☕️ Sabah State Election coming soon - state assembly to be dissolved by Nov 11

1. MARKET SUMMARY 📈

2. NUMBERS AT A GLANCE 🔢

Since 2023, PLUS Malaysia Bhd has spent about RM37 mil to improve public toilets along its highways. So far, 56 locations have seen improvements, including Rest and Service Areas (R&Rs), laybys, overhead bridge restaurants, and toll plazas. A statement from the firm revealed that 32 toilets were upgraded in 2023, with 16 more in 2024. Assuming the RM37 mil was spent on these 48 toilets in 2023 and 2024 - that’s an average of RM770.8k. Another 8 locations are expected to be upgraded this year. These upgrades are part of the firm’s five-year master plan to enhance facilities and improve service efficiency for highway users. A further five R&Rs and 11 laybys will be upgraded progressively until 2028.

The Works Ministry has identified 1,087 of 34,400 slopes (3.2%) nationwide as risky, and will be closely monitoring them ahead of the Northeast Monsoon season. 1,066 slopes are located in the peninsula, seven in Sabah, one in Sarawak, and 13 in Labuan. They will be monitored by the Disaster Operations Room (BiGBen), which provides almost real-time monitoring of disaster-related incidents, including floods, landslides, road subsidence, and bridge damage, using input from JKR officers at the district level.

New Thai PM Anutin Charnvirakul has declared assets worth USD124 mil (RM523.2 mil). The assets include three private jets, two speedboats, and a luxurious property in Bangkok. He also had THB1.1 bil (RM140 mil) in cash and deposits worth THB3.9 bil (RM515 mil) across more than two dozen bank accounts. Other assets include several deeds to land, four luxury cars, 22 watches, 24 amulets, and 1 Benjarong porcelains dating back to the 13th century and initially made for royalty. 58-year-old Anutin, who was a construction tycoon, disclosed his wealth to the National Anti-Corruption Commission as a requirement for government officials.

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3. IN MALAYSIA 🇲🇾

A new hunger game waiting for Malaysia - The RON95 Subsidy Games
Malaysians’ anxiety levels will surely spike as Putrajaya is set to implement the targeted RON95 petrol subsidy initiative by the end of the month. Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail has reminded the rakyat to check and replace faulty MyKad chips, as the MyKad will be the main identification tool for the new fuel subsidy scheme. Under the new scheme, only Malaysians will enjoy a lower RON95 price of RM1.99 per litre once the targeted subsidies come into effect.

The Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry has also urged the public and goods land transport companies to register for the Subsidised Petrol Control System (SKPS) ahead of the targeted subsidy for RON95 petrol. Currently, the number of companies registered under SKPS remains low, with only 89 vehicles in Sabah and six in Sarawak registered, compared to an estimated 4,647 vehicles eligible for both states. At the national level, 1,790 companies have registered, involving 5,449 vehicles. This round of the targeted fuel scheme will be implemented nationwide, unlike the targeted diesel subsidy, which is only carried out in Peninsular Malaysia, while subsidies are maintained in Sabah and Sarawak.

Another gas pipeline leak, now in Kerteh, Terengganu
The police promptly closed the main Kerteh-Ranggon road to all vehicles after a gas leak was detected in a Petronas Gas Berhad (PGB) pipeline at the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) Section 5 project site in Kerteh last Saturday. The gas leak, specifically the highly flammable butane gas, created a fantasy land-like fog at the affected site, which is situated about 2km from the main road and did not affect any villages or residential areas. Fortunately, this time around, the gas leak only led to a Shrek-like swamp scene and not a mushroom cloud scene straight from the Oppenheimer movie.

Following the incident, the Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) has instructed the interested parties to submit a full investigation report. Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994, convicted employers may face a maximum fine of RM500,000, imprisonment of up to two years, or both.

The Maybank logo will be installed on Merdeka 118 as planned
Maybank has denied claims that its sign was removed from the country's tallest building, Merdeka 118. Maybank clarified that at the moment, only the 'MAY' portion of the signage has been installed, and there is still a long way to go before the 'BANK' portion is added. This response came after the public outcry over the act of allegedly smudging the prestige of the Merdeka 118 (by placing the Maybank logo at the tower), which is designed after the late PM Tunku Abdul Rahman. 

IMO, Maybank is entitled to the naming and signage rights to the building as it will occupy 33 floors, entering into a 21-year lease agreement with Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) housing about 5,900 employees. In some ways, it’s a left pocket, right pocket transaction - Maybank is 39.85% owned by PNB.

Now you have seen the actual logo on Merdeka 118, this alternative concept by a netizen here looks a lot more cooler and pleasant to the eyes.

Shorts

1. Sabah state assembly to be dissolved by November 11

   Sabah Chief Minister Hajiji Noor announced that the Sabah legislative assembly will be dissolved to pave the way for the 17th state election before its automatic dissolution on November 11. Hajiji also dismissed the notion that the meteorology department’s weather predictions, which predicted wet weather in October, would affect the dissolution of the state assembly. Quoting Hajiji, "We must dissolve it before (November 11)".

2. 20 immigration officers sacked

   Immigration Department director-general Zakaria Shaaban confirmed that the department has terminated 20 officers involved in ‘counter setting’ activities at the country’s entry points, with another 227 currently under investigation for similar offences. He said the dismissals, carried out between 2022 and last Wednesday, followed court rulings finding the officers in question guilty. Zakaria also added that the immigration department has been proactive in dismantling the vices within the ranks, as starting last year, immigration staff holding critical positions, including those stationed at entry points and foreign worker counters, had been required to declare their assets.

3. Malaysia will be in the rocket business soon

   Director General of the Malaysian Space Agency (MYSA), Azlikamil Napiah, announced that Malaysia is slated to be the first SEA country to have its own rocket launch pad by 2029, with three locations shortlisted in Pahang, Sarawak, and Sabah. The project, aligned with the National Space Policy 2030, could generate over RM10 bil for gross domestic product if Malaysia establishes itself as a regional leader in the burgeoning space industry. Azlikamil added that any interested foreign investors must collaborate with local companies and obtain approval from the respective state governments on land matters. So far, only one party has submitted a full feasibility study report. Why Malaysia tho? Malaysia's geographical location along the Equator provides a distinct advantage, enabling more efficient rocket launches with reduced fuel costs. Looking forward to Elon Musk bringing his SpaceX biz to Malaysia.

4. AROUND THE WORLD 🌎

Historic day: UK, Canada and Australia formally recognise the Palestine state
UK PM Keir Starmer has announced the UK’s recognition of the Palestinian state in the UN General Assembly yesterday, as it continues to expect Israel to take "substantive steps to end the appalling situation in Gaza, agree to a ceasefire and commit to a long-term, sustainable peace, reviving the prospect of a two-state solution". It represents a major change in UK foreign policy, and carries UK’s symbolic weight as Britain played a major role in Israel’s creation as a modern nation in the aftermath of the second world war and has long been its ally. The decision may mean the Palestinian Mission in London is upgraded to embassy status. It could also result in banning products that come from Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territories. In his address, Sir Keir also mentioned that “with the actions of Hamas, the Israeli government escalating the conflict, and settlement building being accelerated in the West Bank, the hope of a two-state solution is fading, but we can’t let that light go out”.

Australian PM Anthony Albanese said that Palestinian statehood recognition is part of a coordinated effort alongside Canada and Britain and will form “an international effort for a two-state solution”. He added that Australia recognised “the legitimate and long-held aspirations of the people of Palestine to a state of their own”

In the Canadian PM Mark Carney’s address, he said that “the current Israeli government is working methodically to prevent the prospect of a Palestinian state from ever being established. It has pursued an unrelenting policy of settlement expansion in the West Bank, which is illegal under international law” and offers partnership in building the promise of a peaceful future for both the State of Palestine and the State of Israel.

Israel keeps killing - made the second deadliest journalists killing ever recorded
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has declared that Israel’s attack in Sana’a last week was the deadliest attack on journalists ever recorded in the last 16 years, coming second to the Maguindanao massacre in the Philippines in 2009. 31 journalists and media staff were killed by Israel in the targeted strike on a newspaper complex, in which Israel said that it was “military targets” who distributed “psychological terror”. The CPJ said the attack in Yemen comes as part of a larger pattern of Israel killing media workers across the Middle East and excusing those killings by attempting to portray journalists as combatants. Since 7 October 2023, Israel has killed 247 journalists in Gaza, according to the UN human rights office, and they have been killing journalists in Lebanon as well. Note that killing journalists or media workers, even those who have an affiliation to armed groups, is against international humanitarian law unless they directly take part in hostilities. Another clear-as-day violation of international laws by Israel.

Watch China giving Israel a good schooling on going after Hamas, using bank robbery hostages as an analogy:

Shorts

1. Manila’s turn to rally

   Closer to home, thousands of Filipinos had gathered in Manila to express their anger over a scandal involving bogus flood-control projects believed to have cost taxpayers billions of dollars and alleged corruption. The people began questioning the “ghost project” after President Ferdinand Marcos mentioned it in a national address that followed weeks of deadly flooding. The protests are going on peacefully so far, with hopes that it won’t break into a violent one.

2. UK Snapchat rapist jailed

   A 22-year-old sexual predator Stuart Latham has been sent to jail for pleading guilty to 49 charges including rape, blackmail and multiple counts of engaging in sexual communications, causing or engaging in sexual activity with a child, making and distributing indecent photographs and possessing extreme pornography - all through Snapchat and the Internet. Latham is said to groom children to send in indecent images of themselves and reward them with cash, and if they agreed, he would then threaten to reveal the images to his victims' family members if they did not do what he wanted. Parents, when was the last you checked your kids’ phone activity?

3. The end of quarterly earnings announcement? 

   The chairman of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had said that the agency will propose to switch publicly traded companies' quarterly earnings reports to a semiannual schedule, following a suggestion from President Donald Trump justifying that it would “save money, and allow managers to focus on properly running their companies.” Current regulations require publicly traded companies to report earnings on a quarterly basis, though providing forecasts is voluntary. The rules can be changed by a majority vote on the SEC, in which the Republicans currently hold a 3-1 voting majority, with one open seat.

5. FOR YOUR EYES 📺

1. BYD unveils world’s fastest production car, hitting a verified top speed of 496.22 km/h. For comparison, F1 top race speed ever recorded was 372.5 km/h.

2. Find your dream car at a very attractive price? If it’s too good to be true, it is indeed TGTBT. Understand the meaning of a car’s ‘total loss’ here.