Kuala Lumpur MPs will now play a more significant role in the city’s administration, as Federal Territories Minister Hannah Yeoh has announced the formation of five MP-led monitoring committees to oversee the DBKL 2026 Budget. We ask Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, MP for Setiawangsa as to how this plan will change the running of KL and also if there are any updates  to his plan for  a council-based governance model.

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China’s retail sector is showing signs of strain despite repeated stimulus measures. Catherine Lim, a senior analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence unpacks buyer fatigue, diverging spending trends between luxury and mass-market consumers, and what lies ahead for China’s household economy in 2026.

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President Donald Trump’s renewed push to acquire Greenland "the easy way or the hard way" has triggered a transatlantic crisis. Dr Benjamin Barton, Associate Professor at the University of Nottingham Malaysia, talks about the different scenarios that might unfold and what would happen in a post-Trump era for Europe.

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Over the past week, US President Donald Trump has floated a proposal he calls a Board of Peace, a new international body linked to Gaza that would sit outside the United Nations framework. Dr James Dorsey, Adjunct Senior Fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies tells us if this is a workable plan.

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China closed 2025 meeting its headline GDP growth target of 5%, but beneath the surface the recovery looks uneven with the final quarter, expanding at its slowest pace since Covid. Heron Lim, a lecturer of economics at ESSEC Business School, shares his insights into these numbers and what to expect when China's National People’s Congress convenes in March.

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The Federal Territories Ministry is partnering with Persatuan Arkitek Malaysia to redesign key urban infrastructure, encompassing public housing layouts and toilets to shower facilities aimed at promoting healthier lifestyles. Adrianta Aziz, the president of PAM, shares his insights into what this means for the future of KL.

This episode of The First Look was brought to you by Emirates. Fly better, fly Emirates

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Malaysia wrapped up 2025 on a stronger footing than expected. Flash estimates show the economy growing 5.7% year-on-year in the fourth quarter, beating market expectations and bringing full-year growth to around 4.9%. Can this momentum be sustained, and what is our growth outlook in 2026? Questions we pose to Julia Goh, Senior Economist, UOB

This episode of The First Look was brought to you by Emirates. Fly better, fly Emirates

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Recently, the Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association (Rehda) Institute announced that homeownership among Malaysia’s middle-income M40 group has fallen below that of the low-income B40 rate.  Dr Consilz Tan, Research Fellow, Centre for Market Education & Senior Lecturer, Xiamen University Malaysia  helps us make sense of the data and if there is any validity to claims that the drop is due to a housing model that depends on cross-subsidisation.

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Umno’s General Assembly has wrapped, but the political signals are still unfolding. Tough rhetoric on the floor, cooperation at the top, delayed party elections and quiet symbolism around who appeared where all raise fresh questions about Umno’s direction as GE16 approaches. What really changed and what was just theatre? We’ll break it down with Dr. Azmil Mohd Tayeb, Political Scientist and Associate Professor at Universiti Sains Malaysia.

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Taiwan will invest $250 billion dollars in US semiconductor manufacturing under a new trade deal, as tariffs on its goods are cut from 20% to 15%.  George Chen, Partner & Co-chair of the Digital Practice at The Asia Group gives us his insights on this and what it means for the wider semiconductor industry.

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