☕️ FashionValet founders to be charged tomorrow

1. MARKET SUMMARY 📈

2. NUMBERS AT A GLANCE 🔢

149 cases of drunk driving accidents have been charged in court from Jan 2021 to Sept 2024, according to Home Affairs Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail. These cases, under Section 44 of the Road Transport Act 1987, involve drivers under the influence of alcohol or drugs causing injury or death. Offenders in fatal drunk driving accidents can face up to 15 years in prison, with fines ranging from RM50,000 to RM100,000, while those causing injury may be jailed for up to 10 years and fined between RM30,000 and RM50,000.

20.5 mil international tourist arrivals to Malaysia have been recorded as of October 2024, surpassing the 20.14 mil from the entire year of 2023. Additionally, the Tourism Minister, Tiong King Sing, announced the launch of nine new international routes connecting five key destinations in Malaysia to other countries, along with one charter flight route, bringing the total weekly flights to 3,100.

USD50 bil (RM223 bil) is the projected global sales for Shein in 2024, up from USD32 bil in 2023. This makes Shein as large as H&M and Zara combined in terms of fast-fashion sales, and it now accounts for half of all fast-fashion sales in America. Shein’s rapid growth is driven by its innovative business model and ability to quickly produce and distribute affordable clothing and accessories worldwide. The company's success is largely due to its skill in using data to create algorithms that predict what customers want. However, US lawmakers are looking into Shein because of claims that it uses forced labour in its supply chains.

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3. IN MALAYSIA 🇲🇾

Banks could refund money lost to scams, if due to negligence
In response to a question from Padang Terap MP inquiring if banks could be held accountable for money lost through financial scams,  PM Anwar said that banks in Malaysia are already required to do that, in accordance with the Criminal Procedure Code, as he cited the UK’s shared practice of having banks refund money lost through scams. This is assuming the account holder is not compromised and the bank fails to monitor accounts according to regulations. 

Anwar also responded to a question from Sri Aman MP, asking if the government has plans to implement laws protecting civilians from online financial crime, similar to Singapore. The PM cum Finance Minister stated that a comprehensive review committee is already looking into laws to combat financial crime, as well as joint-efforts with other Asean countries.

RM1 bil to repair flood damages
Anwar mentioned in the Dewan Rakyat that the cost to repair basic infrastructure damaged from recent floods could amount to RM1 bil, with the Government expediting assistance to repair schools, hospitals, and road networks. The Government is still mulling over handing out compensation for flood victims who lost their homes, as they are waiting to see the overall damages with floods receding in Kelantan and Terengganu.

Tumpat MP Mumtaz Nawi inquired Anwar if the Government had plans on expediting the National Disaster Risk Reduction policy set to enable mega flood mitigation capabilities, to which the PM assured that Kelantan and Terengganu are set to have theirs completed early next year, while Pahang is still in the early stages. Anwar also added that his government is prepared for the upcoming monsoon surge, forecast to start on Dec 8 and potentially lasting up to a week.

MACC: The boot for Encorp CEO and a BAM smash
In an announcement dated Monday, Encorp Bhd stated that it has removed its group CEO Hazurin Harun effective immediately following an internal investigation by the board of directors. His sacking comes after a suspension made in Aug after 3 years of service, having been appointed in Feb 2021.

Hazurin, who was charged by the MACC last month with two counts of criminal breach of trust, denied any wrongdoing and claimed trial. The MACC reportedly arrested a group CEO of a publicly listed company alongside two other individuals in Aug on suspicions of misappropriating RM1.5 mil in funds, two of them being remanded for 4 days.
Learn: What is Criminal Breach of Trust (CBT)

Encorp has been losing money since the financial year ended Dec 31 2017. Its ventures for this year include property development as well as investment and construction reported a net loss of RM1.74 mil, on a revenue of RM78.54 mil. Encorp is 67.13%-owned by a fully-owned subsidiary of Felda, btw.

In other MACC news (they’ve been quite active recently), the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) confirmed that MACC officers paid them a visit to gather information. This comes after an anonymous tip-off reportedly claimed BAM breached anti-corruption laws, as a top BAM official received additional allowances without prior board approval.

Najib denies a close relationship with Jho Low in High Court
“Unsure”, Najib says on how fugitive Jho Low obtained his personal number. Najib stated that his stepson Riza Aziz knew Low’s younger brother Taek Szen at the London School of Economics and that their friendship likely gained Low access to his cell number- even then, Najib denied Low having “unimpeded access” to him, as he mentioned his phone was always with one of his assistants instead of having it on his person. Najib also mentioned that “many Malaysians had his phone number too”- how convenient.

Low’s meeting with Najib in late 2009 was also mentioned in court, with the latter mentioning that he accommodated for an unscheduled meeting that only lasted 15 minutes, and that Low was serving as a message courier from Saudi ruler King Abdullah.

The court also heard that Low was not representing 1MDB’s interests but that of PetroSaudi International, as he had good relations with the Saudi royal family and Kuwaitis, besides highlighting Low’s legitimate role in securing Mubadala’s USD500 mil (RM2.2 bil) investment in Malaysia’s Iskandar project back in 2008.

Shorts

1. The Sabah Scandal Whistleblower goes all in

   Seven full recordings were released by the whistleblower, potentially implicating several assemblypersons. The videos document discussions surrounding the alleged bribes to secure support for a mining exploration license application. Prominent lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah is representing the whistleblower on a pro bono basis. You can find them on Malaysiakini’s YouTube channel - KiniTV. One of the assemblymen earlier blamed AI (as in, Artificial Intelligence) on an earlier 17-sec audio recording. If these videos were indeed AI-generated, OpenAI’s lunch could get eaten real soon.

2. FashionValet founders to be charged on Thursday
   The cat’s out of the bag as Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner Azam Baki revealed that the founders of FashionValet Vivy Yusof and her husband, Fadzaruddin Shah Anuar, will be charged at the Special Corruption Court on Thursday. The investigation into the company was completed late last month on Nov 28.

4. AROUND THE WORLD 🌎

What and who is Trump threatening in the Middle East?
US President-elect Donald Trump has posted a loud statement on Truth Social that there will be “hell to pay” if captives in Gaza are not released by the time he takes office on Jan 20, denouncing President Joe Biden and his administration’s inability to broker a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas:

However, the post did not specify what the threat is and which parties it was referring to, although it sounds like he is only talking about captives held by Hamas, without mentioning Palestinian civilians. Hamas has repeatedly offered to release captives held in Gaza in return for an end to the war, but the Israeli government is adamant that the war will continue until Hamas is totally defeated - hence the deadlock of the ceasefire negotiations.

In his election campaign, the former president brought forth a broad notion that he would bring about peace in the Middle East, particularly in Gaza, but has offered no details on how that would be achieved. His “America First” platform has long stayed away from further involvement of US forces, assets or funding in conflicts abroad. However, Trump has voiced support for Israel to “finish the job” in the Palestinian enclave and has long been Netanyahu’s preferred leader in the US. Even his administration nomination is packed with staunchly pro-Israel officials.

China is studying Russia on how to survive US sanctions in the event of Taiwan invasion
It’s not like China is going to invade Taiwan soon (is it?), but unnamed sources have informed the WSJ that the country is closely monitoring the effects of Western sanctions in Russia, and learning how to reduce the impact should the US and its allies impose similar measures on China in the event of an armed conflict over Taiwan.

An expert at the Free University of Berlin said that China has been studying Russia for quite some time, at least since the collapse of the USSR. It has probably already learned that its economy can adapt to "nuclear" Western sanctions through trading with other countries, adapting production facilities to quick and unpredictable changes of supply lines, and living without access to Western technology.

Russia is surviving the sanctions from the US since its invasion of Ukraine through bartering and trading with non-sanctioning countries, but its economy has been heavily impacted. Russia's central bank hiked its key interest rate to a record high of 21% in October to combat inflation, and last month the RUB dropped to a two-year low against USD.

Business

• Bezos joins Samsung to invest in NVIDIA challenger upstart
  As the quest for more power and cost efficiency in AI ramps up, smaller companies are sprouting up trying to snatch market share from Nvidia’s power-hungry chips. That includes Tenstorrent, an AI chip start-up company that is aiming to provide a more affordable path to AI development. The company has raised USD700 mil (RM3.1 bil) in a funding round led by South Korea’s AFW Partners and Samsung Securities, which was also joined by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, valing the company at USD2.6 bil vs Nvidia’s market cap of USD3.4 tril. The solutions by Tenstorrent build on open-source and commonplace technology, avoiding complex and pricey components like the high-bandwidth memory Nvidia favours.

• ExxonMobil thinking of selling Singapore petrol stations for USD1.35 bil
  ExxonMoobil is considering selling its petrol stations in Singapore, with a sale that could raise about USD1bil (RM4.5 bil) that it can use to deploy in other areas of higher growth potential. The company is believed to be working with financial advisers, with other industry players and investment funds showing preliminary interest. Exxon, which has been operating in Singapore for more than 130 years, has a network of 59 filling stations under the Esso brand, as well as a refinery, chemical and lubricant plants, a fuels terminal and a liquefied petroleum gas bottling plant. The price of 1 station in a land-scare nation - RM76.3 mil.

Shorts:

1. Experts says TikTok beauty filter ban on teenagers is good

   Child and adolescent experts are supportive of TikTok's recent move to ban teenagers under 18 from using beauty filters, particularly because the filters promote unrealistic and unnatural forms of beauty standards among adolescents. Teenage girls are particularly at risk, where negative self-image issues often develop when they start comparing their looks to a certain ideal. TikTok’s decision was based on multi-market research with the UK not-for-profit organisation Internet Matters and will take effect in the beginning of 2025.

2. New lawsuit alleges Apple is silencing workers and spying on their personal devices

   Another lawsuit has dropped on Apple, adding to an already tall stack of lawsuits it had faced in the recent year. This time, the complaint was filed by an employee working in digital advertising for Apple, alleging the iPhone maker of illegally monitoring its workers’ personal devices and iCloud accounts, while barring them from discussing their pay and working conditions. He also said that he was instructed to remove information about his working conditions from his LinkedIn profile. Apple’s spokesperson said that the claims in the lawsuit lack merit and that its workers are trained annually on their rights to discuss their working conditions.

5. FOR YOUR EYES 📺

1. Ever wonder how modern music would sound like in medieval times? Wonder no more. #GenreIdidn’tknowIneeded

2. Today, there are about 830 mil people who are 65 years old or older in the world. The latest UN data says this number will grow to 1.7 bil by 2054. Asia, the continent with the most people, is a big part of this change, with its elderly population expected to more than double. This increase is due to more people being born, better healthcare, and people living longer.