☕️ Six-year-old Zayn Rayyan's death linked to severe physical abuse

1. MARKET SUMMARY 📈

2. NUMBERS AT A GLANCE 🔢

RM34.4 bil – Malaysia's direct selling industry experienced a robust 7.4% growth in 2024, reaching this substantial figure, and demonstrating its continued strength. This expansion, up from RM32.04 bil in 2023, reinforces Malaysia's position as the world's sixth-largest direct-selling market and the fourth-largest in the Asia-Pacific region. The issuance of new and renewed licenses to 45 companies underscores the industry's dynamism and its significant contribution to the national economy.

15% – Pakistan’s honey production has plummeted, impacting the livelihoods of 27,000 beekeepers and disrupting a cultural staple. This decline, recorded since 2022, stems from shifting weather patterns and environmental stressors, mirroring a global threat to bee populations. The diversity of Pakistan’s honey has also suffered, dropping from 22 varieties to 11, with three of the country's four honeybee species now endangered. Fewer bees could spell trouble globally as bees play a huge role in our food supply chain.

6.5 terabits per second – A newly discovered botnet, Eleven11bot, has unleashed what is likely the largest denial-of-service (DDoS) attack ever recorded, peaking at this unprecedented data volume. This network, comprising approximately 30,000 compromised webcams and video recorders, primarily located in the US, emerged suddenly in late Feb. The sheer scale of the attack, coupled with the previously unseen nature of the participating IP addresses, underscores the evolving sophistication and threat of modern cyberattacks, surpassing the previous record of 5.6 Tbps.

3. IN MALAYSIA 🇲🇾

Six-year-old Zayn Rayyan's death linked to severe physical abuse
Warning - graphic description. A forensic pathologist testified that six-year-old autistic boy Zayn Rayyan Abdul Matin died from ligature strangulation, with multiple perimortem injuries indicating severe physical abuse, including blunt trauma to the head and body, sharp wounds on the ears and limbs, and signs of insertion of foreign objects into his mouth and anus. The post-mortem, conducted yesterday, also revealed decomposition consistent with death occurring 48 hours prior. No defensive wounds were found, but the bruised neck muscles and thyroid glands confirmed strangulation as the cause of death. His parents have pleaded not guilty to neglect charges spanning Dec 5-6 2023. This harrowing case is a stark reminder of the urgent need for stronger child protection mechanisms and early intervention systems before tragedy strikes.

Federal court rejects Perlis review bid on religious status conversion
Today, the Federal Court dismissed the Perlis state government's bid to reinstate the religious status of Loh Siew Hong's three children as Muslims. The unanimous decision, delivered by Chief Judge of Malaya Seri Hasnah Mohammed Hashim, found no merit in the application, ruling that the state government had failed to meet the required threshold under Rule 137 of the Federal Court Rules 1995. This decision upheld the Court of Appeal's ruling in Jan 2023, which had declared the children as Hindus, overturning the previous High Court decision.

Loh had contested her ex-husband’s unilateral conversion of their children to Islam without her consent, a case highlighting the delicate balance between individual rights and religious authority. The ruling affirms the judiciary's critical role in safeguarding personal freedoms, even in matters as sensitive as religious identity, where legal clarity is paramount in ensuring that constitutional rights are upheld in the face of complex societal and legal pressures.

Work trip - officials dispatched to Washington to address US tariff issue
PM Anwar Ibrahim announced that officials will be dispatched to Washington to begin quiet, diplomatic engagement over the US-imposed 24% retaliatory tariff on Malaysian goods, effective Apr 9. Speaking at the ASEAN Investment Conference 2025, he stressed that Malaysia’s trade with the US has long been mutually beneficial and warned that such protectionist measures risk harming both sides. While committed to maintaining ties with the US, Malaysia is also accelerating its trade diversification across the EU, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. Anwar called for ASEAN to reinforce internal trade and external linkages amidst global economic fragmentation, framing the bloc as a rare beacon of openness and cohesion.

Police bust major drug syndicate
Police dismantled a major drug trafficking syndicate operating locally, as well as targeting Singapore and Indonesia, following the arrest of a 28-year-old couple on Mar 27 in a special operation. The operation led to the seizure of drugs valued at RM14.39 mil, including 34.5kg of heroin, 83kg of ecstasy, and 2kg of methamphetamine. The suspects, arrested at a parking lot in an apartment, were found to be using gated apartments as storage and mini laboratories for drug processing. The male suspect, a transporter for the syndicate, had a history of drug-related offences, including a past detention in Singapore. The police are now pursuing the syndicate’s mastermind and investigating its assets for potential seizure. With the number of drug seizures lately, makes us wonder if we are evolving into a regional drug capital.

Malaysia enforces tobacco display ban
Malaysia’s new ban on displaying tobacco products at sales counters now affects over 51,000 shops, with phased enforcement set to continue until Oct 1. Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad announced that non-compliant premises will receive warnings or notifications from the Ministry of Health. This measure is part of Regulation 6 under the Control of Smoking Products for Public Health Regulations 2024, which follows the introduction of Act 852 last Oct, addressing tobacco sales, labelling, and public smoking restrictions. The move underscores the government’s commitment to reducing tobacco-related harm, with a clear focus on enhancing public health through tighter regulations.

AEON Credit sees profit growth
AEON Credit Service (M) Bhd reported a 10.1% rise in net profit to RM130.97 mil for Q4 FY2025, its strongest in 11 quarters since Q1 FY2023 driven by higher revenue, loan growth, and bad debt recoveries. Quarterly revenue rose 14.6% y-o-y to RM575 mil, while interest expenses climbed to RM110.55 mil due to increased borrowings, which stood at RM10.75 bil. However, its non-performing loans ratio inched up to 2.64%, and it posted a RM22.82 mil share of losses from AEON Bank. Despite a 15.3% rise in FY2025 revenue to RM8.41 bil, full-year net profit fell 12.6% to RM370.61 mil due to higher impairment and operating costs. A final dividend of 14.5 sen was declared, bringing FY2025’s total to 28.75 sen. Its market cap stands at RM2.96 bil. View earnings here.

4. AROUND THE WORLD 🌎

Tariff Drama

Trump urged followers to ‘hang tough‘ despite market turmoil due to the tariffs 
Trump’s team remains adamant and defiant over the tariff move, rejecting investors’ fears of inflation and recession and offering no apologies for the market turmoil sparked by the sweeping global tariffs. In a social media post a few days ago, Trump even urged his followers to “hang tough, it won’t be easy, but the end result will be historic”. However, what is happening is that in the two days following Trump’s Apr 2 tariff announcement, markets have shed USD5.4 tril (RM24.25 tril) in value and dragged the S&P 500 to its lowest level in 11 months. Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers said last week’s sell-off was the fourth-largest two-day move since World War II – after the 1987 market crash, the 2008 financial crisis and the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic.

Vietnam pleads for 45-day delay to Trump’s tariff 
A colossal 46% tariff imposed on Vietnam has left it in a dire situation, leading the Southeast Asian manufacturing powerhouse to seek a last-minute delay of the implementation by at least 45 days to give time for talks with Washington. Vietnam also said that they will continue to buy more US goods including security and defence products. Analysts say that the tariffs threaten to “significantly damage” Vietnam’s current growth model, which relies heavily on exports to the US, where in the worst-case scenario, Vietnam could suffer a 3% hit to gross domestic product this year. Vietnam’s main stock exchange, which avoided the freefall that hit global markets on Monday because of a holiday, fell around 6% yesterday.

It’s kinda wild that the Chinese Embassy in the US posted a speech by former US President Ronald Reagan about free trade — watch here.

AI and humans

• Shopify CEO tells teams to consider using AI before growing headcount
  Employees at Shopify are now required to demonstrate why AI can’t perform a job before they’re permitted to ask for more headcount and resources. This is as per a recent memo (read here) by its CEO Tobi Lütke, who is obviously looking to AI for efficiency gains, and he is also not the only one among tech leaders who favours the option. As of 2024, Shopify had around 8,100 employees, where they have actually laid off 20% of its staff in 2023. In Jan, Shopify reportedly quietly laid off employees in its customer service division. On a bigger scale of AI's impact on jobs, a new report from the United Nations Trade and Development Organization estimates that AI could disrupt over 40% of roles globally.

• Google would rather pay AI staff to do nothing for a year than let them join rivals
  It is being said that Google has an aggressive weapon when it comes to the tough competition in the AI world - a firm non-compete agreement to retain its competitive edge in the AI talent wars, with some employees in the UK facing up to a year-long restriction from joining rival companies after leaving. Some of the employees are still paid during this time, but the practice does make them feel left out in the rapidly growing industry. Noncompete clauses are unenforceable in California, but in the UK, where Google’s AI division DeepMind is headquartered, they are allowed if deemed reasonable.

The next you use ChatGPT, say thank you - that’s how you survive Terminator when it happens

Winter is coming: Scientists said they have resurrected the dire wolf
Scientists at Colossal Scientists lab have announced that they have managed to successfully de-extinct three dire wolves, a species of wolf that died out some 12,500 years ago and also made famous as pets to the Stark family in HBO’s Game of Thrones series. The team has created 3 dire wolf pups by using ancient DNA, cloning and gene-editing technology to alter the genes of a grey wolf, its closest living relative.

These pups are essentially a hybrid species similar in appearance to its extinct forerunner. Dire wolves were larger in size than grey wolves and “had a slightly wider head, light thick fur and stronger jaw. The three dire wolves are living on a 2,000-acre site at an undisclosed location enclosed by 3-meter tall “zoo-grade” fencing, where they are monitored by security personnel, drones and live camera feeds. Colossal said the facility had been certified by the American Humane Society and registered with the US Department of Agriculture. Colossal has raised at least USD435 mil (RM1.95 bil) since the company was founded in Sept 2021 and first announced plans to resurrect the mammoth. That endeavour has taken longer than the founders initially projected, with the company saying it’s on track to introduce the first woolly mammoth calves in 2028. Hear their first howl here. Soon, we can welcome back the mammoth and dodo. Or maybe they choose not to exist again, if given the choice, with the state of the world now.
Watch: The Making of the Colossal Dire Wolves

Shorts:

1. Kanlaon volcano erupts in the Philippines 
   The Kanlaon volcano in central Philippines erupted early yesterday morning, sending a plume of ash 4,000m into the sky. It is one of the 24 active volcanoes in Southeast Asia and has been erupting since Dec where authorities put it at a level 3 alert out of a scale of 5. The latest eruption prompted cancellations of school hours and evacuations of the surrounding villages in case of escalation. Earlier in Sept 2024, hundreds of nearby residents were evacuated after the same volcano spurted thousands of tonnes of harmful gases in a single day.

2. Fire risk at Osaka Expo 2025 site as methane levels detected 
   Less than a week before it opens, organisers of Osaka Expo 2025 have found a high level of methane in an underground pit for electrical equipment during a test opening of the venue. The levels are high enough to trigger a fire, prompting the organisers to bar people from coming near the affected area for now. Apparently, the site was once a landfill, where discarded household waste creates large amounts of methane when it decomposes if left to rot. Expo 2025 is a global event that will run for six months, involving around 160 countries and regions for a display of their technological and cultural prowess.

5. FOR YOUR EYES 📺

1. What could go wrong? Notice the account that posted this.

2. An interesting documentary on Thailand’s ladyboys.

3. Another community event with Peter (Mr Money) this weekend. Why so short notice? It’s about the T-word. We will be sharing the stage together with Mr Money. Can we say — The Coffee Break’s first community event? Sorta. See you guys. Get your tickets here.