☕️ Sad day for Malaysia: Sarawak’s flying doctor tragedy

1. MARKET SUMMARY 📈

2. NUMBERS AT A GLANCE 🔢

USD30,000 (RM121,335) – That’s how much Handshake AI (site here) is willing to pay contributors for professional “high-quality written documents” that they already own and are authorised to share. The AI firm will pay accepted candidates USD6 per page for up to 50 documents, each of which may contain up to 100 pages, up to the limit of USD30,000. To qualify, applicants should have worked in fields such as consulting, finance, legal, software engineering, and data science. However, slide decks and presentations are generally not eligible, as the firm is looking for written text, like Word documents and PDFs. This comes as the AI industry’s hunger for training data continues to grow, with AI training firms willing to pay for data.

USD99 bil (RM400.4 bil) – Chipmaker Nvidia, led by CEO Jensen Huang, held that much in equity investments as of Jul 2026, which included about USD48 bil in publicly traded stocks and other marketable securities, about USD48 bil in shares of private companies and other non-marketable securities, and about USD3 bil in equity-method investments. The portfolio was built from virtually nothing in just two years, having surged 45-fold from USD2.2 bil two years ago. The firm also reported a further USD25 bil in equity investment commitments as of Jul 2026. Some of the names in Nvidia’s portfolio include Intel, SpaceX, CoreWeave, and Nokia.

USD1 bil (RM4.04 bil) – OpenAI reported that ad sales on ChatGPT have reached an annualised revenue run rate of that amount in less than 200 days, with the AI firm calling advertising one of the pillars of its diversified business model, alongside consumer subscriptions, enterprise offerings, and usage-based APIs. The milestone also comes as OpenAI is looking to attract investor interest ahead of its upcoming IPO. While ad revenue now makes up “a material share of the business”, the decision to introduce ads in ChatGPT was controversial. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman had also previously voiced discomfort at the idea of AI advertising, having thought of ads as “a last resort for a business model” for OpenAI.
Learn: What is annualised revenue run rate?

3. IN MALAYSIA 🇲🇾

Sarawak’s flying doctor tragedy
Final mission ended in tragedy: Five people were killed after a Flying Doctor Service (FDS) helicopter crashed near the Long Lellang STOLport (short take-off and landing airport) in northern Sarawak on Sept 8. The BO-105 aircraft had departed from Miri and was carrying a pilot, a medical officer, an assistant medical officer and two nurses, all travelling on official duty. The helicopter was serving remote communities through stops at Ba Lai, Long Siut and Long Lellang when it crashed near the end of the airstrip at about 3.40pm. Authorities later confirmed that everyone on board had died.

Locals had warned about the haze: Before the team left Long Siut for Long Lellang, locals had reportedly urged them not to continue flying because of poor visibility. A Facebook user said her mother spoke to one of the doctors while the crew rested and the helicopter was being refuelled. According to her account, the doctor acknowledged that the haze was bad but said the team had already promised to meet people at their next destination. The same hazy conditions later affected the rescue response, with helicopter support unable to reach the crash site.

Rescue hampered by remote terrain: Long Lellang is around 310km from Miri and serves remote Kelabit and Penan communities, making access difficult. Police said the crash site was about 10 hours by road from Marudi, while poor visibility meant air support could not be used immediately. Search and rescue efforts had to rely heavily on local villagers, Rela personnel and auxiliary police based at the STOLport.

A helicopter built for missions like this: The aircraft involved was a BO-105, a light twin-engine helicopter developed in Germany and commonly used for medical evacuation, rescue, police, military and civilian operations. First flown in 1967, the BO-105 became known for its versatility and was among the earliest light twin-engine helicopters of its kind. A standard model can carry one pilot and four passengers, reach speeds of about 242km/h and fly around 444km. Around 1,400 were produced before manufacturing ended in 2001, with many remaining in service worldwide.

Flying Doctor Service (under Health Ministry) provides medical services to isolated communities in Malaysia’s interior. There are 53 FDS teams and 11 helicopters nationwide as of 2021. More about FDS here.

Nearly 10,000 fire hotspots flagged
Satellites detected 9,841 potential fire hotspots in Aug across land managed by 53 members of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil, or RSPO, in Malaysia and Indonesia. RSPO is an organisation that promotes sustainability standards within the palm oil industry (more about RSPO here). The monitored areas included both RSPO-certified and non-certified land disclosed by its members. RSPO stressed that 9,841 hotspots do not mean there were 9,841 separate fires. Several satellite detections may point to the same blaze, while some heat signals may later turn out to come from industrial facilities or other non-fire sources. Members are therefore expected to carry out on-the-ground checks before a hotspot is confirmed as an actual fire.

RSPO also said a fire detected near or inside a plantation does not automatically mean the landowner started it or broke its rules. Possible causes include burning by local communities, hunting, fires spreading from neighbouring areas, arson, encroachment or land preparation. Open burning for land preparation is prohibited under RSPO standards. If a breach is confirmed, action can range from corrective measures and formal warnings to certification suspension or membership termination.

Photography: KL view with haze filter by @heartpatrick

Abdul Azeez back in court over Tabung Haji
Former Tabung Haji (TH) Chairman Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim has pleaded not guilty to a graft charge linked to the fund’s RM193.5 mil investment in construction company Putrajaya Perdana. Prosecutors allege that in Aug 2014, while heading TH, he misused his position to secure the role of Putrajaya Perdana chairman for himself. The position came with an annual salary of RM690,000, a BMW 7 Series and a driver. He is also accused of instructing then TH chief executive Ismee Ismail to nominate him as the fund’s representative in the company and of influencing the board to approve an investment of up to RM193.5 mil. Abdul Azeez later served as Putrajaya Perdana Chairman from Jan 2015 to 2018.

The charge comes after the TH Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) report highlighted 14 problematic investments, including the Putrajaya Perdana deal, which it said resulted in a RM193.5 mil loss. Abdul Azeez was granted RM450,000 bail and must report to MACC every three months, with the case set for mention on Nov 11. He was previously acquitted in 2022 of three bribery charges involving RM5.2 mil and six money-laundering charges totalling RM972,414.60. The Attorney General at the time said the earlier case was dropped due to insufficient evidence.

Wayang this week: His court appearance also drew attention after he arrived in purple lock-up clothing and handcuffs, but MACC said he had chosen to wear them despite being advised that neither was necessary.

Negeri Sembilan royal dispute deepens
Negeri Sembilan Menteri Besar Ismail Lasim says he signed a proclamation to remove Tuanku Muhriz Tuanku Munawir under duress and insists the document is invalid. His statement follows reports a day earlier claiming he had been pressured into backing the ruler’s removal, despite publicly pledging his loyalty to Tuanku Muhriz soon after. Ismail said a police report was lodged on Sept 8 while the state government maintains that the proclamation did not follow procedures under the Negeri Sembilan constitution and cannot be enforced.

The dispute has been building since Apr, when four Undangs announced the removal of Tuanku Muhriz. The row later contributed to political tensions that led to the dissolution of the state legislature and a state election, after which Ismail was sworn in as Menteri Besar by Tuanku Muhriz. The state executive council also discussed setting up a peace committee to resolve the customary dispute through consensus.

4. AROUND THE WORLD 🌎

US Geopolitics
Iran and US exchange strikes in biggest wave of attacks
Iran said that it attacked 10 ships, while the US sank five Iranian oil tankers. This was the biggest declared wave of tit-for-tat attacks on shipping since the war started six months ago. Iran also fired missiles at a base used by US forces in Jordan, while in Yemen, the Houthis and Saudi Arabia are fighting again. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters that "Iran continues to try to hit US naval ships, and for every time they do that or try to do that, they're going to lose tankers." Washington has now announced a new policy of attacking Iranian tankers in retaliation for fire that threatens its warships, while Iran is imposing a wider off-limits zone around the strait and is using new, more capable missiles to attack US ships.

Are we seeing a new escalation of the war? Oil markets seem to think so. Brent crude oil prices breached USD100 (RM406.76) per barrel for the first time since Jul. In the US, the average retail price of diesel fuel hit a fresh all-time high above USD5.94 a gallon. The end is nowhere in sight. It looks like Trump’s hammer on Iran in his AI pictures could end up decimating the region and global oil markets.

Trump to Putin, ‘Swift end to war in Ukraine’
With no end in sight in Iran, Trump turns to Russia and Ukraine. In a phone call with President Vladimir Putin, Trump said that he wanted the war in Ukraine to have a swift end. This would allow relations between the US and Russia to be fully restored. Seems like things are going well. Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said that both leaders had rated the US peace negotiators' weekend visit to Moscow and Kyiv as ‘a plus sign’. A sticking point here is that Europe is still wary about Russia’s ambitions in the region. Putin gives an assurance that Russia has no hostile plans towards Europe. Russia is hoping for trade and economic ties to be restored, which could help its weak economy to recover.

A man mistakenly transferred SGD6,650 to ex-wife and had to fight for it in court
Till death do us part. Apparently, that applies to your ex-wife still, as James Jonathan found out. He thought he was transferring SGD6,650 (RM21,246) to Wise, but instead sent it to his ex-wife. Second mistake: he still had ex-wife, Adel Ng, saved as ‘Wife’ in his phone contacts. James admitted that it was not intended for her and asked for it back. Between Dec 7 and 15, he sent her at least 10 emails. She ignored all of them. James then sent a letter of demand through his lawyers on Dec 17. She responded in the …. pettiest way possible. On Dec 25, she said she was concerned that she was a victim of a possible scam and asked for more information (identity number, copy of identity document, source of money, why the transfer was made in error, etc). The next day, she filed a police report and deposited the money with the Singapore Police Force.

James sued her on Dec 30 to seek the return of the money. Six months later, they agreed to settle this, and the money was returned. But there was still the matter of legal costs. The courts ordered Adel to pay SGD7,085 (including Goods and Services Tax), which was a ‘win’ for James. The judge said that this was a reminder that parties who fail to act reasonably could face ‘serious consequences’, including significant costs orders.

Meanwhile, a South Korean video game tycoon Kwon Hyuk-bin has been ordered by a Seoul court to pay more than KRW2 tril (RM6.1 bil) in a divorce settlement, the largest asset division ever in the country. He is the founder of Smilegate, developing successful games such as Crossfire, Lost Ark and Epic Seven. Kwon has been ordered to transfer 35% of Smilegate, which is worth about KRW2.5 tril, to his former wife, surnamed Lee, and pay KRW65 bil in cash. Lee filed for divorce in Nov 2022 and said that she contributed to the company’s founding and early management.

Anthropic AI Researcher quits and says ‘They're playing with our lives’
Things do not seem to be going well in the AI safety industry. Jacob Coxon spent three years pre-training AI models at OpenAI and then left to join Anthropic this year. He’s now quitting and decided to leave the industry. His problem? Both AI companies are ‘playing with our lives’ in the race to develop AI models capable of self-improvement. He said, ‘Neither company is acting responsibly. They are racing straight to self-improving superintelligence and gambling with our lives. The people building AI earnestly believe that it could kill us all by the end of the decade’.

Evan Hubinger, who is Anthropic’s safety executive, supported this statement by saying that ‘we really do earnestly believe AI could kill all humans! I personally think it is >10% within the next decade’ on his X post.

Their concern is that an AI system that surpasses human capabilities might not obey its creators. In recent months, both Anthropic and OpenAI had AI agents that hacked other platforms. More than 1,000 tech industry employees, along with Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, have called on Washington to slow down the development of its most advanced AI models at the end of Jul 2026.

An interesting cyber risk report by a16z, a leading private markets investment firm:

Shorts:

1. Very hot drinks linked to cancer?
   Think twice now when you drink that just-served kopi-O or Teh Tarik. Researchers from Oxford University have found links showing that tea and coffee drunk at very hot temperatures increase the risk of oesophageal cancer. Mind you, this sample size was nearly a million people. However, they also said that the overall chances of developing the cancer are still low. In the UK, around 1% of the population has a lifetime risk of being diagnosed with the cancer. Drinks which are above 65 degrees Celsius are defined as ‘very hot’ and pose a potential risk. Drinking six such drinks per day raises the risks further. Around one or two in every 10 oesophageal cancers could be avoided if people stopped drinking very hot beverages. Next time you see that steaming hot drink coming your way, wait a few minutes before drinking. Or ask for your teh tarik to be ‘tariked’ more to reduce the heat.

2. Messi - from football player to football owner
   Lionel Messi has agreed in principle to purchase 100% of the shares of Spanish second-division side CD Eldense held by Colombian investment group TH Soluciones Group S.A.S., the current majority shareholder. Previously, he had also purchased UE Cornella in Spain’s fifth tier on Apr 16. Additionally, he is set to receive a stake in Inter Miami after he finishes his contract there. This deal is now pending final legal and contractual procedures, due diligence and a mandatory authorisation from the High Council for Sports.
   According to Forbes, Lionel Messi’s net worth is estimated at USD1.1 bil (RM4.47 bil).

5. FOR YOUR EYES 📺

1. Wtf do DJs actually do? Now I know.

1(a). Bonus DJ content: David Guetta’s masterclass on DJ-ing.

2. Pilot’s POV when landing the plane. When flying through the clouds, makes you realise they are flying blind. Now I can appreciate clapping when the plane lands.

3. How to travel from Malaysia to US without flying. Follow An Shi’s journey here.