Morning Brief

Hong Kong passed a new national security law that cracks down on all forms of dissent and allows for trials to be held behind closed doors. This has triggered fresh criticism over fear that it will further erode civil liberties. Elaine Pearson, Asia Director, Human Rights Watch shares with us what is in this new law, its impact, and what can the international community do.

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Sabah's political dynamics have grabbed headlines over infighting within UMNO and PKR ahead of the state elections due to be held by October 2025. We speak to Prof. Dr. Lee Kuok Tiung of Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) about how political developments could impact alliances leading into the elections.

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The Department of Statistics Malaysia will be developing a new indicator to measure the cost of living. It told Utusan Malaysia that this will be launched in September and will include where Malaysians live as part of its component. Professor Emeritus Datuk Dr Norma Mansor, Director at the Social Wellbeing Research Centre of University Malaya shares her insights.

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Yesterday, Bank Negara Malaysia issued its 2023 annual report and related financial reports detailing the health of the macroeconomy. What are the factors that will influence the trajectory of economic growth? We discuss the highlights with Dr. Afzanizam Abdul Rashid, Chief Economist of Bank Muamalat.

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The US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has just concluded a 2-day trip to the Philippines just as its President Ferdinand Marcos Jr admitted that Beijing’s sweeping claims in the South China Sea continue to be a point of contention. Andrea Chloe Wong, a Philippines' political analyst helps us contextualise all this along with a perceived rift between Marcos Jr and his VP Sara Duterte-Carpio, the daughter of the previous president, Rodrigo Duterte.

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The world's longest monetary policy experiment has ended with the Bank of Japan finally raising rates after 17 years. In what was a widely anticipated move, the overnight rate is now in a range of about zero to 0.1 percent, from minus 0.1 percent. William Pesek, columnist, Nikkei Asia tells us what this entails for the economy, markets and the yen.

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Carbon markets are increasingly being seen as one of the key mechanisms to encourage global stakeholders to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in line with the Paris Agreement, but are they the right solution for Malaysia's context? Yin Shao Loong of Khazanah Research Institute argues for other policy levers instead of carbon markets.

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This week the Dewan Rakyat passed a bill amending the Universities and University College Act of 1971 to provide more authority to student bodies. However, many are calling into question the scope of these amendments, as well as the continued necessity of the UUCA. We get reactions on the law from Lai Yue Yi, Vice President of the University of Malaya Association of New Youth (UMANY).

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Unlike Gold, US Equity Markets and Cryptocurrencies, base metals have had a rather tough year with prices on a downward trend. We ask Michelle Leung, Head of Asia Metals and Mining at Bloomberg Intelligence as to whether this negative price trend will persist and what are the key catalyst for a sector rerating.

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Putrajaya plans to use data from the 2022 Household Income and Basic Amenities Survey Report to develop a mapping project to adjust housing prices based on residents' incomes. The aim is to improve housing affordability for low and medium-income households. Badrul Hisham, Director of Programmes, Iman Research helps us understand how this may or may not work.

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