Morning Brief

The next UK Prime Minister is Liz Truss, after she beat rival Rishi Sunak in the Conservative party leadership race. She inherits a government that has swung from one crisis to another, from the pandemic to the war in Ukraine. How will Liz Truss handle this thrust into leadership, and can she deliver as cost of living crisis looms? Prof. Chandran Kukathas, Dean at the Singapore Management University weighs in with his reactions.

Over the weekend PAS concluded its 68th annual congress, the PAS Muktamar in Alor Setar, a key opportunity to rally the party faithful and strengthen alliances ahead of GE15. PAS has been careful to telegraph openness to collaborate with both Bersatu and UMNO. But with Bersatu and Umno at odds, can the trio find a middle ground before the pivotal elections?

Former Prime Minister Dato' Sri Najib Razak is likely to be  disqualified as a Member of Parliament for Pekan within 14 days of his Federal Court conviction if he doesn't seek a royal pardon. What are the implications of Najib vacating his seat for Umno? We discuss the scenarios with political expert Dr. Hamidin Abdul Hamid, and also get his reactions to the Rembau MP Khairy Jamaludin forgoing his seat in GE15.

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In an effort to woo wealthy foreign investors to Malaysia, the government has launched the Premium Visa Programme (P-VIP), which will be open for applications on 1 October. We get reactions to this policy from Shaun Cheah of Malaysian International Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

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Sri Lanka’s disgraced former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa returned to Colombo on Friday, less than two months after he fled during the nation’s worst economic crisis in memory. In the meantime, there is a potential USD2.9b loan from the IMF. We speak to Anushka Wijesinha, economist and Co-Founder of Centre for a Smart Future, a think tank based in Sri Lanka for an update on these latest developments.

Image Credit: EPA-EFE

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Former Prime Minister Dato' Sri Najib Razak is likely to be  disqualified as a Member of Parliament for Pekan within 14 days of his Federal Court conviction if he doesn't seek a royal pardon. What are the implications of Najib vacating his seat for Umno? We discuss the scenarios with political expert Dr. Hamidin Abdul Hamid, and also get his reactions to the Rembau MP Khairy Jamaludin forgoing his seat in GE15.

Sri Lanka’s disgraced former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa returned to Colombo on Friday, less than two months after he fled during the nation’s worst economic crisis in memory. In the meantime, there is a potential USD2.9b loan from the IMF. We speak to Anushka Wijesinha, economist and Co-Founder of Centre for a Smart Future, a think tank based in Sri Lanka for an update on these latest developments.

Image Credit: EPA-EFE

In an effort to woo wealthy foreign investors to Malaysia, the government has launched the Premium Visa Programme (P-VIP), which will be open for applications on 1 October. We get reactions to this policy from Shaun Cheah of Malaysian International Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The Aug 31st deadline has come and gone for Malaysia's 6 main mobile network operators to agree and finalise terms on equity stakes in a state-controlled 5G single wholesale network run by Digital Nasional Bhd. There is confirmation that U Mobile will not be pursuing this option, while Maxis is reportedly likely to opt out, leaving DNB with 4 takers. Alexander Wong, Managing Editor at SoyaCincau explains the implications of these developments.

Image credit: istock/jamesteohart

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The Chinese economy is facing its biggest challenges since the Great Financial Crisis of 2008. Gary Ng, APAC Economist at Natixis tells how the government intends to overcome the slowdown and what policy tools its has at its disposal.

Image credit: shutterstock

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