Morning Brief

The Public Accounts Committee’s latest report on pandemic procurement by the Ministry of Health revealed a RM505 million ringgit loss from the expiry of 8.5 million Covid-19 vaccine doses and the shoddy procurement of 136 ventilators by Pharmaniaga Logistics. We speak to Azrul Mohd Khalib, CEO of Galen Centre for Health & Social Policy to understand why this happened and how to balance the need to be expedient in a health crisis yet not waste public funds.

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Indonesia flew its first commercial flight using palm oil-blended jet fuel, carrying more than 100 passengers on the Boeing 737 for a journey of 550 kilometres. Steve Saxon, Partner, McKinsey & Company shares with us if flying can ever be green, and his recent report on the recovery of all aviation subsectors.

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Indonesia flew its first commercial flight using palm oil-blended jet fuel, carrying more than 100 passengers on the Boeing 737 for a journey of 550 kilometres. Steve Saxon, Partner, McKinsey & Company shares with us if flying can ever be green, and his recent report on the recovery of all aviation subsectors.

Image credit: Shuttertstock.com

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The 10th Singapore-Malaysia Leaders’ Retreat was held this week after a three year hiatus in Singapore. What are the key outcomes of the summit and how will this shape economic relations with our Causeway neighbour moving forward? We speak to economist Walter Theseira for his take on developments to watch.

Image credit: Bernama

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The Public Accounts Committee’s latest report on pandemic procurement by the Ministry of Health revealed a RM505 million ringgit loss from the expiry of 8.5 million Covid-19 vaccine doses and the shoddy procurement of 136 ventilators by Pharmaniaga Logistics. We speak to Azrul Mohd Khalib, CEO of Galen Centre for Health & Social Policy to understand why this happened and how to balance the need to be expedient in a health crisis yet not waste public funds.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Last week, the speaker of the Dewan Negara, Tan Sri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar proposed for the appointment age of senators to be lowered from 30 years to allow for more youth to be appointed to the upper house. How might changing the demographic composition of the Dewan Negara improve parliamentary democracy, and what other measures would help strengthen the upper house? We discuss proposed reforms with Dr. Lau Zhe Wei of IIUM.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com

Last week, the speaker of the Dewan Negara, Tan Sri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar proposed for the appointment age of senators to be lowered from 30 years to allow for more youth to be appointed to the upper house. How might changing the demographic composition of the Dewan Negara improve parliamentary democracy, and what other measures would help strengthen the upper house? We discuss proposed reforms with Dr. Lau Zhe Wei of IIUM.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

To help businesses navigate global and local ESG standards, Capital Markets Malaysia recently introduced the Simplified ESG Disclosure Guide (SEDG) for SMEs operating within global supply chains. Faroze Nadar, Executive Director, UN Global Compact Network Malaysia & Brunei discusses the challenges for SMEs to adopt ESG practices, and policies that could encourage ESG adoption.

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Malaysia’s last attempt to accede to the Rome Statute, which sets up the International Criminal Court, ended in a U-turn in 2019 after intense public backlash. As the war in Gaza continues, is public opinion on Malaysia’s membership to the treaty shifting? We speak to lawyer Andrew Khoo about the implications of ratifying the Rome Statute for Malaysia.

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The Government is working on streamlining the role of the 31 investment promotion agencies which include both federal and state bodies. Aside from reducing costs, this will supposedly help ease the process of foreign and domestic direct investments (FDI and DDI), from application to the realisation of investments. Nordin Abdullah, Vice Chairman of the Malaysia Australian Business Council (MABC) tells us if this is a much needed step.

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