☕️ Survey: 57.8% of Malaysians against Najib receiving royal pardon

1. MARKET SUMMARY 📈

2. NUMBERS AT A GLANCE 🔢

13.8% – the proportion of all residential properties currently vacant in Japan. Government data from October 2023 reveals a record high of 9 mil abandoned houses nationwide, an increase of 510,000 since 2018. However, market analyses suggest the actual number of vacant homes is even greater, with the Nomura Research Institute estimating around 11 mil empty properties. Projections indicate that by 2033, vacant homes will constitute over 30% of all residential properties in Japan. These "akiya" are largely a consequence of the country's rapid ageing population and low birth rates.

Ronin, a landmine-detecting African giant pouched rat in Cambodia, has set a new world record by uncovering 109 landmines and 15 other items of unexploded ordnance since 2021. This achievement, according to the charity Apopo, makes Ronin the first rodent to surpass 100 such discoveries in a country heavily contaminated by remnants of a nearly 20-year civil war. Ronin's "crucial work," as recognised by the Guinness Book of World Records, is significantly improving the safety and lives of people in Cambodia. Apopo currently employs 104 of these "HeroRATS."

In 2024, Europe experienced its most widespread flooding in over a decade, with 30% of its river network exceeding capacity. This was one of the continent's ten wettest years since 1950, according to a report from the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service and the UN’s World Meteorological Organization (WMO). The extensive flooding, particularly affecting Valencia in Spain and central and eastern Europe, occurred during the world's hottest year and resulted in over 300 deaths, impacted 413,000 people, and caused at least EUR18 bil in economic damage.

3. IN MALAYSIA 🇲🇾

Survey: Majority of Malaysians against Najib receiving royal pardon
Project Stability and Accountability for Malaysia (Projek Sama), a civil society organisation, commissioned a survey, titled No Dua Darjat: Public Perception on Proportionality of Criminal Sentences, Home Detention and Najib Razak’s Pardon Plea, that revealed 57.8% of participants were of the belief that the former PM Najib Razak should not receive a royal pardon over his corruption conviction for various reasons. The survey with Malaysians across ethnic, gender, generations, socio-economic, geographical and political backgrounds.

Of the 1,210 respondents across 222 parliamentary constituencies, 34.3% of participants believed that the former prime minister had betrayed the people and caused significant loss. About 15% mentioned Najib’s pending court cases, whilst around 8% highlighted his refusal to admit guilt. The survey also found that 32.7% of the respondents supported the pardon plea for Najib, on the grounds that he had contributed to the nation. Other findings:

By ethnicity: the strongest backing for the former PM and his royal pardon was the Indian community, with 62.2% of the Indian respondents in support for Najib. The second strongest would be the Muslim Bumiputera community, coming in at 50.5%. 95% of respondents from the Chinese community rejected Najib’s pardon plea, whilst 51% of respondents from the non-Muslim Bumiputera community rejected the notion as well.

By party: The former prime minister received the highest backing from Barisan Nasional supporters at 67.7%, followed by Perikatan Nasional supporters at 44.6% and 39.2% of GPS, GRS and Warisan supporters.

Ain’t sci-fi - mining nickel through a rare plant found in Sabah
Phyllanthus rufuschaneyi, a rare plant found in the foothills of Mount Kinabalu, has high hopes pinned on it by the Malaysian government as a key component in a new nickel mining initiative. Nickel is a key component in lithium-ion batteries. The hyper-accumulating plant (view here) has properties that allow it to absorb nickel through its roots and store it in its shoots, and even among the unique plant group, Phyllanthus rufuschaneyi stands out as one of the most nickel-absorbent plants.

The Malaysian government seeks to tap into this precious resource in a process known as phytomining, and NanoMalaysia Bhd (NMB), an agency under the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI), believe that the new phytomining process could potentially supplement traditional mining. Through this method, it is estimated to yield 20,000 micrograms of nickel per gram of plant biomass, translating to around 40 kg of nickel per acre or 100 kg per hectare.

NMB, the leading force behind the country’s efforts in local eclectic vehicle component technology, strongly hopes that phytomining will serve as a reliable source of nickel for the industry. It has plans to create a circular economy through recycling crushed, spent lithium-ion batteries in the soil, allowing hyperaccumulator plants to then absorb the nickel in the soil, starting in 2026.

Eco-Shop cuts IPO price to RM1.13 per share, down 6.6%
Budget retail chain Eco-Shop Marketing Bhd has cut its IPO price by 6.6%, from RM1.21 to RM1.13 per share for both retail and institutional investors. Eco-Shop showed in a filing that the IPO saw under-subscription for the retail Bumiputera portion, whilst the overall retail portion saw an oversubscription of 0.96 times and the institutional offering had been fully subscribed. This will reduce its market cap to RM6.49 bil from RM6.95 bil.

Repricing of IPO in Malaysia is rather unheard of. The other 2 we can think of were Lotte Chemical Titan Holding Bhd (cut from RM8 to RM6.50 - 18.8% in 2017) and Ranhill Holding Bhd (down from RM1.70 to RM1.20 - 29.4% in 2016). IPO sentiment in the past 6 months hasn’t been great. Of the 40 IPOs, 28 (70%) have underperformed compared to their IPO price - view table here.

Shorts

1. Mama elephant on rampage after calf killed on highway

   The adult elephant, believed to be the mother of the elephant infant that was hit and subsequently pinned under a lorry on Jalan Gerik-Jeli, was seen attempting to push the lorry with her head to save the calf underneath. The adult elephant did not leave the site for over five hours. For this elephant, it was a heartbreaking Mother’s Day. Watch the incident here.

2. MACC’s Azam Baki’s tenure extended for 1 more year, third extension

   Azam Baki, the MACC’s chief commissioner, has had his tenure extended for an additional year, marking his third extension. The said extension will take effect from 13 May to 12 May of the next year. This decision was also supported by His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malay­sia.

3. PM Anwar to make an official visit to Russia
   PM Anwar Ibrahim is set to attend the XVI International Economic Forum “Russia-Islamic World: KazanForum” in Russia, where he will deliver a keynote address. His trip will be an official visit to the country from May 13 to May 16. The PM will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, as well as his Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, at high-level meetings to discuss trade and investment, agriculture and agri-commodities, education, aerospace and energy.

4. AROUND THE WORLD 🌎

Trade War: Cooling Down

US-UK trade deal struck
The “breakthrough” deal will create an aluminium and steel trading zone and secure the pharmaceutical supply chain, while increasing access for US agricultural products. US President Trump said the deal “affirms that reciprocity and fairness is a vital principle of international trade”, adding that the final details are still being written up. Other effects of the deal include less paperwork for British companies looking to export to the US, while the US will export more beef and ethanol to the UK, streamlining the processing of US goods through customs. The UK also agreed to lower its tariffs to 1.8% from 5.1%. This marks the first trade deal struck since Trump’s Liberation Day tariffs.

US, China de-escalate by slashing tariffs
The two countries will temporarily lower tariffs for three months to allow time for Washington and Beijing to come to a broader agreement. US tariffs on Chinese goods will be dropped to 30% from 145%, with Chinese tariffs on US goods dropped from 125% to 10%. If no agreement is made after 90 days, there is the possibility of a prolonged truce. The announcement confirms earlier statements by both sides about important progress and good discussions. Here’s an updated list of all of Trump’s tariffs so far. Thanks Reuters.

Fact-checking never hurts

USD10 tril of investments? Really?
Trump’s classic puffery in action. Following an announcement by Trump that his administration has secured “USD10 tril in investments” for the US, Al Jazeera did a tally of the White House’s public lists of investments, which amounted to USD2.1 tril in corporate investments, and reaching at most USD5.1 tril when including promised investments from other countries, which are not guaranteed to happen. So far, the five companies that have promised the most investments are Stargate (USD500 bil - facing funding hiccups now), Nvidia (USD500 bil), Apple (more than USD500 bil), IBM (USD150 bil), and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (USD100 bil). With the number falling so far short of USD10 tril, Al Jazeera has rated Trump’s statement as false. Then again, is there really a time when we can trust his words at all?

French, British, German national leaders did not do drugs on train
A video being circulated on social media portraying French President Macron, UK PM Starmer, and German Chancellor Merz using and then hiding drugs on a train to Ukraine has been proven false by French media and the attempt has been accused as part of a wider Russian disinformation campaign. It was alleged that the white object swept off the table into Macron’s hand was actually a tissue, rather than drugs. There was a snuff spoon too, next to Merz’s hand. The leaders were on their way to Ukraine from Poland, along with Polish PM Tusk, for talks with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy in a show of support. Watch here.

Lawful or not?

Trump's luxury jet gift raises legal red flags
Sources indicated that Trump will be gifted a luxury Boeing 747-8 jet from Qatar’s royal family, marking it as the most valuable gift ever received from a foreign government. Trump’s administration plans to use the luxury jet as the new Air Force One, with the gift expected to be announced this week when Trump visits Qatar. Legal experts have raised concerns and criticised the decision, with the largest issue being the constitutional clause where a person in a government office may not accept gifts or benefits without congressional consent. The Democrats have also slammed the decision, calling it corruption and bribery.

US Copyright Office report supports AI concerns of content creators
The report published is the latest in a series exploring copyright laws and AI, and states that “making commercial use of vast troves of copyrighted works to produce expressive content that competes with them in existing markets, especially where this is accomplished through illegal access, goes beyond established fair use boundaries." In short, if the AI steals from the content creators to produce content that is used to compete with content creators, it’s wrong. However, a day after the report was published, President Trump fired US Copyright Office Director Shira Perlmutter. The termination is seen as suspicious in its timing, with a Democrat calling the move a “power grab with no legal basis”.

Shorts

1. Kurdish PKK disbands, 40-year Turkey insurgency ended

   The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militant group has decided to disband, ending its armed struggle of over 40 years. The move is likely to ease tensions in the region and boost Turkey’s stability. However, Ankara says peace is not guaranteed, as there is now the “tricky” task of securely disarming the PKK. It is also unclear how this will affect the alliance between the US and the Kurdish YPG militia in Syria, where they oppose Islamic State insurgents.

2. Taliban suspend chess over gambling concerns

   The Taliban government in Afghanistan has banned chess until further notice, as they fear the game is a source of gambling. The ban will remain indefinitely until the game’s compatibility with Islamic law can be determined. Chess is the latest sport to be restricted in Afghanistan, with the Taliban having banned free fighting such as mixed martial arts in professional competition, saying it was too “violent”. A reminder, dear reader, that chess made its way through the Arabic world of old, which contributed to the word “checkmate”.

3. Pope Leo XIV calls for Gaza ceasefire, proper guidance of AI

   The first American pope, Pope Leo XIV, has called for genuine peace in Ukraine and an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip as part of his first Sunday blessing. He also called for innovations such as AI to be guided by humanity towards serving a good purpose, pointing to the “anthropological and ethical challenges raised by AI”. A sidenote: Hamas has agreed to release Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander, and while fighting will pause to allow his safe passage, Israeli PM Netanyahu has said “no ceasefire”.

5. FOR YOUR EYES 📺

1. If you’re sick of cables getting tangled, this is a good guide. I’ve tried it.

2. One-sixth (16%) of the world’s population lives in Sub-Saharan Africa, but they make up 67% of extreme poverty. Every twelfth person in the world still lives in extreme poverty. That means surviving on less than USD2.15 per day (adjusted for differences in living costs between countries).

3. There exists a cycle in a relationship → harmony, disharmony, repair. It’s hard to get past disharmony, perhaps because people have a tendency to avoid conflict. There is hope.