Morning Brief

In January this year, Malaysia and Singapore signed a MOU on the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (SEZ), which aims to boost cross-border economic connectivity. However, talks of incentives are still ongoing, with the Johor government proposing that the Forest City Special Financial Zone (SFZ) be included within the SEZ. We speak to Francis Hutchinson, Senior Fellow, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute for his views.

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The World Health Organization has declared a global public health emergency due to the Mpox outbreak in Africa, with over 14,000 cases reported this year. Due to the limited availability of doses, vaccination campaigns are expected to be delayed until October. We’ll dive into the details of this disease with Prof. Paul Ananth Tambyah, President of the International Society for Infectious Diseases.

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Thailand’s Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin has been removed from office after a court ruled he had violated the constitution, in a shock decision that plunges the kingdom into further political uncertainty. This move was a surprise to many including Thai observers as Thavison had only been in power for slightly less than a year. Michael Montesano, Associate Senior Fellow, ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute will be helping us unpack the implications of this move

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Last month, Indonesia raised the minimum age to purchase cigarettes from 18 to 21 in a bid to lower the prevalence of smoking and curb underage smokers. Should Malaysia consider a similar policy? We discuss initiatives to combat nicotine use with healthcare policy expert Azrul Mohd Khalib.

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With Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announcing his resignation in September, his early departure concludes his leadership of the LDP. Despite his efforts to enhance Japan's defence and US ties, his tenure has been marred by a major corruption scandal. We discuss the implications of his resignation on Japan's future with William Pesek, Columnist, Nikkei Asia

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Underlying US inflation as measured by the core CPI is at its slowest pace since 2021. Is this the confirmation that the Federal Reserve needs to cut rates in September? Tony Nash, CEO of Complete Intelligence tells us his view.

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Digital Minister Gobind Singh has reported that Malaysia lost a total of 3.8 billion ringgit to online scams involving more than 98,000 people from 2021 to April 2024. With that, the government will be introducing new legislation to protect data whilst banks will be beefing up their account opening procedures. Raymond Ram, Certified Fraud Examiner and Anti-Money Laundering Specialist, Graymatter Forensic Advisory gives us an opinion if these measures will work.

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The government recently announced that it is looking to enhance protections for intimate partner violence (IPV) beyond the Domestic Violence Act 1994. We speak to lawyer Nooradila Abdul Aziz about the gaps in the current law and recommendations to strengthen action on domestic violence, IPV and stalking.

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Despite Indonesia’s outgoing president Joko Widodo convening is first Cabinet meeting in the country's planned new capital on Monday, Nusantara is still some way away from being completed. Made Supriatma, Visiting Fellow, Indonesia Studies Programme at the ISEAS Yusof Ishak Institute shares his insights into the challenges this ambitious project to carve a new city from the jungles of Borneo and the future fate of the current capital, Jakarta, which is one of the fastest-sinking cities in the world.

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The Malaysian contingent has returned from the Paris Olympics with only two bronze medals. We speak to Haresh Deol, Editor of the online portal Twentytwo13 for an objective post-mortem on the performance of our athletes and more importantly, what needs to be done differently for us to win our first gold medal at the 2028 Los Angeles games.

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