General

It's World Book and Copyright Day today, celebrated annually on the 23rd of April, to promote reading, publishing and the protection of intellectual property through copyright. We explore all things books today, and also speak Matthew Yap, the winner of KISAH Futures writing competition, which was designed to gain an inside view of the experiences and thoughts occupying the Malaysian psyche during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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A year into the pandemic, Malaysian social enterprises, community centers, and soup kitchens continue to aid those who need help during these turbulent times. Courtesy of The Malay Mail, we highlight some of the many local ventures doing good work.

International Trade and Industry (MITI) Minister Datuk Seri Azmin Ali has supported the prediction that the Malaysian aerospace industry may be able to rebound to pre-pandemic revenue levels by as early as next year.

Consumer behavior fundamentally shifted in 2020, and the smartphone market wasn’t spared. While sales may have dipped due to economic reasons, it looks like the overall smartphone market may be back on track and headed for a serious rebound in the coming months.

Oppo’s insight into user needs and 5G application exploration spurred the development of many technologies that helped to improve the way that cameras on phones work. Just take a look at things like anti-shake technology, wide-angle lenses, video zooming, video portrait blur, AI real-time beautification and others. 

But, in order to replace older technology, new technology must provide significant benefits to users; how is 5G going to transform video technology on these new devices?

In our third episode of The Tech of Tomorrow, we speak with Henry Tang, Oppo’s Chief 5G Scientist, and Matt Armitage from Kulturpop, where we talk about 5G and Video Applications.

Powered by Oppo. Technology for mankind. Kindness for the world.

https://www.oppo.com/my/

Sustainable Development Goal #2 of Zero Hunger means to end hunger, achieve food security, improve nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture. However, Malaysia is not faring too well as we are stagnating or increasing by less than 50% to achieve this goal by 2030. One company that is attempting to change that is Agroz Group which aims to be the largest vertical indoor farm operators in the country. We speak to Gerard Lim, founder and Chief Executive Officer of AgrozGroup on the technology that he uses in his farm, carbon footprint challenges and whether he is looking for more investors.

As concerns continue to rise over the state of our buildings and their ability to withstand climate change, Sim Wie Boon speaks to Lillian Tay of Veritas Design Group and the immediate past-president of Malaysian Institute of Architects to get her take on the issue. She explains how most buildings here are structurally sound and should be able to withstand rising temperatures and strong wind conditions but the real threat is unplanned development and the need to more green about building our cities.

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According to the Mckinsey Global Energy Perspective 2021 report, it's estimated that more than 50% of global power generation will come from renewable sources by 2035. We speak to Ko Chuan Zhen, CEO of Plus Solar, about the path to tapping into more solar power in Malaysia, charging up the local Renewable Energy industry, and making money along the way.

Image credit: Plus Solar

Economist Dr. Nungsari Radhi is cool on the government’s move to tap into the RM16 billion National Trust Fund, pointing out that such funds should only be sparingly used on rainy days.

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Dan Ives gives us his perspective on the recent IPO of Coinbase and also provides a comprehensive roundup of expected results of major US tech players in the coming week including Tesla and in particular Apple that announced its first tech refreshes

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