☕️ Najib Razak SRC Conviction Appeal: 94 grounds why the CoA had erred upholding High Court's conviction and sentence

1. MARKET SUMMARY

2. NUMBERS AT A GLANCE

USD600 mil - the value of the largest superyacht, Dilbar, at 512-foot in length, owned by sanctioned Russian billionaire oligarch Alisher Usmanov.

119 — the age of Ms Kane Tanaka, the world’s oldest person. Tanaka was born on Jan 2, 1903, but she passed away on Monday, according to local officials.

Feeling the pinch? Well, Malaysia’s inflation in March 2022 increased by 2.2%.

3. COVID-19 SUMMARY

• Beijing has kicked off mass testing for millions of residents after a spike in Covid cases. The city's largest district, Chaoyang district, recorded over 26 cases over the weekend and all hell broke loose. Residents in Chaoyang are required to undergo three rounds of mass testing.

• The most kiasi (afraid of death) race in Malaysia — Malaysian Chinese. The Health Ministry said Chinese Malaysians have shown to be the most disciplined when it comes to following SOPs and have the best personal health practices, according to a study titled “Excess Mortality During Covid-19 Pandemic in Malaysia”.

4. IN MALAYSIA 🇲🇾

1. Yesterday, KL suffered heavy rain. Then, KL suffered a flash flood. Next news.

2. Former PM Najib Razak has filed a petition of appeal to the Federal Court, citing 94 grounds on how the Court of Appeal had erred in upholding the High Court’s conviction of him in the SRC International Sdn Bhd case for misappropriating RM42 mil. Some details:

   1. The “factual findings and inferences” of the Court of Appeal and the High Court are “fully proven and do not reflect the evidence comprehensively.”

   2. Both courts have also erred “in facts and law in each of the factual findings that are not in favour of the appellant”.

   3. The courts had used their “own logic or rationale” in contravention of evidence”.

   4. The courts made an error in finding the former PM had used SRC funds for his personal gratification. 

   5. There was a lack of direct or specific evidence to show that Najib gave instructions for any transfer of money.

3. The Syariah Court has sentenced Petaling Jaya MP Maria Chin Abdullah to 7 days’ jail for contempt of court over her statement that “insulted” the Islamic judicial system. On 5 Sep 2019, she issued a statement: “Muslim women are still being discriminated (against) under Malaysia’s shariah legal system”. This statement followed the Syariah court’s decision to sentence the wife of Naza chairman SM Faisal SM Nasimuddin’s ex-wife for rescheduling his visitation dates for her children. 

4. Panchalai Supermaniam, the mother of Nagaenthran Dharmalingam, the Malaysian death row inmate in Singapore, has filed a legal challenge in a last-ditch effort to set aside his conviction and death sentence. The mother’s suit is to be heard today, on the eve of her son’s hanging on Wednesday. His mother has filed a suit saying that there is a possible conflict of interest as the judge who presided over and dismissed Naga’s appeals was also the Attorney-General who prosecuted Naga and got him convicted. Panchalai will be representing herself with the help of friends and activists since no Singaporean legal firm wanted to take it up to challenge as SG lawyers have been consistently penalised and fined by the AG’s Chambers and judiciary. 

5. The Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre will not only meet the government’s new minimum wage threshold of RM1,500 but also exceed it by 66.67% as it is set to implement an RM2,500 min wage for its full-time team beginning 1 May 2022. Nice one KLCC! That said, it’s still a bit short of BNM’s definition of the living wage for a single adult of RM2,700 in 2018. 

6. Goodies from the government this coming Raya season - toll-free rides and discounts up to 50% this weekend (30 Apr and 1 May) and next weekend (7 and 8 May), The toll-free rides apply to selected highways only, namely highways owned by PLUS (NSE), ANIH and the East Coast Expressway. The government estimated the total discounts to be enjoyed by road users to total RM77.11 mil after discussion with 30 highway concessionaires. 

7. CTOS Digital Bhd has increased its shareholding in RAM Holdings Bhd to 17.23% after buying out the collective 9.1% stakes owned by OCBC Bank, Affin Bank and Affin Hwang Investment Bank for RM25.06 mil cash, valuing RAM at RM275.38 mil. CTOS made its first purchase in Jul 2021 for a 4.625% stake for RM10.1 mil (valuation: RM218.38 mil) from CIMB Bank and another 3.5% stake from Standard Chartered Bank in Dec 2021 for a stake of 3.5% for RM7.61 mil (valuation: RM217.43 mil). In 2020, RAM generated revenue of RM40 mil and profit after tax of RM8.4 mil — meaning in this latest transaction based on 2020’s financials, CTOS is paying 32.8x earnings multiple.

5. AROUND THE WORLD 🌎

1. Russia reiterates that it doesn’t want the US to interfere with its invasion of Ukraine — Moscow’s ambassador to Washington has warned the United States against sending more arms to Ukraine. The US pledged further assistance worth USD713 mil for Zelenskiy’s government and other countries in the region fearing Russian aggression.

2. The United States will reopen its embassy in Ukraine soon. The US Secretary of State Antony Blinken declared that Russia has failed in its war aims.

3. Twitter’s board couldn’t swallow the poison pill and accepted Elon Musk’s USD43.4 bil offer to take the social media platform private. The deal could be one of the largest buyouts in history. Shareholders of the platform will receive USD54.20 in cash for each share of Twitter common stock upon closing of the transaction. Musk is more than just his memes.

4. Interesting facts about the French president election:

   1. Macron is the first sitting president in 20 years to be re-elected.

   2. Turnout was the lowest in a presidential run-off since 1969 — 72%

   3. More than three million people cast spoilt or blank votes.

   4. More than one-third of voters voted for neither candidate.

   5. It’s the 8th time the Le Pen name was on a ballot and failed to win.

5. Crypto exchange Kraken has received a Financial Services Permission (FSP) license from the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) to operate a regulated exchange platform in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Kraken would service the needs of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

6. Troubled Japanese firm Toshiba may have new owners soon as buyout firms including CVC Capital Partners and KKR & Co. are considering bidding for the Japanese conglomerate. Buying out the whole of Toshiba could be difficult because Japan’s authorities list Toshiba, with its expertise in nuclear power, as a company of interest to national security. Toshiba’s downfall started back in 2015 with its accounting scandal.

7. GE Renewable Energy has found a new way of developing turbines that could help to lower costs for the industry — using 3D printing. The new research facility in Bergen is a collaboration with cement giant Holcim and Cobod. The printer in Bergen is “the size of a three-story building” and able to print tower sections as tall as 20 meters and in excess of 10 tons of real concrete per hour. With this, the bottom portion of the wind turbine towers could be printed on-site at wind farms to save transportation costs.

6. FOR YOUR EYES 👁👁

1. Did you know? With just RM10, you can enable Teach For Malaysia to support and empower children facing education inequity! A little goes a long way and will mean the world to these children. Let’s share our Ramadan blessings by supporting efforts in educational recovery. Donate now HERE.

2. A Tesla in smart summon mode crashed into Cirrus private jet worth between USD3-3.5 mil.

3. Nap-friendly working environment. Taking naps is healthy according to the National Sleep Foundation.