General

More economic sectors, including ones in states under Phase One of the National Recovery Plan, were allowed to operate beginning Friday. But are these businesses being given enough due notice to prepare for re-opening? And how badly have they been affected by being closed for so long?

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It’s clear that leadership skills and other so-called “soft” skills are integral to professional success and personal development, but not everyone is able to access resources to help them learn these skills. In an effort to bridge those gaps, co-founder and CEO Kelvin Tan started Project ID, an education social enterprise that runs high-impact programmes empowering underserved students. He shares how Project ID is working tirelessly to empower students with leadership skills, and how those skills will carry the next generation into a brighter future.

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Vendfun is a hospitality kiosk solutions provider for hotels. Its hybrid kiosks help hotel operators provide not just check-in and check-out services, but a complete elevated stay-in experience through automation. We speak with Founder Benny Wee about his pandemic pivot into the hospitality industry, and how his new kiosks are helping hotels generate income during these challenging times.

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The Covid-19 pandemic has claimed over 22,000 lives to date, but the restrictions on social gatherings have disrupted grieving rituals for many Malaysians. A group of volunteers has initiated an online memorial as a way to remember the departed, which began with a tweet by journalist Aidila Razak. We speak to two volunteers behind the Covid-19 Memorial Malaysia on the project's aims, as well as the challenges of reporting on loss during the pandemic.

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Syifaa’ Mahsuri Ismail, Equity Research Analyst from Hong Leong Investment Bank, discusses the strength -- or not -- of public-listed consumer stocks in terms of resilience and recovery, with a view on the upcoming 12th Malaysia Plan.

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Hotels have been badly hit during the pandemic but will the re-opening of Langkawi herald a new beginning for the industry? James Buckley, Executive Director for Capital Markets, Knight Frank Malaysia discusses the challenges faced by hotel owners, their options and his Budget 2022 wishlist.

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The unusual pairing of Oxford university scientists and British-Swedish pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca led to the not for profit Covid-19 vaccine. Billions of doses have been produced but at cost for how long? And why did this particular vaccine receive such intense public scrutiny? We speak to Dr. Sanjeev Panchal, Country President of AstraZeneca Malaysia to find out.

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Dr Firdausi Suffian, Senior Lecturer in Public Policy at UiTM Sabah discusses the reasons why rural infrastructure lag and how we could be more effective in spending.

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Last week the US, UK and Australia announced a new defence pact, dubbed AUKUS, which would see Australia equipped with nuclear-powered submarines. The deal comes at the cost of a USD30 billion agreement between Australia and France, which has blindsided the French government and created a diplomatic furor. Meanwhile China has also criticized the "Cold War mentality" of the AUKUS members, warning of a potential arms race. We discuss the implications of the agreement with Susannah Patton, Research Fellow at the University of Sydney.

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Vishnu Varathan, Head of Economics & Strategy, Mizuho Bank, takes a look at the two most-pressing events gripping financial markets this week: a slowing China framed by a possible default at distressed developer Evergrande, and the possibility of some clarity from the Federal Reserve about its taper strategy.

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