☕️ Slapper discharged, but does not slip as he is recharged

1. MARKET SUMMARY 📈

Up north, the Thailand stock market isn’t doing too well (an understatement) despite USD4.5 bil (RM19.9 bil) support from a state-controlled investment fund. Benchmark index SET has tumbled more than 16% this year, making it the world’s worst performer amongst 92 indexes tracked by Bloomberg.

2. NUMBERS AT A GLANCE 🔢

RM1.909 bil spent on road maintenance – the amount allocated for maintaining 13,596.85 km of roads (RM140.4k per km on average) across 11 states in Peninsular Malaysia, Works Minister Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi told the Dewan Rakyat. The funds covered routine and periodic maintenance, bridge upkeep, streetlights, signal lights, and small district-level projects. Peninsular Malaysia received 79.45% of the total allocation, with Sabah, Sarawak, and Labuan receiving 13.23%, 6.378%, and 0.95%, respectively.

61 complaints about models' weight – In 2024, the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) received 61 complaints about 52 adverts featuring models whose weight was deemed problematic, with most complaints focusing on models appearing too thin. Jess Tye of the ASA noted that the watchdog handles around 35,000 complaints annually about all forms of advertising. Meanwhile, online clothing brand Snag reported receiving over 100 daily complaints that its models were “too fat,” highlighting the ongoing debate over body representation in advertising and the challenges brands face in meeting diverse consumer expectations.

3. IN MALAYSIA 🇲🇾

Slapper discharged but does not slip as he is recharged
Recently, a viral video showed an elderly Muslim man berating and slapping a non-Muslim youth multiple times for ‘not fasting’ and eating in public within a shopping mall in Johor Bahru. The elderly man, Abdul Razak Ismail, reportedly harassed the youth, demanding proof of his ethnicity via IC. Ismail then proceeded to scold the youth for eating in public during Ramadan and slapped him continuously.

Ismail was charged under Section 323 of the Penal Code, though today, was granted a discharge not amounting to acquittal (DNAA). This had occurred wholly due to the court’s dismissal of Ismail’s conditional guilty plea. Though the accused admitted to the charges, he argued against the facts of the case. Ismail claimed that though he did slap the youth, as seen on the video shared on social media by the victim, he did not hit him hard enough to leave bruises, thus contesting a fact of the case confirmed by a medical report.

Magistrate A Shaarmini then rejected Ismail’s guilty plea and ordered the 65-year-old to appoint a lawyer to defend himself. When the accused tried to argue against this as well and attempted to plead guilty once more, claiming it was due to the responsibilities of supporting his wife, the Magistrate rejected this plea as well, stating that it was a conditional one, and was not permissible or acceptable by the court.

When the prosecution informed the court that instructions were received to refer the case to the Attorney-General’s Chambers (ACG), the court then ordered a discharge not amounting to acquittal (DNAA). He is not getting away so soon, though, as the technical issue that initially caused the DNAA has since been resolved, and Ismail was recharged at Johor Bahru magistrate's court yesterday afternoon.

Proposed RM86.77 mil fine against Grab and its subsidiaries dismissed
In 2019, the Malaysian Competition Commission (MyCC) proposed a fine to Grab Inc. and its subsidiaries for alleged anti-competitive practices by placing restrictive clauses onto their drivers, specifically the ability to promote and advertise other services by Grab’s competitors. In 2023, a High Court decision quashed the fine, leading MyCC to appeal. The Court of Appeal has dismissed the appeal by MyCC to reinstate the fine against Grab Inc. totalling RM86.77 mil, the three-judge panel granting the unanimous decision yesterday. The commission was also ordered to pay RM50,000 in legal fees.

Concluding a long legal battle, the appeal was rejected on the grounds that an internal remedial procedural was not available to the ride-hailing firm to appeal against the proposed decision. Furthermore, the judge said that the High Court judge did not make any error in his ruling that the investigation carried out by the commission against the companies was tainted with procedural impropriety

Government targets corporations and GLCs to adopt 500 schools
PM Anwar has set this target while chairing the Cabinet meeting yesterday — 500 schools to be adopted by corporate and government-linked companies under the Sekolah Angkat Madani Programme. The program entails companies ‘adopting’ and supporting underprivileged schools, particularly those situated in remote and rural areas. The companies would financially support the schools through educational facilities and infrastructure.

The initiative, with coordination efforts overseen by the Ministry of Education, has already reported 20 schools adopted under Tenaga Nasional Bhd. Private companies interested in adopting schools can liaise with the Ministry of Education directly.
PM Anwar highly encouraged companies to partake in the initiative, adding that it would allow the government to focus on other priorities, such as the construction of new schools. Interesting idea for the short-term, but what’s in it for them companies to do it over the long run especially during economic downturns?

Shorts

1. Musical legends landing in KL this July
   Legendary saxophonist Kenny G has named Malaysia a stop in his Timeless Legacy tour, specifically at the Arena of Stars, Resorts World Genting. The date is set for July 13. Following his sold-out 2023 concert in Malaysia, excitement for the world-famous figure is sky-high. And not even a week later, the iconic South Korean boy band, BIGBANG’s G-Dragon is set to perform at the Axiata Arena, Bukit Jalil for two days, July 19 and 20. Promptly after releasing his highly anticipated studio album, “Übermensch”, in Feb, the King of K-Pop is now taking his world tour.

2. Fintech startup Versa’s RM30 mil Series A funding
   Versa Asia Sdn Bhd (Versa), a start-up in financial technology with an estimate of 300k users, has completed its Series A round of funding, led by AHAM Asset Management Sdn Bhd (AHAM Capital). Managing director of AHAM Capital, Datuk Teng Chee Wai, stated that the investment was one of the biggest by the firm, as they believed in Versa’s potential to transform the wealth management industry in the nation as well the homogeny in alignment of values and services.

4. AROUND THE WORLD 🌎

Middle East Boiling Over?

UN HQ in Central Gaza struck, Israel states it attacked ‘Hamas site‘
A foreign national was killed and four others were wounded when a UN compound was hit by an Israeli airstrike in central Gaza City. This comes as the IDF resumed its bombardments following the breakdown of the ceasefire. The Israeli military has denied it struck the compound in Deir al-Balah, saying that it had instead struck a Hamas site in northern Gaza where “preparations for firing into Israeli territory” were detected. Northern Gaza and Deir al-Balah are almost 24km apart. Either the IDF used extremely faulty gear, or the strike was deliberate. Somehow, faulty gear seems rather unlikely, no?

Erdogan arrests opponent on corruption and terrorism charges
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan’s main political rival, Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, has been arrested on charges of corruption and aiding a terrorist group, with the move called “a coup against our next president” by the main opposition party. Imamoglu was days away from being named the main opposition party’s official presidential candidate but is now faced with two investigations with charges of leading a crime organisation, bribery, and tender rigging, among others. This led to the Turkish lira crashing 12% to an all-time low of 42 to the US Dollar.

Demonstrations were also held and planned to protest the arrest, despite a ban by authorities and police sealing off roads. As it is, protesters are already calling the move a “betrayal of democracy”, with some claiming to have predicted Imamoglu would have to endure a detention process. Turkey is due for an election in 2028, and Erdogan will have to either call an early election or change the constitution if he wants to run again despite hitting the two-term limit. Early elections don’t look likely, considering Erdogan suffered his worst electoral defeat in municipal elections last year to the main opposition party.

Acquisitions Inc.

• Google x Wiz deal confirmed at USD32 bil (RM142.21 bil)
  The deal, a USD32 bil all-cash transaction, marks the biggest acquisition in Google’s history as its parent Alphabet looks to strengthen its enterprise cloud, cybersecurity, and AI divisions. Wiz will remain an independent platform that will work across all cloud providers, not just Google Cloud Platform. While the deal has been confirmed, it will still need regulatory and other approvals, though both firms believe the deal can be closed in 2026. According to sources, the deal, which was an on-again, off-again talk between the two firms, was accelerated upon Trump being sworn into office, with the prospect of a friendlier antitrust review. The deal was also pushed up from its original offer of USD23 bil. The VCs who backed Wiz have definitely made out like bandits from this particular deal, with Sequoia Capital and Insight Partners among the early backers. Check out a more comprehensive list here. Also, the Wiz deal is almost as much as Google’s ten largest deals combined:

• GoTo refutes rumours of Grab buyout
  Indonesian ride-hailing and e-commerce giant GoTo (parent company of Gojek) has refuted any rumours of a potential transaction with any parties. This comes after reports surfaced that GoTo’s rival Grab is moving forward with its attempt to take over GoTo, with Grab already beginning the due diligence process. This also follows GoTo stating it did not have any material corporate action plans for the next 12 months other than share buybacks as it addressed market rumours. The reports resulted in share price appreciations for both Grab and GoTo.

Nvidia unveils AI-powered robot Blue and other things at Nvidia’s GTC 2025 AI conference
CEO Jensen Huang unveiled a number of items in the future of Nvidia, including updates on the firm’s road map. Huang unveiled Nvidia’s next-generation Blackwell Ultra chip and offered updates to the launch timeline of its AI superchip platform Rubin, which was unveiled last year. Huang also introduced “Blue”, a robot that had two Nvidia computers inside it, that was meant to demonstrate the chipmaker’s new partnership with Google DeepMind and Disney Research. The partnership will focus on building a new open-source robotics physics engine called Newton. Also announced was Nvidia Dynamo, an open-source software to help accelerate and scale AI reasoning models, as well as a partnership with General Motors to “build custom AI systems”. Of note as well is that Huang believes humanoid robots are less than five years away from seeing wide use in manufacturing facilities.

The German Situation

• German parliament passes EUR500 bil (RM2.4 tril) fund, policy changes
  The approval for a massive spending surge throws off decades of fiscal conservatism in a bid to revive economic growth. The move will also see the scaling up of military spending. This gives incoming chancellor Friedrich Merz hundreds of billions of euros to ramp up investment after Germany’s economy had faced two years of contractions. The approval has improved German investor morale, with metal and steel manufacturers along with the mechanical engineering sector seeing improved prospects.

• Audi cuts 7,500 jobs for efficiency
  The automaker brand under Volkswagen will be reducing numbers by as many as 7,500 by 2029 as it looks to shore up its slowing profitability. The cut, which affects about 14% of the brand’s German workforce, will not affect factory workers. Audi will be investing around EUR8 bil (RM38.69 bil) in its German locations in the time period while introducing new cars to better compete in the US and China.

• Siemens cuts 8% of jobs at struggling automation business
  The brand will be axing 5,600 at its Digital Industries business, which offers factory automation solutions. The number makes up about 8% of the 68,000 people it employs in Digital Industries globally and marks the largest number of cuts announced by Siemens since 2017, with 2,600 of the cuts happening in Germany. Siemens faces muted demand in its key markets of China and Germany with increased competitive pressures, leading to “considerably reduced orders and revenue” in the industrial automation business over the past two years. Meanwhile, the brand’s US clients are also hesitant due to political uncertainties, though long-term demand for its products there “seemed to be okay”.

Shorts

1. Chinese businessman alleges family office staff of misusing funds 
   Ultra-high-net-worth Chinese businessman Zhong Renhai, owner of Lee Fung International and family office Panda Enterprise in Singapore, is suing four former staff in Singapore for allegedly misappropriating USD56 mil (RM248.86 mil) through creating fraudulent transactions and fabricating documents. A judge has upheld a worldwide order to freeze the assets of the four, but this incident has highlighted the vulnerabilities of some family office structures.

2. Thailand aims for F1 street race in 2028 
   A meeting between Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra and Formula One CEO Stefano Domenicali saw an announcement of a feasibility study for an F1 Grand Prix on a Bangkok street circuit in 2028. The PM said that the race would be an opportunity to upgrade Bangkok’s infrastructure and that all Thai people would benefit from organising the event.

3. NASA astronauts finally home
   Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams have made it back to Earth after spending nine months in space. Their mission was initially meant to last only eight days but was extended due to their spacecraft being deemed too risky to fly home. They were part of the first crewed test flight of Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, which encountered technical issues on its way to the International Space Station. They were warmly welcomed as dolphins greeted them at their splashdown - watch here.

5. FOR YOUR EYES 📺

1. China’s 315 Gala - a very interesting annual award show that mentions the names and shames of companies that violated consumers’ rights and showcasing fraudulent business practices. State broadcaster has aired the show on World Consumer Rights Day since 1991. We need this.

2. Influencer and businessman Khairul Amin shared his company’s financial performance in 2024. With just 2 products, his business generated RM42 mil revenue, up 110% (RM20 mil) from the year before. Impressive.

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