☕️ Flood 2025: Leaking LRT, flooding highway, sliding land

1. MARKET SUMMARY 📈

2. NUMBERS AT A GLANCE 🔢

Going once, going twice - on auctions

USD236.4 mil (RM979.1 mil). That’s the new record for how much a piece of modern art is sold for. The art piece in question is the Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer by Gustav Klimt, which was sold after a 20-minute bidding war at auction house Sotheby’s in New York. The 1.8-metre-tall painting was painted over three years between 1914 and 1916, and is one of two full-length portraits by the Austrian artist that remain privately owned. The previous record for how much a piece of modern art was sold for was set by an Andy Warhol portrait of Marilyn Monroe, which sold for USD195 mil in 2022. View the piece here.

Another record was broken in the art world with the sale of a self-portrait by Frida Kahlo for USD54.7 mil (RM226.5 mil). This marks it as the most expensive work by a female artist to sell at auction. The self-portrait, titled El sueno (La cama), which translates to The Dream (The Bed), broke the previous record set by Georgia O’Keeffe’s Jimson Weed/White Flower Number 1, which sold for USD44.4 mil in 2014. The self-portrait painted in 1940 also broke Kahlo’s own auction record for a work by a Latin American artist, which was previously held by her 1949 painting titled Diego and I. The painting depicting the artist and her husband, muralist Diego Rivera, went for USD34.9 mil in 2021. You can see it here.

However, what did not go for auction was one of the world’s first calculating machines, La Pascaline, developed by the French mathematician Blaise Pascal in 1642. A Paris court provisionally blocked the export of the historic item, leading to auction house Christie’s confirming it will not proceed with bidding for the machine. The auction house called it “the most important scientific instrument ever offered at auction”, with the device valued at between EUR2 mil to EUR3 mil (RM9.5 mil to RM14.3 mil). Scientists and researchers had made a legal appeal to grant heritage protections to the historic instrument, arguing it should be classified as a national treasure. Pascal created the device when he was just 19, and there are only nine of these still in existence. Intricate, but not something you can easily fit in a school bag.

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3. IN MALAYSIA 🇲🇾

Flood season is back - drowning in losses, literally and figuratively
Cooling weather, but destructive outcome. Malaysia is increasingly under threat from major flooding, and the latest data shows just how costly it has become. Floods recently hit seven states, including Kelantan, Penang, Perlis, Perak, Kedah, Terengganu and Selangor, displacing 10,922 people from 3,839 families. Kelantan is the hardest hit, with 8,248 evacuees from 3,022 families housed in 33 relief centres. Heavy rain also disrupted Kuala Lumpur’s infrastructure: the LRT saw water dripping from ceilings and pooling on the floor (watch here), sparking safety concerns. On highways, flash floods forced closures (watch here - NKVE partially submerged), while a landslide in Seputeh’s Taman United triggered the evacuation of more than 100 residents to a nearby community hall and prompted slope‑stabilisation efforts. All these raise the question - is our infrastructure resilient enough to face climate change? KLIA probably not, but so far, nothing is leaking.

The economic fallout is steep. According to the Department of Statistics Malaysia, flood‑related losses in 2024 reached RM 933.4 mil, up from RM 755.4 mil in 2023. The worst losses were in residential properties (RM 372.2 mil), public infrastructure (RM 303.4 mil), and agriculture (RM 185.2 mil). Kelantan suffered the greatest damage in homes, reporting RM 139 mil lost in living quarters alone. There are several causes for these repeated floods. Climate change is driving more intense and unpredictable rainfall. Rapid urbanisation has increased impermeable surfaces, reducing natural drainage, while deforestation and land‑use changes worsen runoff, causing rain to reach rivers faster. Studies suggest rising sea levels and heavier precipitation, both linked to climate change, may expand flood zones and put more infrastructure in danger. This year’s flooding is part of a long pattern of disaster risk in Malaysia. In late 2024, unprecedented monsoon rain displaced tens of thousands — more than 90,000 people in nine states — during what was called Malaysia’s worst floods in a decade.

The Selangor Fire and Rescue Department published a list of 4 districts under daily observation for flash floods: Sungai Besar, Bestari Jaya, Shah Alam, and Bukit Jelutong.

Crime of all sorts: Scam, drugs, and heinous of them all murder, sodomy of an infant

Maid-recruitment scams: Lately, Malaysia’s news has been full of troubling stories. First, digital scams are making a comeback, particularly in the area of maid-recruitment fraud. Deputy Human Resources Minister Abdul Rahman Mohamad said that between January 2023 and October 2025, authorities recorded 30 cases of unlicensed agencies tricking employers with promises of cheap and fast domestic helpers. There were 11 cases in 2023, four in 2024, and 15 cases up to October 2025. Abdul Rahman also stressed that public cooperation is crucial to tackling these scams and that other agencies must help ensure all transactions are properly recorded to prevent manipulation. He added that private employment agencies could have their licences revoked if found to be involved in fraudulent activities.

Robin Hood or Robin Douche?: Meanwhile, in Selangor, police dismantled a drug syndicate that had used community ties to cover its operations. The leader, seen as a Robin Hood figure, provided cash and jobs to locals while moving 2.38 tonnes of drugs worth RM76.2 mil. After almost five months of surveillance, police conducted four simultaneous raids in Bukit Rahman Putra, Bestari Jaya, and Batang Berjuntai, seizing the drugs, about RM1 mil in cash, and arresting nine suspects. Seven of the suspects have criminal records, including the mastermind who has seven previous offences. The suspects have been remanded until late November for further investigation.

Pure Evil: In another shocking case, a Shah Alam court sentenced a 40-year-old man to 30 years in prison and 13 strokes of the rotan after he pleaded guilty to murdering and sodomising a nine-month-old child under his wife’s care. DNA and semen of the man were found in the infant’s large intestine and on the anus. Speechless.

Fahmi Reza once again summoned by police
Political activist Fahmi Reza has been summoned by police over a “Kelas Demokrasi” livestream, where he discussed whether Sabah Yang di-Pertua Negeri Musa Aman could be removed from office - the proper way. Fahmi will be called for questioning under the Sedition Act, Communications and Multimedia Act, and Penal Code. He has said the investigation will not stop his nightly TikTok sessions educating new voters ahead of the Sabah state election on 29 November 2025. Musa Aman himself has faced a long history of legal battles. In June 2020, the prosecution withdrew all 46 corruption and money laundering charges against him, and the High Court granted him acquittals on all charges. These charges alleged Musa had received over USD50 million from logging concessionaires and laundered USD37.84 million through accounts in Hong Kong, China, and Singapore.

@kuasasiswa

Bolehkah TYT Musa Aman dipecat? #KelasDemokrasi

Shorts

1. No football sponsorship, says PETRONAS

   Petroliam Nasional Bhd (PETRONAS) has shot down rumours that it is the title sponsor of the Bangladesh Football League. The national oil firm confirmed it has not entered any such agreement and did not authorise the use of its brand. The false claim went viral on social media, drawing public questions about its sponsorship choices.

2. Malaysia reversing brain drain to brain gain?
   According to Deputy Health Minister Lukanisman Awang Sauni, Malaysia’s skilled labour migration trend is shifting from a brain drain to “brain circulation” following several initiatives. For example, Malaysia at Heart programme enables Malaysian professionals abroad to contribute remotely without needing to return and reside permanently - but just how great the impact of such remote contribution can be? Digital Minister Gobind Singh, just back in April, said the country is facing a critical brain drain problem with 1.86 mil Malaysians having left the country over the past 50 years. This represents 5.6% of the population, higher than the global average of 3.6%. Still too early to say it is a structurally shifting trend. 

4. AROUND THE WORLD 🌎

The mess of social media

Snapchat starts age check in Australia ahead of teen social media ban
The social media platform has begun asking children and teens in Australia to verify their ages using software owned by the country’s banks. This comes as Australia prepares to enforce a world-first social media ban for children under 16 starting December 10. The law threatens social media platforms with a fine of up to AUD49.5 mil (RM132.1 mil) for non-compliance. In addition to Snapchat, the ban also applies to YouTube, X, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Reddit, Twitch, and Kick.

Meanwhile, here in Malaysia, the government is considering requiring social media firms to use MyDigital ID as one of the age verification tools to block users under 16 from opening accounts, according to Deputy Communications Minister Teo Nie Ching.

However, the teen social media ban in Australia has pushed content creators there to look abroad for opportunities, as they believe that advertisers will likely leave Australia. While there is no solid figure on the ban’s impact on the social media industry, it is agreed in the industry that it could lead to a drop in both advertisers and views. The industry is estimated to generate about AUD9 bil a year. Such a move would be detrimental to the influencer economy, according to a social media researcher. Wonder what this spells for the social media industry in Malaysia?

Meta estimates that USD16 bil or 10% of its revenue from running ads for online scams, banned goods
Senators Josh Hawley and Richard Blumenthal have called for the Federal Trade Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission to probe Facebook parent Meta, suggesting the two bodies should open investigations immediately into ads promoting scams and banned goods on Meta’s platforms. They also called for the authorities to force Meta to disgorge profits, pay penalties, and cease running such ads should the investigations show that Meta has been profiting off such ads.

This follows an earlier report where Meta projected that 10% of its overall sales in 2024, about USD16 bil (RM66.3 bil), came from running online ads for scams and banned goods. These included ads for fraudulent e-commerce and investment schemes, illegal online casinos, and the sale of banned medical products. However, Meta did state that the projection of 10% was a “rough and overly-inclusive estimate”. The senators noted that Meta itself estimated its platforms were involved in a third of all scams in the US. Coupled with the estimate that Americans lost USD158.3 bil to scams in 2024, they suggested that Meta was responsible for over USD50 bil in consumer loss.

AI money and power

UAE announces USD1 bil initiative to expand AI in Africa
The United Arab Emirates will be investing USD1 bil (RM4.1 bil) to expand AI infrastructure and AI-enabled services across Africa, with the aim of helping countries meet national development priorities. The UAE is also one of the biggest investors in Africa, with bilateral trade reaching about USD107 bil in 2024, a 28% increase from the previous year. Between 2020 and 2024, the UAE’s total investments in Africa were over USD118 bil.

AI will give nuclear power-like influence, says Russian tech boss
Top Russian AI executive Alexander Vedyakhin, the first deputy CEO of AI-focused tech conglomerate Sberbank, opines that AI will bestow influence on par with nuclear technology to countries able to get ahead now, thus giving them superiority this century. He believes that AI is like a nuclear project, with a club emerging globally. The entry requirement is whether you have your own national large language model or not. However, he also said the club’s membership was effectively closed, with the US and China ahead of the rest of the club by at least six months.

Shorts

1. GoTo new CEO expected to speed Grab takeover
   Indonesian tech firm GoTo has appointed Hans Patuwo as its new CEO, replacing Patrick Walujo. The move to appoint Patuwo, who was previously GoTo’s COO, is expected to speed up the takeover of GoTo by Grab. A dismal stock performance led to GoTo’s co-founders and prominent investors calling for Walujo’s ouster. Among the investors was SoftBank Group Corp.

2. India’s Supreme Court to drop criminal charges against billionaire brothers for a third of their fraud dues

   The court agreed to drop criminal charges against billionaire brothers Nitin and Chetan Sandesara if the duo paid a third of their dues in a USD1.6 bil (RM6.6 bil) bank fraud. The brothers’ lawyer has indicated they were agreeable to paying a settlement of USD570 mil. This may set a dangerous precedent for other economic offenders to seek similar settlements, which could leave lenders struggling to recover their entire dues.

3. Singapore court clears the way for USD2.7 bil 1MDB lawsuit against Standard Chartered Bank

   The Singapore High Court cleared the way by dismissing an application by the bank to strike out a suit filed against it by liquidators seeking to recover 1MDB funds. The USD2.7 bil (RM11.2 bil) lawsuit alleges that Standard Chartered Bank enabled acts of fraud leading to over USD2.7 bil in financial losses. The bank disagrees with the decision and will be filing an appeal.

5. FOR YOUR EYES 📺

1. Stunning bicycle kick goal by Ronaldo for Al-Nassr, marking his 954th career goal at 40 years of age. This goal is reminiscent of his bicycle kick for Real Madrid in the Champions League quarter-final against Juventus in 2018 - watch here.

2. What happens when an electric pole collapses into floodwater in Hat Yai? The massive sparks.

Bringing this back again. Are you giving your 100% at work?