☕️ Putrajaya bans social media for under-16s from next year

1. MARKET SUMMARY 📈

The world’s best-performing stock market index goes to South Korea’s KOSPI, up a staggering 61% so far in 2025 thanks to the AI boom and corporate reforms. As for our FBM KLCI, it’s down -1.51% YTD.

2. NUMBERS AT A GLANCE 🔢

Disney Cruises now boasts 7 cruise ships, with a target of 13 by 2031. The newest addition, the Disney Destiny, is able to carry 4,000 passengers and 1,555 crew members, while featuring themed dining, curated lounges, and premium on-board live entertainment, like her sister ships. The Destiny’s theme is based around heroes and villains, with guests able to interact with iconic Disney villains and anti-heroes alongside the lineup of heroes. The Destiny also comes at a time of rapid growth for the Walt Disney Company’s experiences division, which covers its theme parks, resorts, and cruise line. The division posted a record revenue and profit for the company’s 2024 fiscal year, with revenue up 5% to USD34.2 bil (RM142.5 bil) and operating income up 4% to USD9.3 bil (RM38.8 bil).

4.06 mil. That’s the number of Malaysians who have visited Thailand as of mid-November this year. With that, Malaysia currently ranks as Thailand’s leading source of foreign tourist arrivals. Over the same period, Thailand recorded a total of 28.28 mil foreign tourist arrivals. In terms of tourist numbers, China comes second with 3.95 mil, followed by India with 2.11 mil. For the period, foreign tourist arrivals have generated about THB1.3 tril (RM167.2 bil, average RM5.9k per tourist) in tourism revenue for the kingdom. Moving forward, the Thai Tourism and Sports Ministry targets a tourism revenue of THB2.8 tril by 2026 with the launch of the “Trusted Thailand” symbol, which aims to boost traveller confidence.

Meanwhile, about 491,000 Japan-bound tickets were cancelled by Chinese travellers within days of Beijing advising its citizens to avoid the country amid escalating tensions. The surge in cancellations is described as the most severe since the early COVID-19 outbreak. Airlines began offering full refunds after the announcement from the government, which was issued due to comments by Japanese PM Sanae Takaichi suggesting Tokyo could deploy its military in the event of a conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The People’s Liberation Army, through its official newspaper, warned Japan that it risked turning the entire country into a battlefield if it intervened militarily in the strait.

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3. IN MALAYSIA 🇲🇾

Bad weather incoming
The National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma) has released a warning over the weekend that six states - Kelantan, Terengganu, Perlis, Kedah, Penang, and Perak are forecast to experience heavy and persistent rainfall. The bad weather on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia is due to a low-pressure system over the Strait of Melaka. Nadma also instructed that all temporary relief centres are stocked with essential supplies and that incident control posts have sufficient operational assets in good, ready-to-use condition.

While Malaysia is bracing for the end-of-the-year bad weather, Thailand is suffering from it at the moment. Southern Thailand, especially in Hat Yai, is experiencing heavy flooding. Malaysians who were stranded in the affected towns had to ration their meals, mainly consisting of hotel-provided meals and food that they managed to purchase before local shops were forced to close. Malaysia’s Foreign Ministry reported that around 4,000 Malaysians in Hat Yai and nearby areas were stranded due to the floods, but all are safe, with most taking shelter in hotels.

Harapan unveils Sabah polls manifesto
To recap, Nov 29 is the day of the election. Sabah PKR chief Mustapha Sakmud announced the coalition’s manifesto for the Sabah State Election, where among the key commitments are:

1. To ensure water security by replacing old pipes and to build new dams;

2. To ensure power security by constructing new power plants;

3. To build new bridges and maintain existing roads;

4. To provide free higher education to eligible students;

5. RM100 per annum financial aid to all Sabahans aged 18 and above;

6. To construct RM250k affordable houses for first-time homebuyers, young families and the B40 community;

7. To develop the tourism sector by building high-quality facilities and increase event-based tourism;

8. To upgrade the ports in Kudat, Sandakan and Tawau;

9. To develop new industrial parks;

10. To construct the Kota Kinabalu Light Rail System.

Pakatan Harapan (PH) is contesting 21 of the 73 state seats, comprising 12 PKR candidates, eight from DAP and 1 from Amanah.

While the campaigning period is ongoing, PH came into the state election a bit handicapped as previously, UPKO decided to exit PH, mainly due to the Sabah 40% revenue entitlement matter, where the decision was announced five days before the nomination day. Despite that, Dewan Rakyat speaker Johari Abdul said that no formal notification was received from the parties involved. At the moment, UPKO has two seats in Dewan Rakyat - Penampang and Tuaran. At the state level, prior to the dissolution of the Sabah State Legislative Assembly, UPKO has one seat.

Shorts

1. Putrajaya suspends funding to FAM

   Due to the ongoing document fraud scandal, Putrajaya has decided to suspend fresh funding into FAM, until it ‘manages this issue properly’ to restore public confidence. FIFA has decided to withhold its development fund from FAM. This is not the first time funding towards FAM was suspended due to alleged scandals within FAM. Last year, FIFA Secretary General, Mohamed Jaushan Shareef, announced that the development fund had been suspended as the world football body was investigating the allegations that FAM leaders had previously embezzled from FIFA’s funding for development. Previously, FIFA partly paid FAM’s salaries, to the tune of USD300k, reducing the backlog of the association’s salaries.

2. Putrajaya bans social media for under-16s

   Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil announced that Putrajaya aims to implement a ban on social media use for children under the age of 16 from next year. The government justifies the move in order to curb cross-age cybercrime, including protecting children from sexual predators. Among the mechanisms mulled over to enforce this policy soon is by implementing a registration process using official identification documents such as the MyKad, passport or MyDigital ID.

3. JB-KL ETS to commence soon

   Transport Minister Anthony Loke hinted that the ETS Service between Johor Bahru and Kuala Lumpur will be activated on December 12. The inauguration ceremony is scheduled for December 11, with the ministry seeking the consent of His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim to officiate the launch in Johor Bahru.

4. AROUND THE WORLD 🌎

Trump’s full 28-point Ukraine-Russia peace plan - will it work?
The US has come up with a 28-point peace plan to end the Ukraine-Russia war, and Trump is demanding Kyiv to accept the plan by this Thursday. However, the plan is criticised as too favourable to Russia by many observers, including a chance of “full amnesty” for parties who violated international law and that Ukraine has to make heavy concessions despite having its sovereignty recognised. It is also expected to stay out of NATO. Experts said the terms of the 28-point plan and how they would be implemented are unenforceable, nonsensical and vague that they cannot be enforced without months of wrangling.

Analysts are also doubtful that it is going anywhere, and that it is “another iteration of the merry-go-round” they have been on many times before. Meanwhile, a collective of Western leaders has responded to the plan and said that the plan can be a basis for talks to end Russia’s war in Ukraine but needs “additional work”. Trump did say in brief remarks on Saturday that his proposal was not his final offer, signalling potential room for adjustments. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiyy said Kyiv faced a choice of either losing its dignity and freedom or Washington’s backing, and appealed to Ukrainians for unity. European leaders continue to rally behind Ukraine.
Read: Trump’s 28-point Ukraine peace plan in full

One of Nigeria’s worst mass abductions - hundreds of students and teachers kidnapped
303 students and 12 teachers are believed have been kidnapped from St Mary’s School in Papiri, Nigeria amid a surge of attacks by armed groups in the country. The number of people taken in the kidnapping surpasses the 276 abducted during the infamous Chibok mass abduction of 2014, making it one of the worst mass abductions the country has seen. It’s also the third of such attack in the country in a week. Authorities in Niger state said the school had disregarded an order to close all boarding facilities following intelligence warnings of a heightened risk of attacks. The kidnapping usually occurs for ransom and done by criminal gangs and is a major problem in many parts of Nigeria. Although payment of ransom has been outlawed, it does not seem to help much and Nigerians are fuelled with anger as they demand stronger action to protect children and communities.

Japanese cabinet approves USD135 bil stimulus to fight inflation
A major stimulus package amounting to USD135 bil has been approved by Japan’s PM Sanae Takaichi as part of her efforts to ease the country’s struggle with inflation on households and firms. However, the move has stoked fears about adding to Japan’s already colossal debt pile, sending government bond yields to record highs and the yen lower against the dollar. A weaker yen raises prices of imports for resource-poor Japan, which relies heavily on foreign food, energy and raw materials to power its economy. Takaichi entered office with a pledge to fight inflation and her aim to have a “responsible and proactive fiscal policy”.

Shorts

1. CK Hutchison mulls listing beauty retailer Watsons

   Hong Kong-based conglomerate CK Hutchison Holdings (owned by tycoon Li Ka-shing, nicknamed Superman for his business acumen) is reportedly considering listing health and beauty retailer AS Watson Group. Sources said that AS Watson could raise USD2 bil in a Hong Kong listing, but could also probably be listed in the UK. AS Watson runs the Watson chain of health and beauty shops across Asia, as well as grocery, wine and electronics stores in Hong Kong. It owns 17,000 stores in 31 markets, including the Superdrug chain in the UK and Rossmann pharmacies in Germany. Singapore investment firm Temasek owns about 25% of AS Watson.

2. London phone thieves: Oops, I stole your phone, but it’s a Samsung, you can have it back

   Worried about your phone being snatched in London? Well, you can relax a bit if you use a Samsung. In what appears in a bizarre twist in the smartphone wars, London phone thieves have apparently developed a “loyalty” to iPhone and it’s not because it is easier to unlock - it’s just profit margin. While premium Android phones like the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra now cost as much as or more than flagship iPhones, Apple devices maintain significantly higher resale values in secondhand markets. Some are reporting that thieves even return the devices back to the victims shortly after realising that they only snatched a Samsung. How considerate, to an extent. 

3. Red Cross struggling as donors reduce support

   The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) will be slashing almost one-fifth of its annual budget and shedding 2,900 jobs as global donors retreat from humanitarian financing in order to stay afloat amid an unprecedented financial crisis. Sadly, big donors like the US, UK and Germany slashed their funding as budgets go towards defence and security (ahhh, military-industrial complex), leaving humanitarian agencies scrambling to sustain programmes while conflict, displacement and need continue to escalate. Priorities priorities. Despite the reduced budget, the ICRC insisted it will maintain its presence in Sudan, Ukraine, Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

5. FOR YOUR EYES 📺

Weekend stuff

1. Then, PM. Now, influencer. Probably Malaysia’s oldest living couple. Tun Siti Hasmah herself is hitting the 100-year-old mark next July.

2. ‘Crazy Rich Asian’ actor Jimmy O. Yang was in town, having nasi lemak - guess which one? He’s here in Malaysia for the first time on his Big & Tall world tour (performance yesterday).

3. Another Chinese giant makes an entry into Malaysia. This time - car service workshop.