☕️ Sarawak wants all MA63 issues to be resolved soon and how it affects PMX's political future

1. MARKET SUMMARY 📈

2. NUMBERS AT A GLANCE 🔢

More than 6 bil – South Korean musician Psy’s Gangnam Style has achieved that many views on YouTube, becoming the first K-pop music video to reach the milestone. The video crossed the 6-bil-view mark on Jul 17, nearly 14 years to the day after it was released on Jul 15, 2012. The video gained its latest 1 bil views in two years and seven months, having achieved the 5-bil-view mark on Dec 30, 2023. The song became a global sensation thanks to its catchy lyrics, iconic horse-riding choreography, and playful music video. Psy celebrated the occasion at his Summerswag 2026 concert in Gwacheon, South Korea, on Jul 19, wearing the blue tuxedo he wore in the music video.

USD927 mil (RM3.8 bil) – The latest Spider-Man film, Brand New Day, brought in that much in global ticket sales, making it the second-biggest opening weekend ever globally. It comes behind Avengers: Endgame, which took in more than USD1.2 bil in its opening weekend in 2019. Brand New Day also set a North American record, with box office takings of USD360 mil, making it the biggest opening weekend ever in the US and Canada. These early takings mean the movie shot past its estimated USD225 mil production budget within its first weekend. The movie received largely positive reviews, with some calling it actor Tom Holland’s best Spider-Man performance yet. Spider-Man remains one of Marvel’s most lucrative franchises, with the previous instalment, No Way Home, making nearly USD2 bil in ticket sales.

USD72 mil (RM294.78 mil) – Spider-Man: Brand New Day also achieved the highest preview ticket sales for a domestic film in Hollywood history, even without the benefit of an IMAX release. The previous record holder was Avengers: Endgame in 2019, which took in USD60 mil ahead of its opening weekend. With the movie premiering at the tail end of Jul, the bulk of its box office will be reflected during the month of Aug, which is a traditionally weak month for the summer movie calendar. Brand New Day’s success is likely to give the theatrical industry a momentum boost as it heads into the fall movie season.

3. IN MALAYSIA 🇲🇾

Barisan Nasional to contest all 21 seats it holds for the Melaka state election
Barisan Nasional (BN) chairperson Ahmad Zahid Hamidi announced that the coalition will defend all the seats it previously won in the Melaka state election. The coalition won 21 of 28 seats in the state legislative assembly during the 2021 state polls.

Additionally, BN stated that it has made it clear that the seats it won will not be shared with any party. But wait, bukan ke previously Zahid said the ‘blue and darker blue’ wave would sweep through Melaka, following the BN-PN win in Negeri Sembilan? With the new announcement by BN, this may be the new litmus test of the BN-PN pact, as Syaza Shukri of UIA predicted that Perikatan Nasional (PN) is likely to demand at least half of the 28 state seats up for grabs.

That would largely be based on its victory in three of the state’s parliamentary constituencies in the 2022 general election (GE15). BN failed to win any parliamentary seat in Melaka in GE15. PN has shown that it has been gaining strength (since the last Melaka election), so it will not want to be treated as a junior partner in this pact. PM Anwar Ibrahim may be watching this news while eating popcorn.

Sarawak wants all MA63 issues to be resolved soon
Sarawak deputy premier Douglas Uggah Embas stated that the state government has nudged Putrajaya to resolve all outstanding matters relating to the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) by Dec this year. During the recent MA63 Implementation Action Council meeting, the Prime Minister’s Department’s Sabah and Sarawak affairs division informed delegates that 13 matters had been fully resolved, while five were resolved on an interim basis, and two remain unresolved though policy decisions had been made.

Out of the seven unresolved issues, four are still under discussion, and five have been referred to ‘the highest level’ in Putrajaya for consideration. One of the matters under negotiation is the addition of parliamentary seats in East Malaysia, where East Malaysian leaders are pushing for a 35% share (about 90 seats out of the enlarged 256 seats in Parliament) to secure the vital one-third minority needed to block unilateral constitutional changes. At the moment, Sabah and Sarawak currently hold 56 out of 222 parliamentary seats (roughly 25%).

If I am PM Anwar Ibrahim and still interested in securing a second term as PM, I will have the political will to work closer with East Malaysian leaders in increasing the parliamentary seats. If the ‘blue and darker blue’ wave continues into GE16 and DAP still decides to stick with PH after its Aug 16 National Congress, Malaysiakini projected that PH will only be left with 43 seats in Parliament. Thus, it will need all 90 seats from Borneo to form a federal government, given that both Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) and Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) won all the parliamentary seats in East Malaysia. So, the ball is in PM Anwar’s court.

Another drug bust in Jakarta
Yet another national embarrassment moment after the Federal Narcotics Crime Investigation Department director Hussein Omar Khan confirmed that three Malaysian women were arrested at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Jakarta earlier this week for allegedly carrying small amounts of drugs intended for personal consumption.

Hussein added that two of the ladies have previous drug-related criminal records and are known drug addicts. The drugs confiscated included cocaine, MDMA and ketamine in powder, pill and vape cartridge forms, as well as tobacco rolls believed to be mixed with ketamine.

On a related matter, Inspector-General of Police Mohd Khalid Ismail announced that the mechanics of police involvement in aviation security are currently being finalised. This is a follow-up from the Cabinet’s decision this week to involve police personnel in the Aviation Security (AVSEC) team. He added that direct police involvement in the aviation security ecosystem will strengthen intelligence sharing and threat detection and provide immediate responses to threats.

Aviation hubs, particularly the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), have witnessed increased drug seizures, from RM18.4 mil in 2025 to an estimated RM108.35 mil between Jan and Jul 2026.

Shorts:

1. MRT Corp awards RM3 bil contract to MRCB-Theta Edge
   Malaysia Rapid Transit Corporation Sdn Bhd (MRT Corp), the asset owner and project manager of the Penang Mutiara Line, has awarded Malaysian Resources Corporation Bhd (MRCB)-Theta Edge Bhd joint venture a RM3.03 bil system turnkey contract. The system turnkey contract covers seven key railway systems, including the supply of the electric trains and the support infrastructure.

2. RHB Bank launches its own unified payment gateway
   RHB Bank launched RHB Pay, Malaysia’s first bank-owned unified online payment gateway, providing businesses a single platform to accept digital payments and receive funds directly into their RHB accounts. RHB highlighted that the platform enables businesses to accept card payments, FPX and DuitNow Pay through a single integration. It pointed out that RHB Pay’s phase two is expected to include more payment capabilities, including e-wallets, QR payments, direct debit and auto debit, targeted for rollout in the fourth quarter of financial year 2026. At the moment, Fiuu (formerly Razer Merchant Services) holds a leading share of voice around 36.7% for robust B2B and regional enterprise recommendations, while Adaptis (the unified omnichannel ecosystem combining iPay88 and eGHL under NTT DATA Payment Services) holds roughly 13.9% as an established retail and bank-connected leader.

   More on its implications below:

4. AROUND THE WORLD 🌎

Iran and Oman agree on new Strait of Hormuz shipping route
A new hope has emerged regarding the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, as Iran and Oman have reportedly agreed on a route for ships transiting the strait and are finalising arrangements to jointly manage the strategic waterway. However, Iran said that even if an understanding were reached, it would not mean that the strait had become safe for all passing vessels, and that any easing still hinged on Washington ending its own naval blockade of Iran’s ports. After imposing an effective blockade on the strait in Feb, Iran has insisted ships take a route at the northern shipping lane passing through Iranian waters around Larak Island. However, many vessels have instead chosen to take a southern route, close to Oman on the opposite side of the strait, occasionally coming under fire.

Germany wary over explosive drone discovery
Germany’s interior minister has said that the discovery of a drone carrying explosives at Leipzig airport, a leading shipping and military hub, marks “a new level of danger” for the country. The discovery of the small drone on Wednesday had set off an alarm and caused flight diversions.

German authorities are examining whether the thwarted attack could have been planned by a foreign power, particularly Russia, especially given the airport’s status as a Nato and German military logistics hub, as well as the base for Ukraine’s Antonov Airlines in Europe. Germany is the biggest single national supplier of military aid to Ukraine and has accused Russia of orchestrating a campaign of sabotage, espionage and disinformation against it, which the Kremlin has denied.

Biz:
Disney x TikTok video-sharing deal
Disney and TikTok have announced a deal that will let TikTok creators use characters and scenes from hundreds of Disney films and series from brands including Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars and FX in their short-form videos. The curated selection of videos will stream on TikTok and also on ​the Disney+ streaming service, where it will appear on Disney+ under a Verts tab designed to ⁠capture younger audiences who devour vertical video on mobile phones. Disney+ said the deal with TikTok could help the company attract additional viewers to the streaming service.

Trump tariffs refund ignites 53% profit spike at Nintendo
Nintendo has reported a jump in profits as high as 53.5% to JPY147.4 bil (RM3.82 bil) over the three months to June, substantially beating expert forecasts for JPY77.8 bil, all thanks to the refund on US tariffs. The refund came after the US court ruled in Feb that Donald Trump’s sweeping “liberation day” trade levies were illegal. Only last month, Nintendo was hit with a class action lawsuit on behalf of customers, which claims the company hiked its prices because of tariffs but later benefited from the refunds.

SpaceX Space Crash
SpaceX rocket stage slams into the moon, leaving a crater
A 4,000 kg SpaceX rocket stage was believed to have unintentionally crashed into the Moon on Wednesday - a collision that posed no danger to Earth but is expected to leave behind a lunar crater. While it is said to be an opportunity to observe the debris plume that could aid in space research, concerns have been raised about it becoming yet another “space junk” orbiting Earth. Currently, there are already more than 46,000 pieces of space debris weighing a total of 17,000 tonnes in orbit. View images here.

Travellers are choosing to go on hop flights for access to Starlink
SpaceX has said that some travellers are choosing flights with only Starlink on board, with some shockingly choosing to fly shorter hop flights instead of direct, so that they could ensure that they're on a Starlink-activated flight. SpaceX also announced a new agreement with American Airlines to bring Starlink to 500 planes, as well as new partnerships with Southwest, Virgin Atlantic, Iberia, and Aer Lingus. The company plans to turn Starlink Mobile into a full-fledged carrier capable of taking customers from AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile. A differentiation (albeit a temporary one) to an already heavily commoditised airline industry.

Wall Street hedge funds targeted by cyberattacks
Cybercriminals have been sending a wave of sophisticated attacks on Wall Street firms in recent days, targeting information systems at major money managers, including a major hedge fund, Point72 Asset Management. They also attempted to infiltrate the information systems at other major hedge funds – including Two Sigma Investments and Citadel – as well as several private equity firms. The attack featured voice phishing, or vishing, in which cybercriminals use technology to mimic voices in phone calls or messages to trick employees into revealing sensitive information or granting access.

5. FOR YOUR EYES 📺

The Science of Babies
Proper parenting is a profession by itself. Digest the below - makes your weekends better (if you have babies).

1. Osteopathy explains the proper way of carrying a baby. Been doing it the wrong way all this while. The person demonstrating in the video, Nicolas Grimaldi (2.6 mil IG followers), is based in Malaysia - check out his osteopathic clinic here.

2. Babies have different sleep cycles compared to an adult. There’s no need to rush up to attend to them when they are awake.

3. Black & white is good for babies in the early months.

4. Now I know why there are swimming classes for babies.

Happy weekend with your babies or making babies!