☕️ High Court orders govt, Razak Baginda to pay RM9+ mil to Altantuya's family

1. MARKET SUMMARY 📈

2. NUMBERS AT A GLANCE 🔢

24-year-old Manchester City striker Erling Haaland has signed a record 10-year contract with his current club, making it the longest contract in the English Premier League history. His existing contract expires in the summer of 2027, and this new contract effectively extends his career in the club by another 7 years. He has scored 111 times in 126 appearances since joining in 2022. If you are wondering how much he could be earnings — GBP500,000 (RM2.79 mil) per week.

20th place —Toyota Motor ranked third to last in the 2024 Digital Automaker Index by Gartner, highlighting the gap between Japanese automakers and industry leader Tesla. The index evaluated 22 car manufacturers on 14,000 data points across eight categories, including leadership, human talent, and vehicle technology. Tesla retained the top spot from 2023.

But is it a chicken or egg problem?

33% drop —Sales of electric vehicles in Japan fell to 59,736 units in 2024, marking the first decline in four years, according to Nikkei. EVs now account for less than 2% of total vehicle sales, the lowest share among major advanced economies, highlighting Japan’s slow adoption of EVs despite global growth.

3. IN MALAYSIA 🇲🇾

Court stuff

Govt and Razak Baginda to pay RM9 mil to Altantuya’s family, high court rules
The High Court has ordered the government as well as Abdul Razak Baginda, a political analyst directly linked to the case of Mongolian model Altantuya Shaariibuu, to pay RM9 mil in total to Altantuya's father, Shaariibuu Setev. Altantuya was murdered by two policemen and acting bodyguards of Datuk Seri Najib Razak on 18 Oct, 2006.

The amount is to be split evenly between the government and Abdul Razak Baginda, to be paid to Shaariibuu and his family, as well as RM25,000 in costs to each party involved by both the govt and Razak Baginda. The High Court order, however, comes with a conditional stay, whereby it is pending an appeal. The appeal concerns the 2022 ruling that found them vicariously liable for Altantuya’s death. Should the appeal fail, the amount will then be released within 30 days. Kinda confused here - is anyone going to jail in this case apart from the 2 policemen?

GISB chief, 21 others charged with being part of organised crime group
GISB Holdings Sdn Bhd (GISB) chief executive officer Datuk Nasiruddin Mohd Ali, along with twenty one other GISB members, pleaded not guilty to charges of being involved in an organised crime group on Wednesday at the Shah Alam High Court.

Apart from one, for whom exceptions were made due to her age and condition of health, the twenty members and Nasiruddin are being held in remand, with seventeen of the accused having submitted applications for bail, while the remaining four will be submitted by this week.

Introducing AirBorneo - Sarawak’s new airline
Sarawak has unveiled the first of its kind in Malaysia, a state-owned airline. Named AirBorneo, the airline’s announcement comes after the confirmation of a sale and purchase agreement with the Malaysian Aviation Group (MAG) over the acquisition of MASWings, the sister branch of Malaysia’s flag carrier, Malaysia Airlines.

The airline is set to strike a balance between affordability and economic benefits, as well as connectivity. It is claimed to have superior in-flight services and will operate as a full-service carrier. The airline has wishes of flying internationally, namely to Germany, South Korea, Japan, Hong Kong and Thailand.

AirBorneo is expectant of MAG to perform certain tasks for a smooth handover, including but not limited to promoting Sarawak as a top travel destination for tourists and businesspeople alike, boosting the tourism and business sectors.

The heat wave is coming
The monsoon season is soon coming to a close, predicted to end sometime in mid-March, and yet, with it comes warnings of heat waves and even haze. As cloud cover and rainfall decrease nationwide, especially in the Northern regions, temperatures will continue to rise, along with the aridity of the air.

As of 11 Feb, two areas (namely in Kedah and Perak) have been indicated with Level 1 heatwave statuses. This means a maximum temperature of 35 degrees Celcius to 37 degrees Celcius, lasting a duration of 3 consecutive days. Department director-general Dr Mohd Hisham Mohd Anip of the Meteorological Department stated that during this period, haze and localised heat waves may also occur.

The good thing (relatively) is that the forecast is predicted to have lower numbers than the scorching heat waves of past years, particularly 2024. This is partially due to a weak reaction from the La Niña effect.

Shorts

1. UNHCR cards are now compatible with Touch n’ Go e-wallets and accessible to refugees

   TNG Digital has partnered up with UNHCR (UN refugee agency) to provide a secure and cashless payment method for refugees in Malaysia. Due to challenges caused by documentation issues and legal statuses, many find it hard to pay with traditional financial services. Those registered under UNHCR may now use their card IDs to register for a TnG e-wallet account, not unlike any other TnG e-wallet account.

2. Almost 1k Johorean students skip SPM in lieu of better paying Singaporean jobs

   In the state of Johor, the count of students who were absent for their registered SPM exams this year totalled more than 900. With many in the belief that greener grass was merely across the shore, and Singapore not finding an SPM certificate necessary for working requirements, the dropout count in Johorean schools rose. The 3x salary-cost arbitrage is hard to resist. 

3. Petronas Ventures to offer startups engagement at regional roadshows

   As a part of the FutureTech 4.0 accelerator program by Petronas Ventures and BCG X.Ventures Southeast Asia, regional roadshows across Johor, Bangkok, and Singapore can be expected. They encourage startups focused in solutions to energy, materials, and industry to connect with industry leaders and make use of the accelerator resources. Learn more about the corporate venture capital arm of Petronas here and view its investment portfolio here. May they find success and avoid the FashionValets and eF*ckeryFishery-ies. 

4. AROUND THE WORLD 🌎

Israel-Gaza ceasefire at risk

Israel calls up reservists amid ceasefire concerns
The move comes in preparation for a possible resumption of fighting in Gaza, as Israeli PM Netanyahu has threatened to end the ceasefire should Hamas not release hostages by midday on Saturday. Hamas responded with a statement affirming its commitment to the ceasefire, accusing Israel of violating the deal first. The accusations levied against Israel included opening fire at Gazans, holding up aid, and impeding the return of Gazans to the north of the strip.

Egypt rejects Trump's suggestion of land allocation and offers separate proposal
On the rebuilding of Gaza, Egypt has rejected any proposal to allocate land to Gaza residents following a comment by US President Trump about “a parcel of land in Jordan, Egypt, and someplace else” where Palestinians can be resettled. However, Egypt does plan to offer a “comprehensive proposal” to rebuild Gaza while ensuring Palestinians remain on their land. As an aside, North Korea has denounced Trump’s proposal to take over Gaza and relocate Palestinians, calling the proposal “bluster”. The commentary goes on to accuse Washington of robbery, with other criticisms about the Trump administration tacked on.

Russia declines territory swap as US looks to establish minerals deal with Kyiv
Over in Europe, Russia has stated it will never swap the Ukrainian territory it controls for the parts of the Kursk region held by Ukrainian forces, a response to Ukrainian President Zelenskiy’s offer for a straight territory exchange to help bring an end to the war. This comes even as the US Treasury Secretary visited Kyiv to discuss a critical minerals deal, an attempt by Ukraine to curry favour with Trump, who had previously stated he wanted USD500 bil in rare earth minerals from Ukraine and that Kyiv had to “secure” Washington’s support.

Episode Trump

• Trump readies reciprocal tariffs, may invoke 1930 trade discrimination law

  In the US, Trump’s trade advisors are finalising plans for reciprocal tariffs that Trump vowed he would impose on every country that charges duties on US imports, further stoking fears of a global trade war. A source reported the announcement might come later this week. Trump could also be looking toward the largely forgotten Trade Act of 1930, specifically Section 338, to give him a quick way to impose his reciprocal tariffs. That bit of legislation allows the president to impose duties of up to 50% against imports from countries that are found to discriminate against US commerce.

• Large-scale staff cuts, but are they really for efficiency?

  Trump has ordered all US agencies to work with the Department of Governmental Efficiency (DOGE) to shrink the federal workforce and identify roles that can be eliminated entirely. DOGE chief Elon Musk has made it clear he is leading the efforts. He also defended his appointment to the role while responding to criticism that DOGE operated largely in secrecy, saying that he “fully expects to be scrutinised”. However, concerns have been raised that the first phase of the push to trim down government agencies is more of an ideological assault than a good-faith effort to save taxpayer dollars. It was pointed out that the duo targeted agencies they didn’t like, which only had a minuscule draw on the US budget as a whole. Meanwhile, our Khairy Jamaluddin proposed a similar DOGE concept in Malaysia.

Business in China

• JD.com has begun recruiting restaurants as it enters highly-competitive market

  The Chinese e-commerce giant promised “zero commissions all year round!” as part of its drive to recruit catering merchants to its new food delivery business JD Takeaway, where merchants signing up before May 1, 2025, would enjoy commission-free services for the entire year. It also promised comprehensive support and to promote the “healthy and sustainable development of the food delivery industry”. China’s food delivery market is dominated by market leader Meituan and Alibaba’s Eleme.

• Departure of partners due to PwC China's link to Evergrande scandal

  The stepping down of over 60 partners from their roles at PwC’s China arm comes as the firm is dealing with the aftermath of its involvement in the Evergrande scandal, leaving only 66 partners in the arm. PwC China stated it was reshaping its business, which has seen some partners leaving. The firm was found to have helped conceal fraud at Chinese property developer Evergrande by issuing false audits.
  The property developer, which collapsed in 2024, was accused of inflating its revenues by USD78 bil in 2019 and 2020 - one of the largest fraud cases in history.

Shorts

1. Google launches image remixing tool Whisk

   The AI-powered tool debuted last year but was only available to users in the US. Now, Google has made Whisk available in over 100 countries. Whisk allows the user to upload three images and remix them into a new creation powered by the Imagen 3 model. Whisk is not available in India, Indonesia, the EU, and the UK, among other countries. It’s available in Malaysia if you are curious to try it.

2. Children falling prey to gang violence in Haiti, warns Amnesty International

   The NGO warned that gangs were recruiting children and targeting them with violence and sexual assault. The estimate is that over a million children live in areas controlled by or under the influence of armed gangs. This echoes concerns raised by UNICEF in November last year, with the UN group reporting that gang recruitment of children in Haiti had risen by 70%, with between 30% to 50% of gang members in Haiti being children.

3. UK, US turn down international AI regulation agreement

   The two nations declined to sign the AI Action Statement, which was signed by dozens of countries, including France, China, and India. The declaration promised an “open, inclusive, and ethical” approach to AI tech development. The UK declined citing concerns about national security and global governance, while the US representative, US Vice President JD Vance, told delegates that too much regulation could “kill a transformative industry just as it’s taking off”.

4. Duolingo Owl dead, company confirms

   A bizarre news for the day. Edutech firm Duolingo, known for its language learning app and its owl mascot, Duo, has confirmed the demise of the mascot. A company spokesperson issued a statement confirming the death of the mascot, announced prior with a social media post, was part of a brand marketing campaign. Are we finally free from Duo’s clutches?

5. FOR YOUR EYES 📺

1. Americans spent almost half of their annual expenditures on housing and transportation.

2. Food for thought.

3. A beautiful aerial view of a Thaipusam procession shot by aerial travel photographer @siva_wwc. We hope no non-Hindus lost their own faith after celebrating Thaipusam with their fellow Malaysians.

4. A different procession - PDRM marching band x Rose & Bruno Mars’ APT

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