☕️ MY's AI sector gets another investment - RM27 bil from Oracle

1. MARKET SUMMARY 📈

2. NUMBERS AT A GLANCE 🔢

15 minutes is now all it takes to fix a pothole in Selangor thanks to the newly launched Jetpatcher, a spray injection road repair vehicle. The machine, which costs RM1 mil, has a 2.5m³ mixture capacity and can patch up to 80 potholes. According to Selangor State Infrastructure and Agriculture Committee chairman Izham Hashim, the Jetpatcher will significantly speed up road repair efforts, particularly for potholes. Frustrated with potholes in your neighbourhood? Find out how you can report them here.

In 1939, Albert Einstein made what he called his "one great mistake" by signing a letter that would eventually reach President Franklin Roosevelt, contributing to the dawn of the nuclear age. A copy of that letter, also signed by Einstein, has now sold at a Christie's auction for USD3.9 mil (RM16.3 mil). The original remains part of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library's collection in New York. Despite its significance, this sale falls short of the record for Einstein memorabilia, as Christie's previously auctioned one of his manuscripts on the theory of relativity for USD13 mil.

Malaysia's air passenger traffic saw a 12.7% jump, reaching 8.7 mil in August 2024 compared to 7.7 mil a year ago, according to the Malaysian Aviation Commission (Mavcom). This growth was primarily driven by international travel, boosted by the expansion of international routes and new flight introductions. Visa exemptions for tourists from China and India also played a key role in the increase. The recent traffic figures reached 90.2% of the levels recorded in August 2019. More foreign tourists = MYR up, up, up!

3. IN MALAYSIA 🇲🇾

Oracle to boost Malaysia’s AI sector with USD6.5 bil investment 
Malaysia’s growing demand for AI and cloud services has opened the door for Oracle to invest more than USD6.5 bil. Oracle’s Executive Vice-President and General Manager of Japan and Asia Pacific claimed that organisations wanting to accelerate the expansion of their new digital technologies should seize the unique growth opportunities offered by Malaysia. He further added that this investment affirms Oracle’s commitment to Malaysia as a key hub for cloud infrastructure and offers a comprehensive range of software-as-a-service (SaaS) applications tailored specifically for the Malaysian market.

Customers will be offered over 150 services including Oracle Autonomous Database and Oracle Cloud VMware Solution. Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry, Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz believes Oracle’s plan of opening a public cloud region in Malaysia will elevate SMEs by integrating AI and cloud technologies, enhancing global competitiveness. Zafrul added that this investment will bring the New Industrial Master Plan’s vision of creating 3,000 smart factories by 2030 a step closer.
Fun fact: Larry Ellison is probably the least-known tech tycoon amongst the mega-tech tycoons and is a bff of Elon Musk. He’s the 5th richest person in the world with a net worth of USD180 bil according to the Bloomberg Billionaire Index. At 80, he doesn’t look his age — check him out here (SFW, we assure you). Money perhaps is the anti-aging elixir.

Seven factories in line to face actions by DOE
The Department of Environment (DOE) will be taking action against seven illegal factories (3 in Selangor, 3 in Pahang and 1 in Kedah) that brought unlawful e-waste into the country. The director-general of DOE said the number of full recovery e-waste premises licensed by DOE was 17 whereas 106 premises were on half recovery. The e-waste was brought into the country using false declarations and then channelled to illegal premises for processing. Just about a month ago, Bukit Aman seized recycled precious metals from scrap e-waste and other materials worth RM97 mil from seven illegal factories in Kampung Telok Gong which is known to be a hub for illegal e-waste premises since it’s near Port Klang.

ChatGPT decided the winner of a political debate
After the heat of the debate on the “Yang Bakar Menteri” podcast (watch here), Former BN deputy director of strategic communications, Eric See-To, under the pseudonym “Lim Sian See”, might have thought it would be funny to post ChatGPT’s answer to the question: Who won the debate between Lim Sian See and Economy Minister, Rafizi Ramli as the answer claimed Lim to have an upper hand. ChatGPT’s answer also highlighted how Rafizi avoided answering direct questions and had a hard time responding to pressing issues like diesel subsidies. Someone take back this man’s phone.

However, Rafizi’s press aide was not having any of it and posted ChatGPT’s answer to “Is Najib Razak corrupt and guilty?” in which the answer highlighted his sentence of 12 years in prison and a fine of RM210 mil. An eye for an eye. However, based on a recently published study, large language models such as ChatGPT are becoming increasingly unreliable as they tend to attempt to answer difficult questions and risk being wrong known as hallucination, rather than admitting to being unknowledgeable about the subject.

Shorts

1. High school student fell to her death
   A 13-year-old student from Kuen Cheng High School in KL passed away after she fell from the school’s building. Despite the immediate emergency measures that were taken by the school’s principal office, the efforts went to vain when the medical personnel confirmed the student had passed away. While the school extended its condolences to the family, it also urged the public to refrain from spreading rumours to honour the privacy of the family. The school pledged to give full cooperation to the ongoing investigation.

2. BYD EVs in Malaysia are not part of the recent recall
   Sime Darby Motors Sdn Bhd has reassured Malaysians that the recent recall of BYD electric vehicle (EV) models is limited to vehicles sold in the China market and does not affect markets outside of the China mainland region. The BYD Auto Industry Co Ltd and BYD Automobile Co Ltd were recalling almost 97,000 Dolphin and Yuan Plus EVs that were manufactured between November 2022 and December 2023 after finding a defect in the steering control unit that could lead to fire risks. Imagine driving a defective car that could’ve turned you into a roasted chicken for 2 years.

3. Motions of no confidence, where art thou?

   The third Dewan Rakyat sitting is starting on Oct 14, 2024, but Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Johari Abdul still has yet to receive any motion of no confidence against the PM even after he challenged the opposition to present one in Parliament during the Himpunan Gerakan Rakyat event. Johari welcomes any no-confidence motion against the PM at any time but it depends on him whether the motion will be accepted or not after he studies its impact. Johari also used this opportunity to advise members of parliament to prepare necessary documents and get their facts right before participating in debates (especially if they don’t want to be made into a meme or a TikTok troll video). They should not only focus on speaking about politics but also think about their responsibility and the people they represent.

4. U-turn on MyDigital ID by MOT
   Transport Minister Anthony Loke agreed to remove the Oct 10, 2024 deadline set for MyJPJ users to log in to the app with MyDigitalID after endless complaints made by users. Vehicle owners have vented out their frustration on social platforms expressing that obtaining MyDigitalID takes a long time. Anthony Loke explained that a “back-ended” integration would be made between MyJPJ and MyDigitalID for the system to work smoothly. The pop-up of the deadline was a surprise to Anthony Loke himself as the Road Transport Department (JPJ) did not discuss it with the ministry beforehand.

4. AROUND THE WORLD 🌎

Humanitarian crisis in Gaza continues as troops clash in Lebanon
Sources report that food supplies to Gaza have fallen sharply since the implementation of several regulations by Israeli authorities. Truck convoys chartered by the UN to take aid from Jordan to Gaza via Israel now require completed forms providing passport details of the relief personnel sending the aid, with the individuals also accepting liability for any false information on a shipment. The concern is that the form could expose relief personnel to legal problems if aid fell into the hands of Hamas, leading to no food shipments from the Jordan route for two weeks. Commercial food imports have also fallen as Israeli authorities are concerned that Hamas was benefitting from the trade. US and Israeli government data showed that, in September, deliveries of food and aid sank to a seven-month low.

Meanwhile, the first clashes have been reported between Israeli forces inside Lebanon and Hezbollah fighters, with Israel sending regular infantry and armoured units in as well. This also comes after the US and Israel have promised retaliation for Iran’s missile barrage, with the US saying it is “well-postured” to defend its interests in the Middle East, even as the world fears a regional escalation. As an aside, Israel has also barred the UN Secretary-General from entering Israel, after the UN official did not unequivocally condemn the Iranian missile attack, of which the only known casualty is a Gazan.

Nike shoes slip, US autos fall

1. Shoemaker Nike saw its shares drop 8% after it withdrew its annual revenue target and postponed an investor day, leaving a lack of confidence among investors due to the now uncertain timeline of the turnaround plans for the sportswear giant. This follows the quarterly earnings call by Nike, with the sportswear firm reporting a 10% drop in revenue to USD11.5 bil with a net income of USD1.1 bil, with CFO Matthew Friend also reporting an inventory backlog as traffic declined across the firm’s stores and websites. Check out its latest financials here.

2. Meanwhile, Ford is the latest US automaker to report weaker growth in domestic new vehicle sales in the quarter just ended, joining the likes of General Motors and Toyota, due to affordability concerns among consumers, who have shifted preferences over the past year to more affordable subcompact crossovers and pickup trucks instead of luxury models, but even sales in that segment are starting to weaken. EV maker Tesla also reported fewer vehicles handed over worldwide for the quarter, leading to a risk of its first-ever decline in annual deliveries, faced by stiff competition in China and Europe. Analysts say Tesla now needs to deliver a “record-breaking 516,344 vehicles” just to maintain its 2023 delivery levels of 1.81 million vehicles.

Shorts

1. US port strike: Union boss "not playing games"

   Harrold Daggett, head of the International Longshoremen’s Association union, vowed that major US ports along the East and Gulf Coasts will stay closed until the union’s pay demands are met. Businesses are now bracing for the possibility of a prolonged shutdown of ports, as the strike brought a halt to container traffic across 14 of the US’ busiest ports. President Biden has refused calls for him to use federal power to reopen the ports, saying that it is only fair that the workers see a meaningful increase in wages after risking their lives to keep ports open during the pandemic.

2. Diddy accused by 120 people of sexual assault

   Rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs is being accused of sexual assault by 120 people, according to a lawyer representing the victims, 25 of whom were minors at the time of the alleged misconduct. Combs has denied these allegations and looks forward to proving his innocence and vindicating himself in court, according to his lawyer. 1 person can be wrong and false, but 120 people?

3. Apple accused by US labour board of illegal workplace rules

   The tech giant was accused of violating employees’ rights to organise and advocate for better working conditions through a series of unlawful workplace rules, namely overly broad misconduct and social media policies, and requiring employees to sign illegal confidentiality, non-disclosure, and non-compete agreements. Apple “strongly disagrees” with the claims.

4. No fried chicken for Tekken, boss reveals

   Katsuhiro Harada, development chief of the popular fighting game franchise Tekken, revealed recently that he previously tried to get Kentucky Fried Chicken to allow the use of Colonel Sanders as a guest character in the franchise, but was rebuffed by the fast food chain. Meanwhile, Harada has also stepped in to apologise over the franchise’s latest downloadable content, which had players accusing the game’s publisher, Bandai Namco, of “corporate greed”.

5. FOR YOUR EYES 📺

1. How much time will you spend with the people you love the most (including yourself)?

2. Intel missed out big time on the AI boom. Intel used to be the most valuable semiconductor company in the US, but it has fallen behind its competitors in the AI market, which has boosted its stock prices. Intel's stock has lost over 56% of its value since 2021, eventhough the overall semiconductor industry has been growing rapidly.

3. Here’s to ensuring you won’t get rip off when servicing your Perodua vehicle - check out the site here.