☕️ Najib’s House Arrest Drama Update

1. MARKET SUMMARY 📈

2. NUMBERS AT A GLANCE 🔢

JPY1 mil (RM30.4k) – A Japanese man has gained online notoriety for his lifestyle as a full-time kept man, reportedly earning up to this monthly sum by being financially supported by as many as 15 affluent women simultaneously. This unconventional arrangement has drawn considerable attention to his ability to navigate and maintain such relationships, but it isn’t an easy job, according to Takuya Ikoma. In his videos, he explained that before meeting rich clients, he made sure to look his best. This meant putting on make-up, styling his hair, and choosing the right clothes.

RM54 mil – The Housewives Social Security Scheme (SKSSR) has accumulated this amount in contributions since its inception in 2022, providing benefits totalling RM4.2 mil to 3,426 housewives. The scheme has seen a strong registration rate, with 514,105 housewives enrolled, surpassing the human resources minister's target. The majority of registrants, 88% (452,781 women), are from the eKasih aid program for low-income groups.

USD4.10 tril (RM17.92 tril) – California's economy has surpassed that of Japan, reaching this GDP in 2024 and making it the fourth-largest global economic power. This new data from the IMF and the US Bureau of Economic Analysis places California behind only the United States, China, and Germany. Governor Gavin Newsom highlighted this significant economic growth, noting that California's 6% growth rate in 2024 outpaced these top three economies.

3. IN MALAYSIA 🇲🇾

Najib’s House Arrest Drama Update
Najib is not going home, yet. The former PM’s preliminary objection to the AG’s bid to stop the former PM from serving the rest of his sentence under house arrest has been rejected by a three-member bench in the Federal Court. Best we can tell, it’s like UNO with the AG reversing Najib’s reverse of a Draw 12.

Najib has been trying to serve the rest of his sentence under house arrest based on an “addendum” he claimed was issued by the previous Agong, while the AG is trying to stop him. After a long legal fight, Najib managed to get a ruling at the Appeals Court in Jan and yesterday the Federal Court allowed the AG for leave of appeal against the ruling.

Under Section 96 of the Courts of Judicature Act 1964, leave for appeal may only be granted by the High Court in cases of general importance to the law or public.

The Chief Judge of the court stated that the questions were novel and of public importance, and required further ventilation by the High Court.

The bench has set the appeal hearing on Jul 1 and 2.

Three illegal lottery centres raided in Perak, four arrested
Three illegal lottery ‘counting’ centres were raided in Perak, resulting in the arrest of four locals, aged 50-60, under suspicion of syndicate involvement. The three residential premises in Simpang Pulai, Kanthan Baru, and Kuala Kuang are estimated to have a combined total turnover of RM5 mil monthly (RM60 mil a year!). According to Perak police chief Comm Noor Hisam Nordin, investigations are still being carried out to determine if the three centres are under the same syndicate.

A total of RM110,119 in cash, desktop computers, mobile phones, credit and debit cards, a mobile printer, and illegal lottery slips were confiscated.

Preliminary investigations found that the syndicate has been active in Ipoh since early 2020. Sales in illegal lotteries were conducted via mobile phones in order to avoid detection, while the counting centres processed the proceeds.

Agents were granted monthly betting limits of RM4 mil. Active Ipoh sub-agents, agents, and organisers of the syndicate have been identified.

JPA introduces new academic merit-based sponsorship model
A new merit-based sponsorship model that looks at academic performance is being rolled out by the JPA to replace the former model that focused on a job placement merit system for pre-service training (LSP) programmes. This new model is effective from June 1.

Titled PBU Akademik, the new sponsorship model states that JPA-sponsored students, excluding those under medicine, dentistry, and pharmaceutical studies, would now benefit from reduced loan repayment rates based on their final CGPAs.

Excelling students with a CGPA of 3.75 to 4.0 will have to repay only 5% of their loans, increasing by 5% each tier with 3.50 to 3.74 (10%), 3.00 to 3.49 (15%), and above 3.00 (20%). Those who score below 3.00 in their CGPAs, or fail, will be required to pay the full loan amount.

Additionally, those pursuing medicine, dentistry, and pharmacy receive full exemption as long as they successfully complete their studies and fulfil their government service contract, while students who secure employment in the public sector, aligned with their qualifications, receive full loan exemption as well.

Students currently repaying loans have been instructed to pause payments starting June 1, with the option to switch to the new model beginning January 1 2026. The new model will apply to all new JPA-sponsored students starting June 1, aside from scholarship recipients.

Shorts:

1. 2025 Sudirman Cup: Malaysia 5:0 France in opener

   On Monday, Malaysia beat France in a devastating victory with a score of 5-0 at the 2025 Sudirman Cup Campaign at their opening Group C tie at the Fenghuang Gymnasium in Xiamen, China. In under 30 minutes, doubles pair Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzuddin Mohd Rumsani overwhelmed France’s Mael Cattoen and Lucas Renoir. Women’s singles Goh Jin Wei secured Malaysia’s second point. Men’s singles player Leong Jun Hao secured victory against Arnaud Merkle, 22-21 and 21-19. Women’s doubles pair Pearly Tan and M Thinaah, and mixed doubles pair Goh Soon Huat and Shevon Lai Jemie completed the rout.

2. More evidence to be submitted by Sabah corruption scandal whistleblower

   Mahajoth Singh, the 36-year-old businessman associated with being the whistleblower of the Sabah corruption scandal, is gearing up to submit even more evidence to the MACC. It’s around 200 pages that meticulously detail the trail of money and documents linked to the scandal. Sources say it might expose the appointment of proxies as shareholders in companies seeking mineral exploration licences. The businessman will submit the new evidence to the MACC headquarters in Putrajaya today.

3. BAT Malaysia to halt sale of vape products in Malaysia

   British American Tobacco (Malaysia) Bhd (BAT Malaysia) will halt all sales of its vapour products by the third quarter of 2025, due to the Control of Smoking Products for Public Health Act 2024 (Act 852). The act, targeted towards individuals under the age of 18, strengthens control over the sale, purchase, or use of any type of smoking product by any means. It also carves out stricter regulations on the manufacturer and producer’s part, with rules on packaging, labelling, and more. The tobacco group, which sells brands such as Dunhill, Peter Stuyvesant, Rothmans, KYO and Luckies, currently sells vape products under the brand Vuse. It claims to be the number one global vaping brand by market share. Yet the tobacco group stated that the exit will have minimal impact on its financial performance.

4. AROUND THE WORLD 🌎

“Strategic uncertainty”: Part of the plan?
Uncertainty is all part of trade strategy, says Bessent
US Treasury Secretary Bessent said “strategic uncertainty”, as it is called in game theory, is what US President Trump is using in his trade negotiations with world leaders. Bessent explained it as the “carrot-and-stick” method, where the high tariffs are the “stick” and the “carrot” is the US being open for talks, though this is conditional on several things like the removal of tariffs and non-tariff trade barriers, ending the manipulation of currency, and stopping the subsidisation of labour and capital. Honestly, it just sounds like the plan where “if I don’t know what I’m doing, how can the other side guess?” But is it working? Though the US and China aren’t talking, India is supposedly one of the first trade deals the US will sign.

Tariff pain coming soon for US consumers
Former Trump chief economic adviser Cohn warned that US consumers will likely see the effects of the tariffs on store prices in late May, based on the calculation that a cycle starting from a product being sold in China and transported to a shelf for consumers in the US takes about 8 weeks. As it is, US consumers are already front-loading purchases of big-ticket items like cars and washing machines in a bid to avoid potential price hikes. The chief economist of Apollo Global Management put together a collection of graphs showing the data, revealing that firms are drastically lowering earnings expectations, and consumer confidence is at record lows.

Economy worsening under Trump, polls show
As Trump’s new term approaches the 100-day mark, the polls show growing dissatisfaction among voters with Trump’s handling of inflation and tariffs, with 53% saying that the economy has worsened under his leadership. A poll among economists also shows a majority believing that risks are high that the global economy will slip into recession this year due to the damaged business sentiment from Trump’s tariffs. This same group had believed that the global economy would grow at a “strong, steady clip” just three months ago. Investors are also rethinking US investments and assets, with the comparative advantages of the US losing their shine due to the increased rate of de-dollarisation and the uncertainty in US policy.

China, China, China
Beijing seizes sandbank in South China Sea, escalating tensions
Chinese state media released pictures of four coastguard officers holding the Chinese flag on the disputed reef of Sandy Cay in the Spratly Islands, in a further escalation of the tensions between China and the Philippines over the former’s nine-dash line claims. The Philippines, in response, claimed three sandbanks, releasing photos of Philippine officers holding up their national flag, mimicking the Chinese images. It is unclear whether one of the three sandbanks claimed was Sandy Cay, as the Chinese Coast Guard is reported to have left with no sign that China is permanently occupying the 200 square metre island.

Huawei builds new AI chip in bid to match Nvidia
The Chinese tech giant is preparing to test its newest and most powerful AI processor, hoping to replace some of Nvidia’s higher-end products, with sources revealing Huawei had approached some Chinese tech firms about testing the feasibility of the new chip. Huawei hopes that the new Ascend 910D chip will be more powerful than Nvidia’s H100, with the first batch of samples of the processor to be delivered as early as late May.

Sweeping power outage cripples Spanish, Portuguese infrastructure 
The power outage brought a sudden halt to many facets of the two countries, with public transport halted, traffic brought to a gridlock by the sudden lack of traffic lights, and flights delayed. Hospitals were also left with no power, with people also trapped in elevators and the metro. The cause of the outage, which also briefly affected parts of France, has not been determined, though the possibility of a cyber attack has not been ruled out. There were also reports that phone service went down across most of Spain and parts of Portugal. This reminds us of Bruce Willis’ Live Free or Die Hard.

Shorts:

1. FDA to ban petroleum-based food dyes 
   The US agency will be phasing out the use of petroleum-based synthetic food dyes by the end of next year, which will affect a number of food giants such as PepsiCo and W.K. Kellogg. The food industry has argued that the claims about the dangers of artificial dyes lack evidence that supports any bans. So far, the FDA and the food industry have not come to a formal agreement for the phase-out, but have had an “understanding”.

2. Thailand launches digital arrival card for foreign visitors 
   Starting May 1, Thailand will require foreign visitors to fill up a pre-departure digital form, in a bid to make it easy for authorities to track travellers amid a broadening crackdown on human trafficking. The Thailand Digital Arrival Card replaces the paper form and is mandatory when foreigners enter the country, whether it is by land, sea, or air. In other news on tourists filling up documents, an Israeli tourist in Japan was asked to sign a declaration denying involvement in war crimes. Discriminatory, maybe, but can you really blame the Japanese hotel?

3. Putin announces 3-day ceasefire 
   The Russian President declared the ceasefire to mark the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Soviet Union and its allies in WWII. The Ukrainian foreign minister, Sybiha, responded to the declaration asking why Russia needed to wait till May 8 for a ceasefire if Putin really wanted peace, and called for any ceasefires to be “real, not just for a parade”.

5. FOR YOUR EYES 📺

New Frontiers

1. The Flying Car Economy.

2. Bringing your business To The Moon, literally.