Morning Brief

Defence ministers held forthright dialogues in Singapore’s Shangrila hotel over the weekend. Speeches and answers did not beat around the bush and were clearly directed at opposing parties.

We speak with Chong Ja Ian, Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, National University of Singapore on the no holds barred statements made, and how Asia Pacific can move forward.

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The Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli announced a shortened process of visa applications for expatriates with a new integrated system called Xpats Gateway, bringing 11 visa issuing government agencies under one roof. We speak with Daniel Bernbeck, Executive Director at the German Chamber of Commerce, and explore the details.

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The Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli announced a shortened process of visa applications for expatriates with a new integrated system called Xpats Gateway, bringing 11 visa issuing government agencies under one roof. We speak with Daniel Bernbeck, Executive Director at the German Chamber of Commerce, and explore the details.

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• What’s the focus, our round up of interesting stories you might have missed. Elon Musk's visit to China and who owns Penang are some of what we will be talking about later, including Malaysia’s richest. 

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The Deloitte Global 2023 Gen Z and Millennial Survey revealed that 70 percent of Gen-Zs and 61 percent of millennials in Malaysia have experienced harassment or microaggressions at work. How does this impact the mental health of young employees and how does that in turn affect productivity? We discuss workplace mental health with psychologist Dr Anjhula Singh Bais

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The US House has passed the debt ceiling bill. It now heads to the Senate before reaching President Biden’s desk. But does the bill tackle the hard questions facing the economy? We speak with Nancy Kimelman, Professor in Economics at Northeastern University on the political compromises made to get the deal through and what it means for the US moving forward.

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A new report by the World Bank, made in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, highlighted that while some progress has been made, Malaysia has not met critical targets in the National Education Blueprint. We speak to Aija Rinkinen, Senior Education Specialist from the World Bank on the findings of the report and how early childhood care and education (ECCE) systems can be strengthened.

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A new report by the World Bank, made in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, highlighted that while some progress has been made, Malaysia has not met critical targets in the National Education Blueprint. We speak to Aija Rinkinen, Senior Education Specialist from the World Bank on the findings of the report and how early childhood care and education (ECCE) systems can be strengthened.

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As six states in Peninsular Malaysia gear up for the state elections, what can be done to prevent hate speech and false information from spreading online? We discuss the findings of a recent study on GE15 social media trends for lessons learned with Watshlah Naidu of the Centre for Independent Journalism.

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Singapore Temasek Holding’s decided to cut the pay of the staff responsible for the failed 275 US million dollar investment in bankrupt FTX, in an unprecedented move for collective accountability and good governance. We speak with Elsa Satkunasingam from Asia School of Business, and what this could mean for Malaysia’s Government-Linked Investment Companies.

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