☕️ Most PH ministers were "cap ayam" ministers, incompetent - BN Adviser Najib Razak

1. MARKET SUMMARY

2. NUMBERS AT A GLANCE

1 billion methamphetamine pills were seized in East and Southeast Asia last year, according to United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Authorities seized nearly 172 tonnes of methamphetamine — approximately seven times more than a decade ago. That’s also equivalent to 30 elephants (they weigh 6.70 tonnes on average).

RM600 - the expected cost of grocery shopping for lower to middle-income families with rising inflation, which comprises a large proportion of their income compared to high-income households. Some items like cooking oil have doubled compared to pre-pandemic. Meanwhile, the government said inflation is up 2.5%. Check out the Hargapedia app that helps to compare grocery items both online and offline that have helped 1.2 mil Malaysians to save on their household spending.

77.134m — the world record for the farthest flight of a paper aircraft. The team of three who broke the record — Kim Kyu Tae (South Korea), with the support of Shin Moo Joon (South Korea) and Chee Yie Jian/Julian (Malaysia). Yes, Malaysian!!! The previous record was 69.14m.

3. IN MALAYSIA 🇲🇾

1. BN Convention was held yesterday in conjunction with the 48th-anniversary celebration of the coalition attended by over 4,000 component members from UMNO, MCA, MIC, Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah and Friends of BN at Dewan Merdeka, WTC. Some highlights:

   1. Convicted former and BN adviser PM Najib Razak called for voters to punish PN and PH in GE15 — PN for its alleged lies when in power and PH for appointing incompetent ministers, referring to most PH ministers as “cap ayam ministers”. He said BN should take advantage of the current situation as the opposition is allegedly in disarray.

   2. PM Ismail Sabri said he would not delay dissolving the Parliament when BN is ready and the matter will be discussed with BN leadership and the top 5 in UMNO (Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Mohamad Hassan, Mohamed Khaled Nordin, Mahdzir Khalid and Sabri himself).

   3. BN chairman Ahmad Zahid Hamidi in his speech said BN will restore Malaysia to the “original Malaysia”, replacing PH’s “new Malaysia” narrative. He rallied the crowd to pledge support to BN and said BN is ready to face the election. After Langkah Sheraton, aren’t we back to Original Malaysia?

2. Jabatan Kerja Raya published a statement confirming an article by the World of Buzz that an RM519 mil contract was awarded for a 7-year period ending Jun 30, 2022, for the management of facilities at Istana Negara covering an area of 241.3 acres and 89,525 sq meters (963,639 sq feet) of gross floor area.That’s RM74.14 mil per year, RM6.41 per sq feet per month. Imagine paying this much on a per sq feet basis for your maintenance fee on your property. If the government is looking to optimise its budget, here’s an indication of where to begin with.

3. PM Ismail Sabri announced that effective July 1 subsidies to poultry farmers will be discontinued. An amount of RM720 mil was allocated to ensure chicken prices were capped, however, many did not take up the offer adding that not even 10% of chicken breeders claimed the subsidy. Instead, the subsidy will go directly to the rakyat. Free money, and no one took it? Something is wrong here - it seems like red tape to get this subsidy was the issue.

4. Nurulhidayah, former DPM Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s daughter, has defended herself via an Instagram post on her recent interview remarks that women are not meant to be leaders. She quoted Quran verses suggesting men were made superior to women by God and further justified that her controversial remarks were intended for women aspiring for top positions. Her explanation, with little coherence, confuses things even more. She should just admit that she forgot her script and blabbered for the fun of it — would be a lot easier to get away with this than citing verses from the holy book. Meanwhile, nearly half of Australia’s new cabinet comprises of women (story below). 

5. Former health minister and 2-term Kuala Selangor MP Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad will not contest in the next general election as he would like to give way to young leaders and groom them.

6. Kaodim, once a high-profile online home services marketplace, will cease all its operations in Malaysia and several other Southeast Asia countries effective July 1, 2022, as announced by its CEO and co-founder, Choong Fui Yu. The prolonged lockdown was pointed out as the primary reason for shutting its doors. The company raised a total funding of USD17.6 mil (RM77.1 mil) since its inception in 2014.

7. Genting Bhd’s share price popped more than 10% — not due to its core businesses but its medical business. TauRx Pharmaceuticals, 20.3%-owned by Genting Bhd, announced that it has completed its clinical trials of an Alzheimer’s drug, showing positive progress. Genting invested USD111.8 mil in the company back in 2012.

4. AROUND THE WORLD 🌎

1. Australia’s new PM, Anthony Albanese, appoints a record 13 women, including the first female Muslim, as ministers in his new government, making it nearly half of the 30 ministers being women. Out of 23 core Cabinet roles, ten spots are held by women ministers. Kudos to Anthony for setting an excellent example with this top-down approach to gender equality.

2. Last night, US markets were jittery with huge sell downs prior to President Joe Biden’s meeting with Fed chair Jerome Powell. However, the meeting was anti-climatic as Biden merely reiterated that he would leave the Fed to tackle inflation and they would be given the space it needed to operate. Basically, Biden’s strategy to combat inflation is to push the responsibility to the Fed. Seems like Biden is trying hard to align with voters, but this is akin to bosses organising pointless meetings.

3. Global K-pop sensation BTS appeared at the White House to discuss Asian inclusion and representation as well as to address hate crimes against Asian people. Each member of the group gave a brief statement on the subject. Unsurprisingly, the event garnered more than 310,000 viewers on the White House’s YouTube channel — roughly around 10 times their average viewership.

4. Rising fuel prices and inflation top US consumers' travel concerns, even more than Covid-19, according to a survey. As fuel prices soar, airline fares in the U.S. are averaging more than USD400 round trip this summer — a 24% increase from 2019. Europe is seeing a similar trend as demand and fuel prices are contributing to price increases. Expect this trend to hit Asia soon. Would you pay a higher ticket price to satisfy your revenge travel or wait it out?

5. The risk-off sentiment is every short-sellers dream. As tech stocks tumble, short-sellers (investors who bet against companies by selling borrowed shares before buying them back later) have been reaping the profits on names like Tesla, Amazon, Facebook and Apple to the tune of USD62.5 bil. Tesla, in particular, made short-sellers USD8.2 billion. Meanwhile, Elon Musk is taking a hard stance against employees working from home. Musk said in an email that employees must spend a minimum of 40 hours per week in the office or “depart Tesla”.Short-selling can be a profitable trade. However, if not properly managed, the upside is capped with the unlimited downside. Learn more about short-selling here.

6. The Johnny Depp vs Amber Heard defamation trial has finally ended — the jury found both Depp and Heard liable for defamation in their lawsuits against each other. The jury awarded significantly more damages to Depp — USD10 million in compensatory damages and USD5 million in punitive damages — compared to Heard, who was awarded USD2 mil in compensatory damages.

5. FOR YOUR EYES 👁👁

1. Gmail productivity hack — how to increase undo time from 5 to 30 secs, unsubscribe faster, attach large files, etc.

2. An interesting Observation on how Seoul solved its traffic congestion without building more highways from a Malaysian who lived there for five years.

3. How to make your muscles grow: