☕️ Najib and the unprecendeted power of a screenshot

1. MARKET SUMMARY 📈

2. NUMBERS AT A GLANCE 🔢

The Education Ministry (MoE) announced that 6,034 new contract teachers have been assigned to schools across the country, effective April 15. Of these, 1,858 have been placed in secondary schools, while the remaining 4,176 will be serving in primary schools. The MoE expressed gratitude to the Education Service Commission (SPP) for facilitating the appointment of these new teachers addressing the current requirements within schools nationwide. May quality catch up to quantity, in this case, for the sake of the nation.

Crazy Rich Asians. Confinement in Singapore can cost as much as SGD168,800 (~RM592,000) — more than what the average Singapore household makes in a year. Luxury retreats like Singjoy at Shangri-La offer 24/7 lactation consultants, nannies, and chefs. It has become a lucrative industry worldwide, with some companies being valued at up to USD500 mil. The global market is expected to almost triple in size to USD18.8 bil by 2029. Confinement is a well-known concept across much of Asia and has existed for centuries as a home-based service. It was inspired by a Chinese custom called “sitting the month” after giving birth.
Read: Postpartum Confinement.

Christie's auction house is set to offer the Crosby-Schøyen Codex for sale in June, heralded as Christianity's oldest religious book (view it here). Dating back to between 250-350 AD, this Coptic-scripted papyrus manuscript from Egypt is considered one of the earliest surviving books globally. It's expected to fetch up to USD3.8 mil. Originating from one of the earliest Christian monasteries, it encompasses complete texts from two books of the Bible. The codex is part of the Bodmer Papyri, a compilation of texts unearthed in the 1950s featuring Christian scriptures, Biblical passages, and pagan literature.

3. IN MALAYSIA 🇲🇾

Never has a screenshot been so controversial
It all started with this news: Last week, during the hearing of former prime minister Najib Razak’s leave application to commence a judicial review on the house arrest matter, the High Court adjourned the hearing due to a crucial witness needed to file an affidavit but was unable to do so at that point in time as the witness was observing Ramadan in Makkah. The identity of the witness was not revealed by Najib Razak’s lead counsel, Muhammad Shafee Abdullah. Then came 17th April 2024.

The witness in question turned out to be DPM Ahmad Zahid Hamidi. Zahid said the royal addendum from the former Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah exists in his affidavit in support of Najib’s application for leave to commence judicial review. The royal addendum is meant to allow Najib Razak to go under house arrest. Ahmad Zahid mentioned that Tengku Zafrul had shown him a copy of the addendum order through a photo or scan taken (aka the screenshot) from an original copy displayed to him by the former YDPA.  

Minister of Investment, Trade, and Industry (MITI) Senator Tengku Zafrul Aziz was quick to halt Ahmad Zahid’s allegation. The former released a media statement, stating he would apply to “correct certain factual errors” in a supporting affidavit for Najib Razak’s quest for house arrest. 🤔

Next date to pay attention to — June 5. The High Court has scheduled June 5 as the date to decide on a leave application made by Najib Razak. He intends to challenge the existence of an addendum order and is seeking a mandamus order*. This order would compel either all or one of the respondents — the Home Minister, Commissioner-General of Prisons, Attorney General, the Pardons Board for the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, Labuan and Putrajaya; Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform), director-general Legal Affairs Division at the Prime Minister's Department and the Malaysian Government — to confirm the existence of an additional decree dated January 29, 2024.
*A mandamus order is an order for the public body to take action.
Read: Judicial Review in Malaysia 101.

Fun fact — media is not allowed to cover the proceedings of this court case due to the sensitivity of the materials involved.

HAYS Survey: Malaysian employees prefer challenges over money
The 2024 Hays Asia Salary Guide surveyed over 2,800 professionals and employers in Malaysia, revealing a notable shift in priorities among employees. While salary packages have traditionally been a key factor in job retention, the survey found that seeking new challenges now tops the list of reasons why employees consider leaving their current roles. I’d love to meet these people — I can help them solve their problems, take their money that they don’t need, while they can be challenged to live with the new salary.

Interestingly, for those opting to stay, flexible work options emerged as the most significant factor influencing their decision, surpassing salary considerations. This shift underscores the growing importance of workplace flexibility in today's job market.
View report: 2024 Hays Asia Salary Guide

Increase in HeiTech Padu Bhd’s contract value due to a job merger, not connections
Transport Minister Anthony Loke clarified that the value of MySikap’s three-year contract awarded to HeiTech Padu Bhd rose to RM190.01 mil due to a job merge — one for MySikap (a driver and vehicle information system) and another for its accompanying mainframe (the server that stores MySikap data). The road transport department (JPJ) previously awarded HeiTech Padu a similar contract in 2021, worth RM36 mil, for about 13 months. It was extended for four months for RM10 mil and then a year for RM27 mil.

Loke has refuted any connections between the contract award and the new shareholder of the company, Farhash Wafa Salvador Rizal Mubarak, who is a former aide to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. Loke emphasised that the tender was concluded before Farhash became a substantial shareholder of the company in March this year. Loke also urged any party dissatisfied with the government's explanation over the matter to report it to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) so that a detailed investigation can be undertaken.

Shorts

1. Steven Sim heard our hint yesterday
   Human Resources Minister Steven Sim said workers in Malaysia can apply to their employers for flexible working arrangements based on time, days, and location of work according to Sections 60P and 60Q of the Employment Act 1955. Once the request is made, the employer has to respond within 60 days, and if rejected, reasons must be provided.

2. PJD Link canned
   PJ folks can rejoice! One less highway for the city of Paling Jam (PJ). According to Fahmi Fadzil, the Cabinet made the decision to discontinue the project based on the concessionaire having failed to meet six of the 11 conditions. The proposed 25.4 km expressway, Petaling Jaya Dispersal Link (PJD Link), aimed to reduce travel time between Damansara and Kinrara by 25% by connecting the Damansara–NKVE interchange of the New Klang Valley Expressway to Bandar Kinrara.

4. AROUND THE WORLD 🌎

The cost of war
Israeli forces have pushed back into the northern Gaza Strip with airstrikes targeting Rafah in southern Gaza, with reports of Israeli troops ordering families to evacuate while detaining “many men”. This comes after families had started moving back into northern Gaza after Israeli forces left the region, with said families now moving out again as a result of the Israeli raid. The peace talks between Israel and Hamas have also hit a “stumbling block”, according to Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani. He said the talks on a ceasefire and a release of hostages were at a “delicate phase” and that work is being done to address the block.

The US and EU are responding by looking into further sanctions on Iran, with US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen “fully expecting” additional sanctions against Iran in the coming days. The EU’s leaders, who “strongly and unequivocally condemn the Iranian attack”, will be meeting up to discuss further sanctions as restrictive measures against Iran, especially against Iran’s provision of missiles to its proxies in the Middle East.

On the Ukrainian front, BBC reported it has confirmed that Russia’s military death toll has passed the 50,000 mark as the conflict enters its third year. The body count in the second year was also found to be nearly 25% higher than that of the first year, with over 27,300 Russian soldiers dying in the second year of combat as a result of Russia’s “meat grinder” strategy. BBC also stated that the actual number of deaths is likely to be much higher, especially since its analysis only covers the frontline and excludes Russian-occupied Donetsk and Luhansk.

And speaking of the cost of war, the US’s highly praised F-35 fighter jet clocks in with a high-flying price tag as well. The cost to operate and maintain the jet programme until 2088 is estimated at a whopping USD1.58 tril (with a T), 44% higher than the initial forecast in 2018.

Apple CEO considering new manufacturing facility in Indonesia (Visit Malaysia 2024, Mr Cook?)
Apple CEO Tim Cook said the firm will look into building its first manufacturing facility in Indonesia after a meeting with Indonesian President Joko Widodo. Apple has already been running app developer academies in Indonesia since 2018, with a total cost of about USD98.5 mil, thus meeting the 35% local content requirement to sell its products in Indonesia. This follows Cook’s visit to Vietnam, where the tech giant has plans to boost spending on suppliers in the country (Apple has spent USD15.8 bil since 2019 in the country through its supply chain partners). These moves factor into Apple’s overarching goal to reduce its dependence on China as tensions grow between the US and China. It would really be a slap in the face if Cook skips Malaysia during his tour of the region, considering Mac Minis are made in Malaysia.

India's upcoming election: Modi eyes third win in world's biggest election
The world’s largest democracy by population is gearing up to cast its votes starting on 19th April, with incumbent Prime Minister Narendra Modi set to be the second-ever Indian PM to hold the office for three terms. While there remains speculation that his third five-year term will be his last, Modi is set on creating a legacy of having India abolish poverty and become a fully-developed nation by 2047, which involves increasing the nation’s economy by eight times to USD29 trillion, with a permanent seat at the UN Security Council.

The elections will also be held in stages for logistical reasons, considering there are 969 million citizens eligible to vote out of the nation’s population of 1.4 billion. For a visual aid of what 969 million voters look like, BBC has put together a nice infographic. Contesting Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party is the opposition bloc formed from over two dozen parties, called the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), with notable members being Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, and siblings Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi, children of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.

Telegram CEO: App will hit one billion users within a year 
Founder of the messaging platform Pavel Durov said the app is “spreading like forest fire”, and he believes that Telegram will likely cross the one billion active monthly user milestone within a year with around 900 mil active users now. For comparison, Whatsapp has more than 2 bil monthly active users. He made the statement during an interview with US journalist Tucker Carlson, where he also stated he had “a few hundred million dollars in my bank account or in Bitcoin since ten years ago”. Durov was hailed as the "Mark Zuckerberg of Russia” after co-founding Russia’s most popular social network, VKontakte, which he was forced to sell to Kremlin-friendly oligarchs for USD300 mil under duress.

With just 50 full-time staff, the company was offered a USD30 bil + valuation from potential investors, but Durov is not accepting venture capital money to maintain the independence of Telegram and is eyeing a potential stock market listing instead. And just how rich is Durov? USD15.5 bil, according to Forbes.

Shorts:

1. X banned in Pakistan for "national security" reasons
   Pakistan’s interior ministry blocked access to X (formerly known as Twitter) since the time of its February elections, which confirms suspicions that access to the social media platform was shut down by the authorities. The ministry remarked that the ban was necessitated by X’s failure to adhere to the lawful directives of the Pakistani government and in addressing concerns regarding misuse of the platform.

2. European court says no to ^TM drug kingpin's name
   The EU General Court in Luxembourg has ruled that the name of Colombian drug kingpin Pablo Escobar cannot be registered as a trademark for goods and services in the EU due to the name’s association with “drug trafficking and narco-terrorism”. This upholds the EU’s Intellectual Property Office ruling that refused a trademark application by one Escobar Inc in 2022. Escobar Inc. was founded by Pablo Escobar’s brother, who spent 12 years in prison for his role in his brother’s criminal organisation. A list of the worst things here Escobar did during his reign as druglord - one of which includes blowing up a plane to kill a presidential candidate.

3. Great Barrier Reef sees greatest bleaching event ever 
   The 2,300 km-long reef is suffering its worst bleaching event on record and its fifth in the past decade alone. The bleaching, which sees corals expelling the microscopic algae in their tissues in an effort to survive, was triggered by an increase in water temperatures that began in December last year. Strong measures to decrease global greenhouse gas emissions are needed to reduce the risks of thermal stress on the Reef, said the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority.
   Learn: What is the Great Barrier Reef

5. FOR YOUR EYES 📺

1. As income-generated streaming platforms increased, Spotify, one of the biggest, paid some USD9 bil to rights holders in 2023.

2. 2024 is the year of crazy gadgets — from Vision Pro to Humane AI Pin. Spoiler alert — not all can make it pass the hype the gadgets bring.

3. The ABC of alcoholic drinks, for educational purposes only.