Morning Brief

As we head into GE15, we can expect more disinformation to circulate. How can we be on guard against this? Munira Mustaffa, Executive Director of Chasseur Group, tells us the signs of how to distil fact from fiction.

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While there were certainly monetary benefits, grants and tax cuts, could there more to be done to address other softer issues? For some context we speak to Datuk William Ng, Chairman, Small and Medium Enterprises Association.

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President Ferdinand “Bong Bong” Marcos Jr. marked 100 days in office last week. To the surprise of some, he has opted for a path of traditional statesmanship and policy moderation in his first 3 months, especially when compared to his predecessor Rodrigo Duterte, who was known for his firebrand politics and violent crackdown on drugs. However, amid deteriorating economic conditions in the Philippines, the president’s jet-setting and his family’s love of parties has been heavily criticised by the public. We speak to political analyst Andrea Chloe Wong for her review.

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Many quarters were opposed to holding the 15th general election during the monsoon season, especially given the unprecedented floods in December last year, but Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri has finally dissolved parliament. What does this say about who really is in charge of UMNO, and is this election theirs to lose? Dr Oh Ei Sun, Principal Adviser, Pacific Research Centre gives us his views.

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Many quarters were opposed to holding the 15th general election during the monsoon season, especially given the unprecedented floods in December last year, but Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri has finally dissolved parliament. What does this say about who really is in charge of UMNO, and is this election theirs to lose? Dr Oh Ei Sun, Principal Adviser, Pacific Research Centre gives us his views.

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Budget 2023 included proposals to make Malaysia more business-friendly to attract more foreign direct investments. These included the extension of various tax incentives on eligible green projects and the implementation of a 15% global minimum tax to be implemented in 2024. Michel van Crombrugge, Vice President of the Malaysian International Chamber of Commerce & Industry talks to us about what Budget 2023 got right and what it missed, as well as the ongoing labour issues Malaysia continues to face.

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The war in Ukraine has taken another turn after Russian forces launched air strikes across the country, in the most extensive attack by Russia since the beginning of the war. Although Russia said that it only targeted military, energy and telecommunications facilities, there is evidence that civilian infrastructures such as residential buildings and schools were also hit. Does this indicate a changing of tactics from the Russian military? We discuss the latest developments with Alexey Muraviev of Curtin University.

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The government appears to proceed with its proposal to close down the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in Malaysia, as disclosed in a written reply to Parliament recently. What implications will this have for the protection of refugees and asylum seekers here? We speak to Lilianne Fan of Geutanyoe Project on this matter.

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We discuss the country’s economic outlook with UOB senior economist Julia Goh following Budget 2023, and whether Malaysia will achieve GDP growth of between 6.5 to 7 percent this year, and projected GDP to grow between 4 to 5 percent in 2023 as it contents with bloated operating and development expenditure.

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The government appears to proceed with its proposal to close down the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in Malaysia, as disclosed in a written reply to Parliament recently. What implications will this have for the protection of refugees and asylum seekers here? We speak to Lilianne Fan of Geutanyoe Project on this matter.

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See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.