☕️ Police station gates to close at 10PM like shops in malls

1. MARKET SUMMARY 📈

2. NUMBERS AT A GLANCE 🔢

MCA Youth chief Ling Tian Soon raised concerns after 173 appeals from Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) students for matriculation admission were rejected, including 69 students with 10As and four with 9As. Ling argued that students with high scores should be directly admitted to the programme and emphasised that some students only take nine subjects, which should not disadvantage their university admission chances. Earlier this month, PM Anwar Ibrahim said the government will admit all top Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) scorers, regardless of race, into matriculation programmes starting in 2025.

The Ministry of Housing and Local Government in Malaysia has identified 534 potential urban redevelopment areas in Peninsular Malaysia, valued at RM355.3 bil. Minister Nga Kor Ming outlined seven focus areas for the redevelopment: legal provisions, public-private partnerships, capacity building and knowledge sharing, community engagement, sustainable design, technology adoption, and transparency. The ministry plans to introduce an urban redevelopment bill in Parliament by the first quarter of 2025 to regulate these activities.

38th — Malaysia’s ranking among 115 countries for the average IQ, or intelligence quotient. Malaysia’s IQ score came up to 99.55 per 19,565 participants, indicating an improvement of 0.48 compared to last year’s score of 99.07 per 19,532. As reported in the International IQ test, this places the country third in the region — no points for guessing which country is the first. There is no standard IQ classification and it varies from each IQ test publisher.

3. IN MALAYSIA 🇲🇾

Chatter in Parliament yesterday:

1. Police station gates to close at 10PM like shops in shopping malls

   Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution stated that police station gates are to close after 10PM following an attack at the Ulu Tiram police station last May where two police personnel were brutally killed. This was Saifuddin’s answer when asked about measures taken to curb the spread of extremism in the country, as the attack in Ulu Tiram was linked to the family of 5 that were accused of links to the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group. But is closing the police station gates really the best solution? However, Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Razarudin clarified that the directive will be implemented at certain police stations in the outskirts and rural areas that are “at risk”, but service to the public remains undisrupted.

2. Stiffer laws for banks and scams

   Parliament has finally tabled amendments that deliver stiffer punishments to scammers and bank account mules. Account mules are people who rent or sell their bank accounts to scammers. Those found guilty could be charged with a fine and/or jailed between one to seven years. Four offences are specifically worded: Owning or controlling someone else’s bank account or payment instrument; Giving someone else control of your bank account or payment instrument; Unlawful transactions using own account; Unlawful transactions using someone else’s account. The amendments could deter people from becoming account mules and engaging in scams. MKini has developed a game to educate on scams, play it here.

Court decisions

1. Court of Appeal uno reverses CTOS case

   The Court of Appeal (CoA) overturned a previous High Court decision that ordered CTOS Data Systems (CDS) to pay RM200,000 to businesswoman Suriati Mohd Yusoff (recap of the case here). The CoA ruled that CDS did not defame Suriati, was not negligent, and did not breach their statutory duties – which means that the High Court wrongly decided to award Suriati the damages. In turn, Suriati now has to pay RM65,000 in costs to CDS, their legal team emphasising the importance of the agency’s reputation. CTOS’s shares went up 2.2% following the ruling.

2. High Court ruled Kedah is unconstitutional to stop gaming licences

   In Alor Setar, the High Court ruled that Kedah’s decision to stop issuing and renewing gaming licences goes against the Federal Constitution. Kedah’s move is not only illegal and needs to be revoked, but the court also ordered the Kedah government to compensate the three gaming companies who filed the suit for their losses. Meanwhile, in Perlis, Sports Toto Malaysia and four other parties are challenging a similar ban by the Perlis government on betting outlets, arguing unemployment, losses, and the infringement on the rights of non-muslims.

Shorts:

1. More on Rajeswary’s tragic case

   As we reported yesterday on the case of 29-year-old Rajeswara Appahu, we uncovered more details. Rajeswary had a backstory involving a local preacher, Ustaz Muhammad Zamri Vonith Kalimuthu. Zamri had reported her for allegedly insulting Islam and started a scathing social media campaign against her, leading to further doxxing and harassment online. She was even arrested and remanded for three days. Rajeswary faced relentless harassment from Zamri’s campaign. The continuous bullying and harassment ultimately became too much for her to bear and led to her demise. So, be mindful of what you say online. Keyboard warriors are always quick to dox and late to learn the consequences of their actions.

2. Almost 50,000 calls made to mental health crisis lines since 2022

   The mental health crisis helpline, Heal Line 15555 has received 48,903 calls since establishing in 2022. Statistics by the National Centre of Excellence for Mental Health (NCEMH) showed the majority of those who commit suicide are Chinese, followed by Malays and Indians. Reported cases of suicide this year increased to 1,087 from 981 last year. The Health Ministry is working with telco companies to make free calls to the Heal 15555 line, providing access for anyone in need. 59% of calls made received emotional support and counselling assistance, while 41% received specialised interventions from counselling psychologists. Mental health is still taboo in our society, and it shouldn’t be.

   
   “I found that with depression, one of the most important things you could realise is that you're not alone. You're not the first to go through it; you're not going to be the last to go through it.” — Dwayne' The Rock' Johnson.

4. AROUND THE WORLD 🌎

India strengthens ties with Russia on Modi’s first trip to Russia since Ukraine war
The West is probably doing a bombastic side-eye to Modi as he was warmly welcomed in Russia by Putin, who addressed him as a “dear friend”. The Indian PM made the first trip to Russia since its invasion of Ukraine and said in X that he was looking forward to further deepening the Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership between their nations.

Russia is now a key supplier of cut-price oil and weapons to India, especially following sanctions on Moscow imposed by the United States and its allies in regard to the Ukraine invasion. India gets more than 40% of its oil imports from Russia. Modi’s administration has also been avoiding condemning Russia's military action in Ukraine and emphasises the need for a peaceful settlement instead.

However, the plot twist is that Russia has a blooming relationship with China, a rival of India, where both compete for strategic influence across South Asia. The West, on the other hand, is cultivating ties with India as a means to “build a wall” against China while highly pressuring New Delhi to distance itself from Russia.

Who is who now, Modi? We don’t know for sure, but the Indian PM is surely treading a fine line to keep both sides happy.

China in scrambles and scandal

1. OpenAI blocks access to China, sending local AI developers scrambling for local user traction

   Nobody knows the exact reason why OpenAI has blocked users in China from using its tools and and services beginning Tuesday, but the Chinese developers are taking the opportunity to further lure domestic developers away from OpenAI. Now local AI companies are offering free tokens for migrating to its platforms and expanding their user base. SenseTime, China’s leading AI company, is giving away 50m free tokens for using its AI, while Baidu offered 50m free tokens for its Ernie 3.5 AI model, together with free migration services. Zhipu AI, another local company, offered 150m free tokens for its model. Tencent Cloud is giving away 100m free tokens for its AI model to new users until the end of July.

   China is estimated to have at least 130 AI large language models (LLM), accounting for 40% of the world’s total and only second to the US. A technology professor at New York University said that OpenAI’s departure is only a short-term shock to the China market, while a state media outlet said it was “a push from the US to hamper China’s technology development”. This may further dampen Apple’s efforts to gain market share in China as Apple recently announced its partnership with OpenAI for Apple Intelligence.

2. China panics over soy oil tanker used interchangeably with chemical without proper cleaning

   Another food scandal has erupted in China after an investigation published on 2nd July by the state media outlet Beijing News revealed a multiple case of tank trunks transporting edible cooking oil immediately after delivering chemicals used for coal-to-liquid processing.

   Apparently several truck drivers admitted that the practice was a widespread cost-saving measure used by firms with thousands of trucks — an "open secret" in the industry. In some seasons, the truckers said drivers would transport industrial wastewater before delivering edible oils.

   The discovery has led to outrage and backlash among the public, with many expressing concerns and anger over social media and demanding a wider investigation of the case up to the higher authorities.

   It’s not the first time that China has been tainted by food scandals. One of the biggest was a decade ago, with multiple scandals involving the usage of gutter oil and reusing sewage grease in restaurants. Also the discovery of deadly chemicals in baby milk powder not too long ago. This resulted in a growing distrust of the public towards commercially sold foods and led the central government to actively promote food safety in the country. Honestly, they better do.

Studies found that Gaza death toll could exceed 186,000
There’s more than meets the eye when it comes to the true death toll in Gaza: A recent study published in the reputable medical journal Lancet has disclosed that the cumulative effects of Israel's war on Gaza could reach more than 186,000 people. This is way more than the mere 38,000 reported by Gaza’s Ministry of Health since 7th October. 

The study says that the death toll is higher because the official toll does not take into account thousands of dead buried under rubble and indirect deaths due to the destruction of health facilities, food distribution systems and other public infrastructure.

It also mentioned that the number is much larger due to most of Gaza’s infrastructure having been destroyed, shortages of food, water and shelter and funding cuts to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees.

Indirect deaths usually range from 3 to 15 times the number of direct deaths, so after applying a conservative estimate of 4 indirect deaths per 1 direct death, the estimate could reach a plausible 186,000 or even more deaths. Such a number sadly represents almost 8% of Gaza’s pre-war population of 2.3 mil.

Shorts

1. Palace stays in Saudi Arabia for the ultra-luxe travellers

   With enough moolah in the pocket (and we mean A LOT), one can now experience a taste of the Saudi royal life in its opulent Red Palace, once lived in by King Saud bin Abdulaziz, the second ruler of modern Saudi Arabia. Doubling as historic preservation, the Boutique Group company has taken up the project to convert the palace (and more to come) into an ultra-luxe hotel destination, embodying the ultimate royalty treatment and the history and culture of the kings and families. The effort is part of the kingdom to diversify its economy away from petroleum by creating new industries like tourism. Saudi Arabia plans to spend USD 800 bil (RM3.77 tril) on tourism over the next decade as it dreams of hosting 150 million tourists a year.

2. Heat wave kills 4 in increasing Japan summer heat

   Temperatures are rising in Japan, hitting a high of 40C for the first time this year and prompting the Japan meteorological agency to issue a heat stroke alert for 26 of the 47 prefectures. Japan's summer is known to be hot and humid, but temperatures are expected to be higher than average this year thanks to global heating and other climatic factors. Old people and young children are the most at risk, where more than half of 2276 people taken to hospital were aged over 65 and children showing symptoms of heat strokes. Four confirmed deaths have been reported recently, all within the senior elderly group.

3. Chip giant TSMC crosses USD1 tril market cap as it rides on Nvidia’s success
   Chip giant TSMC crosses USD1 tril market cap as it rides on Nvidia’s success. Nvidia’s suppliers seem to benefit from its recent success in becoming the 2nd most valuable company in the world. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, or TSMC shares on the New York Stock Exchange, crossed the USD1 tril valuation mark on Monday after gaining 4.8%, while shares on Taiwan Stock Exchange were 0.5% higher at USD 32.26 a piece on Tuesday. It’s also Asia’s most valuable company. TSMC is the producer of an estimated 90% of the world's most advanced processor chips and is the sole supplier of key advanced chips to Nvidia and Apple, among others.

5. FOR YOUR EYES 📺

1. Americans’ love for pyrotechnics during the 4th of July celebrations comes with a huge risk of wildfires.

2. How to run the most valuable company in the world? Don’t do 1-on-1s, according to Jensen Huang. Interesting management philosophy.