☕️ Potholes: Report online and you can also claim compensation

1. MARKET SUMMARY 📈

2. NUMBERS AT A GLANCE 🔢

354,000 people in England are homeless, a 26% increase over five years, according to Shelter. Of these, 9,000 are rough sleepers, while many more live in temporary accommodation. The social housing crisis is severe, with 1.3 million families on waiting lists nationwide, including 90,000 in Greater Manchester. Additionally, 25% of homeless individuals have mental health issues, and many are escaping abusive relationships.

28,258 US patents were awarded to Chinese companies in 2024, a 32% increase from 2023, making China the third-largest recipient after Japanese and American companies, according to IFI Claims Patent Services. China’s share of U.S. patents has surged from less than 1% in 2010 to nearly 9% in 2024, as firms focus on securing USPTO patents despite restrictions on other U.S. assets.

Here’s a novel way to make a million bucks — write résumés. USD1.1 mil – that’s how much Richard Lambert, a résumé writer on Fiverr grossed in 2022, after starting in 2014 at USD45 per résumé. Today, he charges USD85, with extra fees for cover letters and other services. Their success was boosted by Fiverr’s algorithm, especially after surpassing 25,000 five-star reviews.

3. IN MALAYSIA 🇲🇾

You can actually claim compensation and report potholes online, and they’ll be fixed in 12 hours 
There’s no bigger nightmare for a motorist than the feeling beneath your feet, a harsh jerk and the loud thud signalling a new pothole-induced expense. Yet, according to the Work Ministry (KKR), many are eligible for pothole-related accidents and expenses. Through the Works Ministry’s mobile app MyJalan KKR at https://kkr.spab.gov.my, or even by emailing them to [email protected], the public can keep federal roads safer by reporting issues. 

Furthermore, the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Federal Territories), Dr Zaliha Mustafa, stated that it was mandatory to resolve complaints about potholes in the Federal Territories within 12 hours, rather than the former 24-hour time frame. Zaliha then added that artificial intelligence and real-time monitoring would further reduce response times. 

KKR has revealed that the MyJalan KKR app has since received a total of 28,559 complaints, of which 29.7%, or 8,487 cases, were eligible for roads under their jurisdiction and care. Of the 8,487 cases, 39.61% were for potholes.

UM is the first MY uni to be listed in the Times Higher Education World Reputation Rankings 
Making history, Universiti Malaya has been the first Msian university to be listed in the THE World Reputation rankings, placing within the top 201 - 300 most powerful university brands around the globe. To be clear, this is ranking for academic reputation and prestige, and not the university ranking itself.

The prestigious ranking bases itself on an academic opinion survey, invitation only. The survey takes the insights of seniors in academia and is considered to be the largest in the world of its kind. This year, Harvard University ranks first for the 14th consecutive year, whilst the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Oxford share the spot for second place. This year, 300 institutions were included in the World Reputation Rankings.
View: World Reputation Rankings 2025

Two orang asli villages quarantined post-leprosy outbreak, causing one death 
Negeri Sembilan has made the decision to quarantine off two orang asli villages within its jurisdiction, as well as Jeram Tengkek Ecopark, to prevent outsiders from entering the area. This decision comes after a leprosy outbreak with 9 reported cases, namely in Kg Chergun and Kg Guntur. The 9 individuals infected with the disease were from 5 different families, 5 from Kg Chergun, 4 from Kg Guntur. An 18-year-old girl in Kg Chergun passed on Feb 19, post a fever bout that lasted a week.

Jalaluddin Alias told reporters that health authorities were investigating how the disease had spread to the two villages in the first place. He then added that they had also carried out screening exercises on at least 65% of the village folk last month, with a second screening conducted on 15 Feb. 

Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad has encouraged the Msian public to qualm anxieties over the cases, reassuring that they were isolated. He added that it was not a surge in infections but rather a standalone case. 

Leprosy, or rather known as Hansen’s disease, is caused by slow-growing bacteria called Mycobacterium leprae and Mycobacterium lepromatosis, affecting the nerves, skin, eyes, and lining of the nose. The disease, though once feared due to its high contagion rate and devastation, is actually hard to spread and easily treatable in the 21st century, with individuals infected with Hansen’s disease able to live a full, active life after treatment. Read more about leprosy here.

Shorts

1. Msians who fail to attend PLKN 3.0 after selection can face 6 months in jail and/or fines up to RM3k 

   PLKN returns after a 7-year hiatus, recruiting Malaysians aged between 16 and 35 years of age through a selection process. Those recruited are required by law to attend Series 2/2025 and Series 3/2025, whilst Series 1/2025 will only involve volunteers. Section 18(1) of the National Service Training Act 2003 has several provisions detailing the mandatory attendance and the punishments that could ensue should those selected fail to show up. The individual could face imprisonment of up to six months and/or an RM3,000 fine.

2. MY ministers cost RM44 mil through 236 combined overseas trips
   Malaysian cabinet members flew a total of 236 combined official overseas trips, costing the nation RM44 mil in 2024. Member of Parliament (MP) Federal Territories Minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa wrote in a letter that these trips were necessary for trade and investment missions, as well as placing Malaysia as an active member of various international organisations.

3. Dzulkefly to wage new war on mental health stigmatisation 

   Health Minister Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad has moved on from his war on the three S’s, Sugar, Smoking, and Salt. Promptly onto the fourth S, stigmatisation, Dzulkefly has intentions of ending the rising mental health burdens. He mentioned statistics citing the fact that 1 mil Malaysians above the age of 16 suffer from depression, while mental health issues in adolescents had doubled from 2019 to 2023. Suicide attempts and ideation among the aforementioned age group had also shown spikes.

4. AROUND THE WORLD 🌎

Salah Ukraine?

Old friends reunite
An initial meeting between US and Russian teams discussing the war in Ukraine has left US President Trump “more confident” and making plans to meet his Russian counterpart “before the end of the month”. These talks, held in Riyadh, have been controversial due to the absence of not just other NATO members but also Ukraine, the country being invaded. As it is, some European politicians have accused Trump’s administration of handing free concessions to Moscow even before negotiations by ruling out NATO membership for Ukraine and agreeing that it was near-impossible for Ukraine to win back the 20% of its territory now under Russian control. Conversely, Russia has offered no concessions. Russia was even kind enough to laud Trump for ruling out NATO membership for Ukraine, saying that the support from Trump’s predecessor Biden for Ukraine’s NATO bid was a major cause of the war.

Of note is how Russia and the US are quickly reestablishing ties with diplomatic missions being restored, citing a need for “vibrant diplomatic missions” to facilitate ending the war in Ukraine. Russia’s sovereign wealth fund is also expecting a number of US companies to return to Russia as early as 2Q2025. A Russian former investment banker estimated that US companies lost USD324 bil when they moved out of Russia due to the sale of assets at cheap valuations to quickly leave the country.

Ukraine responds
In response to the talks which excluded Ukraine, as well as Trump’s dismissive comments that Ukraine “never should have started the war” and that they had three years “to make a deal”, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy said it was unfortunate that Trump “lives in this disinformation space”. He has also rejected the deal where Trump asked for 50% ownership of Ukraine’s critical minerals along with USD500 bil in mineral wealth to repay the US for wartime aid, without Trump offering any specific security guarantees. Zelenskyy said that he defends Ukraine and “can’t sell our country”. Still, despite his dismissive comments, Trump has stated he will not oppose European nations sending peacekeeping troops to Ukraine.

Price for rebuilding Gaza: USD50 bil

UN, EU, and World Bank estimate that over USD50 bil needed to rebuild Gaza
The joint assessment by the three entities found that, between October 8, 2023 to October 8, 2024, the war in Gaza caused about USD49 bil in destruction, with USD53.2 bil now needed for the recovery and reconstruction of Gaza over the next decade, with USD20 bil needed in the first three years alone. The majority of that amount will go towards residential buildings and key infrastructure, with the remainder going towards reestablishing Gaza’s health, education, commerce, and industry sectors. Maybe the price tag will put a stop to Trump’s “Riviera of the Middle East” dream? Here’s hoping the Arab states can figure out a plan, as sources say there are talks to begin pooling funds for the initial recovery of Gaza.

Meanwhile in Malaysia: “Please tone it down, PM”
Meanwhile, locally, PM Anwar has been advised by government officials to soften his rhetoric related to the war in Gaza, in hopes that Malaysia will avoid the scrutiny and/or retaliation of Trump. Considering Malaysia operates off an export-driven economy, a Trump Tariff Trouncing would leave Malaysia reeling, especially as the country is building up its semiconductor industry while celebrating several AI-powered data centre investments.

How much is at risk, you wonder? Malaysia’s exports to the US in 2024 were worth over RM233 bil. 

Undersea and clean tech

• Meta to build world's longest subsea cable
  Facebook parent Meta’s subsea cable, dubbed the Waterworth Project, will cover over 50,000 km, connecting five continents by linking the US to “India, Brazil, South Africa, and other key regions”. The tech giant has refused to share specifics on the cost but stated it would be a “multi-billion dollar, multi-year investment”, though the project is expected to be completed towards the end of the decade. This also ties into Meta’s stance that subsea cables are vital to unlocking future AI innovation, with the firm announcing plans to boost its spending to USD65 bil this year to build “vast data centres” to train large language models that the generative AI boom is centred around.

• China's clean energy investments are close to matching global investment in fossil fuels
  The nation invested a total of about USD940 bil in clean energy in 2024, almost matching the global investment in fossil fuels, which clocked in at USD1.12 tril, according to a UK-based research organisation. These investments came despite clean energy investments in the country slowing to 7% from 40% in 2023. However, the researchers expect growth in clean power investments to continue rapidly through 2025, but state that more ambitious targets are needed for the five-year period of 2026 to 2030 to sustain current levels of clean energy deployment.

Shorts

1. Niantic nears USD3.5 bil deal to dispose games unit

   The maker of hit game “Pokémon Go” is currently in talks to sell its video game business to Saudi Arabia-owned Scopely Inc, according to sources, with a deal potentially announced in coming weeks. The deal is said to be worth about USD3.5 bil, though there is no assurance that an agreement will be reached. Niantic was spun out of Google in 2015, where the founder had led Google’s Geo product division.

2. Mass dolphin euthanisation after beaching leaves rescuers stymied

   Australian authorities were forced to euthanise about 90 false killer whales after a mass stranding on a remote beach in Tasmania, where complex conditions in bringing equipment there has made it impossible to save them. Authorities said the pods of 157 were beached for between 24 to 48 hours, with only 90 alive when authorities arrived. False killer whales are actually a species of dolphin which can grow up to 6 m and weigh 1.5 tonnes. View the heartbreaking scene here.

3. Philippine town offers bounty for mosquitoes

   The authorities of Barangay Addition Hills in Central Manila have announced the bounty of one peso (about MYR0.075 and USD0.017) for every five mosquitoes in a bid to combat the spike of dengue cases there. The programme will run for at least a month and applies to all mosquitoes – dead or alive – and their larvae. It was reported that 21 people have claimed their reward, bringing in a total of 700 mosquitoes and larvae so far. This programme has drawn ridicule on social media. It seems the lessons from Hanoi and India in 1900 have been forgotten since this is more likely to encourage the farming of mosquitoes instead in something called the Cobra Effect.

5. FOR YOUR EYES 📺

1. What a point. Perseverance is key.

2. Matter of perspective - not so intimidating anymore after seeing the actual size.

3. AuntyHR, one of the nation’s top HR influencers, is backed with another episode answering hot HR issues. Check out her IG here.