The Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture (MOTAC) has announced that there is an ongoing investigation into a licensed travel agency for allegedly failing to fly a group of umrah pilgrims. Though the investigation is ongoing, the ministry has already advised the agency to honour the bookings of existing pilgrims and to refund pilgrims who have requested cancellations. The agency was also advised not to accept new umrah bookings until all current bookings are resolved.

• Managing Director Detained?

  It has also been reported that the managing director of the aforementioned agency has been detained for failing to fly the group of over 300 pilgrims by the Selangor Commercial Investigation Department following a police report made by pilgrims demanding an explanation. He had just finished holding a press conference and meeting with the affected pilgrims at the time of his arrest. The press conference was reported to have started calmly before turning tense when some pilgrims disagreed with the offer made by the company.

Crimewatch

• Crypto scam victim loses RM9.47 mil

  The ex-engineer, age 63, suffered the loss after taking part in a non-existent online cryptocurrency investment scheme that claimed to offer high returns. The victim saw an advertisement, which led him to a WhatsApp group, where two individuals talked him into a scheme that promised a return of 50 times his initial investment. The victim made 29 payments to 11 different bank accounts totalling RM9.47 mil between October and December 2024. Remember, if it’s too good to be true, it usually is.

• Five arrested for fraud

  The five, which included four company directors, were arrested by the MACC for their connection with a suspected fraud case involving about RM104 mil in public investment funds. The arrests were made following several complaints and tip-offs alleging the directors of a licensed trust company under the Ministry of Finance and BNM. The company was accused of using funds collected from investors for personal benefit, with the RM104 mil channelled to several private companies owned by proxies.

• Najib: I used Jho Low for the country's benefit

  Former PM Najib Razak made the statement in reference to Jho Low facilitating the visit to Beijing of Najib’s former special officer, Datuk Amhari Efendi Nazaruddin. He claimed he “used Jho Low for the country’s benefit” as he wanted to generate income for Malaysia as fast as possible, banking on Jho Low’s “personal relationship” with the Chinese instead of the Malaysian Foreign Ministry and the embassy in Beijing for the appropriate connections. However, the former PM rejected the notion that Amhari’s trip to Beijing was a “secret mission” to bail out 1MDB, calling the suggestion “ridiculous”.

For the good of the nation

1. LFL condemn IGP error on mobile phone checks

   Human rights NGO Lawyers for Liberty (LFL) condemned IGP Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Razarudin Husain on his claim that police can check mobile phones without question, calling the statement legally flawed and a threat to civil liberties. The IGP had cited provisions in his statement, but LFL public defence coordinator Yu Ying Ying clarified that none of the cited provisions grants police the right to check the public’s mobile phones at roadblocks, or for police to conduct mobile phone checks unconnected to an ongoing search.

2. 1:3 Internship Policy to begin pilot next month

   The policy is the product of a collaboration between the Ministry of Human Resources and Talent Corporation Malaysia Bhd, which will require companies employing expatriates in Malaysia to provide up to three “paid, structured industrial training placements” for local students for each expat hired. Companies complying with the policy will also receive priority for future Expatriate Employment Pass applications as an added incentive. The policy is expected to benefit 100,000 students and will see a pilot phase from February 15 to December 31, 2025, before it is fully implemented on January 1, 2026.

3. Terengganu needs RM2.4 bil to address erosion

   The state’s Infrastructure, Utilities, and Rural  Development Committee Chairman, Hanafiah Mat offered the figure as a rough estimate of the cost to build breakwaters to address escalating coastal erosion. The amount will be used to protect about 244km of coastline (RM9.84 mil average per km) spread across 34 affected locations, with the cost of building breakwaters ranging between RM5 mil to RM10 mil per kilometre, dependent on the materials used and the level of erosion at the site.

Shorts:

1. 'Diamond' water filter maker to be wound up after lawsuit loss

   The lawsuit against NEP Holdings (Malaysia) Bhd and three of its directors by VS Industry Bhd for minority shareholder expression saw VS Industry victorious, leading to the court ordering the winding up of NEP Holdings. NEP Holdings was also known for the ‘Arissto’ brand of coffee machines and coffee capsules.

2. Prince Court first Malaysian hospital to perform new obesity treatment

   Prince Court Medical Centre successfully performed the Endoscopic Sleeve Gastroplasty (ESG) procedure, hailed as a groundbreaking new treatment for obesity. The procedure is described as a “minimally invasive, non-surgical procedure that uses an endoscope to reshape the stomach and reduce its size with internal sutures”. As a non-surgical procedure, this meant a quicker recovery and minimal discomfort for patients.

4. AROUND THE WORLD 🌎

Broken leaderships

1. UK minister Tulip Siddiq resigns amid Bangladesh probe

   British financial services and fighting corruption minister Tulip Siddiq has reportedly resigned following weeks of questions over her financial ties to her aunty Sheikh Hasina, the toppled prime minister of Bangladesh. The latter ruled Bangladesh since 2009 and is now being investigated on suspicion of corruption and money laundering.

   With regards to Siddiq, the anti-corruption commission alleged financial irregularities worth billions of dollars in the awarding of a USD12.65 bil nuclear power contract, saying both Hasina and Siddiq may have benefitted. Siddiq also faces further scrutiny over the use of properties in Britain linked to Hasina and her supporters. Siddiq apparently acquired a separate property in London in 2004 without paying for it from a developer linked to the Awami League, Hasina’s political party, the Financial Times reported this month.

   Both Siddiq and Hasina deny any wrongdoings.

2. South Korea’s President Yoon arrested, finally

   After much struggle, South Korean investigators and police finally managed to arrest South Korea’s impeached President Yoon Suk-yeol, who has been staying put inside his hillside villa in Seoul for weeks, in an effort to evade arrest over accusations of insurrection for briefly imposing martial law last year. The arrest came just hours after he failed to appear for the first hearing in his impeachment trial and involved 1,000 police officers.

   In a prerecorded video message released after his arrest, Yoon said he had made the decision to submit to questioning over his failed martial law bid to avert “bloodshed.” Not accepting the legality of the investigation, Yoon had exercised “his right to remain silent” during the interrogations and also withheld permission for the interview to be filmed. Investigators now have 48 hours to question Yoon, after which they must seek a warrant to detain him for up to 20 days or release him. And the K-drama continues.

Meta cuts 5% of jobs to optimize its workforce for an “intense year”
Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg has announced that Meta is preparing to cut about 5% of its global workforce, in anticipation of an "intense year" and to drop "low performers faster". Meta employs about 72,000 people around the world, and those affected in the US will come to know about their fate by Feb 10, followed by those outside the US. Zuckerberg mentioned that roughly 3,600 people will be affected and compensated with generous severance. The move comes following other big decisions by Zuckerberg, including moves to end the company's fact-checking and diversity programmes. The last big cut at Meta was in 2023 when the company cut about 10,000 positions in a cost-cutting drive after Zuckerberg declared it the "year of efficiency". “An intense year” for a company that is expected to make over USD162.6 bil (Actual 9M + 3M Forecast) in revenue in 2024.

In Africa

1. 8 people killed over suspected outbreak of Marburg virus in Tanzania

   A suspected outbreak of the viral hemorrhagic fever Marburg in the Kagera region, northwest Tanzania has been reported by WHO to infect 9 people and killed 8 of them. The virus which has a fatality rate as high as 88% is from the same virus family as Ebola. The outbreak in Rwanda, which shares a border with Tanzania's Kagera region, infected 66 people and killed 15 before it was declared over on Dec 20. Marburg virus can spread between people through direct contact or via blood and other bodily fluids of infected people, including contaminated bedding or clothing.

2. 60 bodies retrieved from closed illegal South African gold mine

   Following a siege in the crackdown on illegal mining in Stilfontein beginning in August 2024, at least 60 bodies were pulled out from the shaft of the closed gold mine as of yesterday. The siege had cut off food and water supplies for months in an attempt to force the miners to the surface so that they could be arrested. Nobody is sure how many men are still trapped in the mine that stretches more than 2 km underground. For decades, South Africa’s precious metals industry has battled illegal mining, which costs the government and industry hundreds of millions of dollars a year in lost sales, taxes and royalties. Does it really justify the number of these lost souls?

Shorts

1. Thailand contemplates to allow first bitcoin ETF in bid to boost sector

   The Securities and Exchange Commission of Thailand is considering allowing individuals and institutions to invest in local bitcoin ETFs for the first time in the local exchange, as the country aims to nurture its digital assets hub. The potential shift of stance came amid the pressure to establish digital-assets centres in the Asia-Pacific region. Digital-asset trading activity in Thailand is picking up in line with a wider rally that pushed bitcoin to a record high of USD108,315 in December. There were about 270,000 active crypto trading accounts in Thailand as of Nov 30 2024.

2. Biggest IKEA retailer to invest USD 1 bil in recycling firms

   Ingka Group has committed to invest USD 1.03 bil into recycling companies, as part of its effort to better manage waste created from wasted IKEA products such as furniture, bedding or mattresses that are thrown away, incinerated or in landfills. The move came following the news that the EU is developing legislation to charge retailers a fee for every item sold in the bloc, to help bear the increasing cost of waste management. The company is the largest IKEA franchisee, operating in 31 countries and accounting for 90% of global IKEA sales.
   Looking to sell/buy second-hand furnitures? Check out this local company - Unearth Store.

5. FOR YOUR EYES 📺

1. In the past few months, we’ve read a lot of news about plummeting birth rates — data doesn’t lie. The chart displays the estimated number of children under five years old worldwide up to 2023, with future predictions from the United Nations extending to 2100. According to the UN, the number of children under five reached its highest point in 2017.

2. “He's the only actor that turns every regular job into a crime scene.” —

   @marvingilliam.

3. How the Australian Open bypass broadcasting rights