☕️ Women, Family & Community Dev. Dep. Minister advises husbands to use "gentle" physical touch if wives are stubborn

1. MARKET SUMMARY

2. NUMBERS AT A GLANCE

RM1.3 trillion — Malaysia’s total wholesale and retail trade in 2021, according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM). 2021’s performance was underpinned by wholesale trade and retail trade.

USD4.7 billion — the tax breaks received by Amazon globally during the past 10 years for warehouses, data centres, offices, call centres, and film production projects, according to a new report by Good Jobs First, a non-profit watchdog. The company’s cloud computing arm, Amazon Web Services, has likely received the largest tax breaks from governments.

37% of the murders in the world happened in Latin America back in 2018. Yet, the region was home to only 8% of the world’s population. Drug trafficking remains a huge driver for violence in Latin America, but trafficking gangs are moving away from violence — because killing disrupts business and attracts attention from police.

3. COVID-19 SUMMARY

• Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin ordered the Ministry of Health to send compound notices to Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein and MIC president Tan Sri S. Vigneswaran.

4. IN MALAYSIA 🇲🇾

1. Women, Family and Community Development Deputy Minister Siti Zailah Mohd Yusoff has come under and been urged to resign following her recent video providing tips to married couples. Her advice includes telling women to take a soft approach with their husbands and for husbands to use “gentle” physical touch if their wives are stubborn. Watch the video embedded in the tweet below. A woman in a position of power to protect other women dishing out such advice - tough luck relying on this organisation to protect women welfare.

1. Bukit Aman has classified the recent report lodged by the MACC against whistleblower Lalitha Kunaratnam which accused her of lying in court as NFA (no further action) status. She was sued by MACC chief Azam Baki for her expose on his share ownership in public-listed companies in a 2-part article series (read part 1 and part 2) Azam Baki said he is willing to appear before the Parliamentary Select Committee over this alleged shareholding controversy, provided that the hearing is in accordance with the law after he did not appear to before the committee last month as he claimed to only receive an “invite” to do so.

2. Refugees cannot be deported to their country of origin as it would be breaching international law, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). This comment was in light of the arrest of former Bangladeshi High Commissioner to Malaysia M. Khairuzzaman following a request from his country. Refugees can’t be sent back to their home country based on the principle of non-refoulement, which did not allow governments to deport refugees to a place where their freedom or life would be threatened. This principle is recognised as customary international law, which is binding on all states, regardless of whether or not they have signed the 1951 convention relating to the status of refugees.

3. National squash legend Nicol David has received an honorary doctorate from Heriot-Watt University Malaysia for her contribution to sports and support towards the impact of education in empowering lives.

1. BNM aims to announce the winners of its digital banking licenses next month along with the publication of its annual report at the end of March as it is currently in the ‘advanced stage’ of assessing applications. BNM has received 29 applications and intends to license up to a maximum of 5. The central bank has stressed the need to look beyond financing matters as this alone does not address house ownership affordability and into other housing issues, such as dealing with the mismatch in demand and supply in the housing market as well as transparency of home which as homes are increasingly growing more expensive for Malaysians. This comment came following PM Sabri urging financial institutions to ease financial access to the B40 and M40 groups. Another systemic issue to look into to address house ownership affordability- the nation’s depressed salary growth and the middle-income trap.

2. We might have a new destination in Genting Highlands in the future. Property developer Tropicana Corp Bhd announced that it would enter into an agreement with PowerChina International Group Ltd to develop a 308-acre integrated entertainment hub dubbed Tropicana Paradise in Genting Highlands. This project, which will feature 1.5 mi sq feet of retail space, serviced apartments, branded residences and four and 5-star international hotels, is part of the 596-acre mega master-planned development in Genting Highlands called Tropicana Windcity.PowerChina, founded in 2011, is ranked 107th on the Fortune 500 Companies list in 2021 and has been involved in more than USD100 bil construction projects globally. Tropicana’s market cap stands at RM1.61 bil.

5. AROUND THE WORLD 🌎

1. Why do people buy Rolex watches? Other than the luxury component and novelty, here’s another reason — Rolex watches outperformed gold and real estate and even Dow Jones Industrial Average over the past 10 years. Now, the average Rolex price is more than USD13,000 — nearly three times the 2011 average of USD5,000. Rolex reportedly makes about 800,000 units each year, but the demand for its watches far outstrips the supply. Allegedly, the wait time is up to two years for a Rolex watch.

1. India’s central bank Governor Shaktikanta Das, a staunch opponent of cryptocurrencies, said cryptocurrencies have no underlying value and are a threat to financial stability. The Reserve Bank of India is developing its digital rupee to counter cryptos, but Das has yet to give a time frame when it will be ready.

2. French President Emmanuel Macron asked protestors to keep calm after they drove toward Paris in scattered convoys of camper vans, cars and trucks Friday to blockade the French capital. Why is the protest happening? People are protesting against pandemic restrictions as similar to what is happening in Ottawa, Canada.

3. The UK economy expanded by 7.5% in 2021, the fastest pace since World War II. The economy is forecast to outperform other Group of Seven nations once again this year. While it’s great news, the rapid economic expansion comes with baggage — surging inflation.

4. If you can’t sue them, you buy them. That’s exactly what Binance did. The cryptocurrency exchange will take a USD200 mil stake in Forbes after dropping its defamation case against the 105-year-old media brand. Binance’s founder, Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao said the move was made to build widespread consumer understanding and education of the crypto market and emerging blockchain technologies.

5. Apple is eating bankers’ lunch — by making the Tap to Pay iPhone feature. Apple has worked with payment platform Stripe to launch the feature to allow newer iPhones (XS onwards) to accept payments via Apple Pay, contactless credit and debit cards, and other digital wallets — with no additional hardware required. It is estimated there are one billion iPhones in use — let’s say 50% are iPhone XS and above, which means 500 mil iPhones can be used as a payment terminal.On another Apple-related news, Apple will make changes to make it more difficult to misuse AirTags to track someone. AirTags have been commonly used by car thieves and stalkers to carry out crimes.

6. US-China signed a trade deal during Trump’s administration for China to buy an additional USD200 billion worth of goods and services over 2020-21. However, it was a historic failure because China did not follow through on its promise. A report released by the Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE) showed China only bought 57% of the US exports it had committed to purchase.

6. FOR YOUR VIEWING PLEASURE 👁👁

1. A snake was discovered on board an AirAsia flight from KL to Tawau, forcing it to divert to Kuching.

2. Now I want to buy a Dettol hand sanitiser after watching this Polish ad. Dettol x @dance_sfinks_official collaboration

3. NASA’s USD10 bil James Webb telescope that was launched in December and took 20 years to build has captured its first starlight - a bright star 258-light years away in the constellation Ursa Major.