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- ☕️ Rafizi reveals who Mr R is
☕️ Rafizi reveals who Mr R is
Msians travelling to work in SG to get SOCSO soon. The frontrunner for 2028 US President. The airline that DIY its own jet fuel.
Finance Finlit & The Coffee Break
March 30, 2026
1. MARKET SUMMARY 📈
2. NUMBERS AT A GLANCE 🔢
18,000 people – If a massive earthquake were to hit Tokyo, it could potentially kill that many people. While this was lower than the 2013 casualty estimate of 23,000, the number missed the target set by the government in 2015, which was to halve the number. The new estimate only cuts fatalities by 20%. The estimate is based on projected damage caused by a magnitude 7 earthquake hitting the capital. The government said that the failure to meet the goal was due to several factors, such as a substantial influx of people in the city over the past 10 years, as well as an increase in the elderly, foreign nationals, and apartment dwellers.
JPY100 mil (RM2.5 mil) – That’s the average price of a new condominium in Tokyo and its three surrounding prefectures of Chiba, Kanagawa, and Saitama in Feb. This is an increase of 38.8% from a year earlier, and also marks condo prices topping that amount for the first time in six months. The highest recorded price was JPY110.25 mil. This is also the second-highest level since 1973, and is a year-on-year increase for the 10th straight month on the back of rising construction costs. Some ultra-high apartments in areas like Chiba Prefecture also contributed to the overall price rise.
25% – That’s how much global inflation has increased food and drink costs in Japan since 2020. This has affected Japan’s iconic “hanami” cherry blossom picnics, which are a must-do for many Japanese. The figure is based on an index created by Hideo Kumano, chief economist at Dai-ichi Life Research in 2020, and tracks the weighted average price of 14 popular “hanami” food items. Japanese sweet buns recorded the biggest price rise, up 46.1% from 2020 levels, followed by carbonated drinks at 45.7% and rice balls at 45%. The inflation is attributed to a weak yen and rising global commodity prices, which follow decades of deflation.
3. IN MALAYSIA 🇲🇾
Amidst the oil crisis, national interest comes first
On the international front, our national oil and gas company, PETRONAS denied the rumours that the company is involved in a fuel supply deal with a local government unit in the Philippines. PETRONAS reiterated that its priority is to ensure a stable and continuous supply for Malaysia first. In a related news, Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan informed that the seven Malaysian ships currently stranded in the Strait of Hormuz will be able to sail back soon as Iran has guaranteed safe passage for those ships. The tankers were owned by PETRONAS, MISC Bhd and Sapura Energy and others.
On the domestic front, Putrajaya is doubling down on its strategy to ban foreigners from purchasing RON95 fuel by prohibiting both foreign credit and debit cards, as payment methods to purchase the fuel. This move supplements the existing strategy, on top of the announced move to ban foreign-registered vehicles to buy RON95 fuel. Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living enforcement Director-General Azman Adam said that the logic behind the move was that there were many cases of vehicles with foreign registration plates refuelling using foreign debit or credit cards at self-service pumps, making it difficult for operators and authorities to detect such purchases. Now, they need to pay for fuel at counters, ensuring tighter monitoring and enforcement.
Shorts
UMNO to discuss KJ and Hishammuddin’s return on April 17
UMNO veep Khaled Nordin stated that the applications of several former UMNO members to join the party, including Khairy Jamaluddin and Hishammuddin Hussein, will be discussed at the UMNO Supreme Council meeting on April 17. Khaled added that there is no guarantee that a decision will be made on that day. Previously, Khairy was booted out in January 2023 for breaching party discipline during the 2022 general election, while Hishammuddin was suspended, also in 2023, for the same reason.Malaysians working in Singapore will be protected soon
Human Resources Minister R Ramanan announced that his ministry is in the final stages of submitting a proposal to the Cabinet to introduce a traveller scheme under the Social Security Organisation (Socso). The traveller scheme will surely benefit more than 400,000 Malaysians who commute daily to work in Singapore. In unrelated news, Rafizi revealed who Mr R is:
Driving schools to go vertical soon
The Road Transport Department (JPJ) Director-General Aedy Fadly Ramli stated that new guidelines are being formulated to enable driving institutes, including the training circuits to be built in high-rise buildings, warehouses and commercial premises. The new guideline is set to solve the immediate land constraints issue, particularly in highly dense urban areas. Aedy Fadly said interested parties are welcome to submit applications, including proposals to convert unused land, buildings (including shopping malls) or large warehouses into driving institutes. Now, what if inexperienced drivers stepped on the wrong pedal?
EPF is sitting on the sidelines of the Sunway-IJM deal
The Employees Provident Fund (EPF), one of the major shareholders in IJM Corp, stated that it has abstained from voting on the takeover offer by Sunway Bhd for IJM Corp. EPF added that the fact that it owns shares in both companies puts it in a position where it is best to remain neutral. At the moment, EPF is the largest shareholder in IJM with a 20.5% stake and is a substantial shareholder in Sunway with a 9.7% interest.
4. AROUND THE WORLD 🌎
A month of the US-Israel war on Iran
Yemeni Houthis opened up a new war front : A new player has entered. Yemen’s Houthis entered the war on Saturday, with two missile and drone attacks on Israel in the space of fewer than 24 hours. This marks its inaugural attack on Israel after one month of the US-Israel war on Iran and effectively opens up a new front in a rapidly escalating conflict in the region. It is now feared that the Yemeni group will again disrupt Red Sea traffic by blocking the Bab al-Mandeb Strait (view the chokepoint here), with their previous attacks on shipping vessels in the Red Sea upending commercial traffic worth about USD1 tril a year.
War casualties so far: In Iran, the Iranian Ministry of Health announced that 1937 people have been killed since the start of the war, including 230 children. Iran’s Red Crescent Society said US-Israeli strikes had damaged more than 93,000 civilian properties. Meanwhile, Israel’s devastation of Lebanon continues as the Lebanese Ministry of Health reported that 1,189 people had been killed in Israeli attacks since March 2.
Pentagon stirring up boots-on-ground plans: The Washington Post reported that the Pentagon is preparing for weeks of ground operations in Iran, citing US officials as their source. The plans could involve raids by Special Operations and conventional infantry troops, but it was not clear if Trump would approve any of those plans. The Trump administration has deployed US Marines to the Middle East and is planning to send thousands of soldiers from the US Army’s 82nd Airborne to the region.
JD Vance for 2028 presidency? : Vice President JD Vance has won the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) straw poll for the second year in a row, sweeping up 53% of the votes cast by 1,600 attendees. The CPAC is one of the biggest right-wing gatherings in the country, where such polls indicate who might ultimately become the Republican nominee for the next presidential race. The first runner-up was Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who notched 35% of the vote. Vance, a veteran and former single-term senator from Ohio, is seen to represent a more “isolationist” branch of Trump’s “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) base. He has generally been opposed to US involvement in foreign conflicts, though he has defended Trump’s decision to join Israel in joint strikes on Iran. Trump’s numbers have sunk since his return to office in 2025, with recent findings indicating only 36% of US citizens approved of his job performance, a new low for Trump. The US law prevents modern presidents from serving more than two terms, and Trump’s second presidency is set to expire in 2028.
US citizens protesting Trump at 'No Kings' rallies: Meanwhile, large rallies took place in the US cities New York, Dallas, Philadelphia and Washington, decrying US President Donald Trump's aggressive deportation efforts, war in Iran and other policies. More than 3,200 events had been planned in all 50 states, after the two previous nationwide events attracted millions of participants.
Nepal’s new dawn
Nepal’s youngest premier rapped his way into office: Nepal’s new Prime Minister, Bimalendra Shah, 35, was sworn into office after his landslide election victory on Friday, in which his 3-year-old party, the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), won 182 seats in the 275-member parliament. A former mayor of the capital, Kathmandu, Shah is Nepal’s first Madhesi premier – people of the southern plains bordering India – to lead the Himalayan nation. Shah, who is also a rapper turned politician, released his first public statement in style with a rap song shared on social media. Nepal grappled with political instability, with 32 governments taking office since 1990 and none of them completing a five-year term, eventually leading to a Gen-Z protest over lack of jobs and endemic corruption in the country of 30 mil last year. Check out his catchy rap here.
Ex-PM Oli detained: As the new government takes office, Nepal’s police have arrested former Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and ex-Home Affairs Minister Ramesh Lekhak over their alleged involvement in a deadly crackdown on protesters last year. New Home Minister Sudan Gurung said that the arrest of the former leader is the ‘beginning of justice’ for Nepal.
A dark history: Nepal’s political chaos did not come out of nowhere. Back in 2001, the country was rocked by a royal palace massacre that killed King Birendra, Queen Aishwarya, and several other royals. Crown Prince Dipendra was officially said to be behind the killings - a case so shocking it still fuels conspiracy theories today. The massacre badly damaged trust in the monarchy and set Nepal down the road toward eventually scrapping the royal institution for good. Read more here.
Shorts
Now US home buyers can use crypto for mortgage
Better Home & Finance Holding Co, a mortgage company, and Coinbase Global Inc have launched a product that links digital assets to down payments on Fannie Mae-eligible home loans. Fannie-Mae is a government-backed entity overseen by the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which plays a central role in the US housing market. The product allows borrowers to pledge Bitcoin and Circle Internet Group Inc’s USDC stablecoin as collateral for a separate loan used to fund the down payment, rather than selling those assets to raise cash.Only biological females can compete in Olympic female categories
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has officially announced that the Olympic women’s sport will only be limited to biological females, beginning in 2028. The move is a significant decision by the IOC, following years of controversy over the participation of transgender and disorders of sexual development (DSD) athletes in female competition, and intense debate over how sports should balance fairness and safety with inclusion. The eligibility for female categories will be determined through a screening test to detect the SRY gene - the sex-determining region Y gene - which is part of the Y chromosome that causes male characteristics to develop.
