Morning Brief

The Parliamentary Services Bill 2025, set to be tabled for a second reading today, aims to re-establish the administrative autonomy of Malaysia's Parliament, a status that was altered when the original Act was repealed in 1992. Prof Wong Chin Huat, Deputy Head of Strategy at the Asia Headquarters of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, shares his perspective.

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A government study, has revealed that about half of the bags marked as imported white rice had been mixed with local grains as unscrupulous parties seek to make profits from this. We speak to Professor Datin Paduka Dr Fatimah Mohamed Arshad, Food Security Chair at the Institute of Tropical Agriculture and Food Security of UPM about what reforms are needed to prevent this and ensure food security.

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The first phase of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire has ended and discussions for a second phase have stalled. Dr James Dorsey, Adjunct Senior Fellow at the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies, helps us unpack what the way forward might be like and the continued acrimony between both sides and as the Trump Administration appears to add fuel to fire.

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• On Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was caught in a heated exchange with his American counterpart, Donald Trump, and U.S. Vice President JD Vance. With Trump accusing Zelenskyy of gambling with millions of lives by refusing to agree to a controversial deal with the U.S. to end the Russia-Ukraine war. Joining us to discuss the implications of the meeting is Dr. Julia Roknifard, Senior Lecturer at the School of Law and Governance at Taylor’s University.

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The EPF has declared a dividend rate of 6.3% for both conventional and shariah savings for the 2024 financial year, as its investment assets grew 10% to MYR1.3 trillion. P Gunasegaram, an independent business writer and founding editor of Kinibiz shares some perspectives into this performance, EPF's investment strategies as well as how Malaysia can improve its approach to retirement savings.

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The rapid spread of H5N1 avian influenza, or bird flu, in the United States is raising serious public health concerns and significantly raising the prices of eggs. Infections have been detected in humans, farm animals, and now domestic pets, highlighting the growing risk of transmission across species. To understand the implications of this outbreak and its impact on public health, we speak to  Dr. Latiffah Hassan, Professor in the Department of Public Health at the University of Missouri.

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As part of the government’s efforts to mitigate the impact of AI and technological disruption on Malaysia’s labour market, the Human Resources Ministry is set to organise the National Training Week (NTW) 2025 mid this year. This edition is set to be the largest yet, aiming to train one million people in a week. Joining us to discuss the effectiveness of such an initiative and the importance of upskilling is Dr. Lee Hwok-Aun, Senior Fellow of the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute.

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The S&P500 and the Nasdaq have now turned negative on a year-to-date basis, while the Dow Jones remains just under 2% in the positive, amid news of uncertainty coming from the second Trump administration and other geopolitical uncertainties. Grant Bowers, Senior Vice President and Portfolio Manager, Franklin Equity Group, shares his views on whether or not the resilience of the health of the US economy will still hold.

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The establishment of a Malaysian Media Council, first suggested in 1973 when Tun Abdul Razak was PM, has finally been passed in the Dewan Rakyat. The bill aims to create a framework for media accountability while upholding press freedom. Teo Nie Ching, the Deputy Communications Minister shares her perspectives on the significance of this Council which has now been created by an act of Parliament.

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Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim recently attended the high level plenary session of the second Asean Future Forum where he emphasised that centrality needs to be earned. We speak to Thomas Daniel, Senior Fellow, ISIS as to whether Malaysia’s leadership in ASEAN can foster a new era of multilateral cooperation, and how could it change the region?

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