Malaysia has seen franchise brands expand fast, open dozens of outlets and collapse just as quickly. Azizam Ramli of Pernas, the government agency tasked with developing Malaysia's franchise industry, discusses franchises that scale sustainably from those that don't, and what aspiring franchisors and franchisees need to understand first.

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The IRB's Special Voluntary Disclosure Programme for stamp duty ends at the end of this year. This is the time to stamp your eligible documents without penalties. KPMG's Soh Lian Seng explains what qualifies for this programme, what taxpayers need to do, common misconceptions, and ends with how the business community can contribute towards building a robust stamp duty framework that caters to today's business environment.

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Malaysian consumers are still spending, but they're becoming far more deliberate about where their money goes. Milieu's 2026 Consumer Study reveals a shift towards more intentional spending, and Cindy Pang joins us to discuss what these changing behaviours mean for businesses.

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Malaysia's Gig Workers Act came into force in April. We look at the Act from three angles: the policy design with Dr Lee Hwok-Aun of ISEAS, the platform's perspective with GoGet's Francesca Chia, and the lived experience of gig worker Akladima Nashan Nugraha Mohd Nasir (Dima) to ask whether this is genuinely a good deal for Malaysia's gig workers.

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Microsoft's newest Work Trend Index finds that a small group of "Frontier Professionals" are pulling far ahead in what they can do with AI. But the report also finds that organisational culture, not individual skill, is the biggest factor in whether AI actually pays off. Microsoft's Vera Siertsema joins us to unpack who's really getting value from AI, and how companies can implement this technology successfully.

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As demand for AI grows, so does Malaysia's data centre boom, particularly in Johor, along with questions about energy, water, land, and impact on local communities. Asher Ling unpacks what responsible data centre infrastructure actually looks like, and how it impacts local businesses and communities.

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Most AI governance conversations focus on making AI systems safe, transparent, and accountable. But what happens when AI starts shaping how people think and decide? Kamales Lardi joins us to unpack Cognitive Governance, the idea that safeguarding human judgement may matter just as much as governing the technology itself. 

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Malaysia's e-Invoicing rollout has been underway for nearly two years, and the government has just introduced a Special Voluntary Disclosure Programme (SVDP), allowing businesses to correct e-Invoice errors without penalties until the end of 2027, alongside accelerated capital allowances for qualifying investments. Thenesh Kannaa joins us to discuss what businesses, especially SMEs, should be doing during this window to get their e-Invoicing processes in order.

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The Securities Commission and Bursa Malaysia have proposed a major overhaul of the LEAP Market, Malaysia's platform for MSMEs and mid-tier companies to raise capital. LEAP Market 2.0 would open the market to retail investors for the first time, simplify listing disclosures, and create a smoother path from equity crowdfunding to the ACE Market. Eng Cha Lun and Arthur Cheng of BDO Malaysia looks at what's changing, why LEAP's liquidity problems have persisted, and what the proposed reforms could mean for businesses and investors. 

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Malaysia posted back-to-back quarters of stronger-than-expected growth, 5.4% in Q1 and an advance estimate of 5.8% in Q2. Woon Khai Jhek joins us to unpack whether this changes RAM's outlook for the year, and what a prolonged Hormuz disruption could still mean for inflation, interest rates, and economic growth.

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