Morning Brief

The World Health Organisation (WHO) will convene its International Health Regulations Emergency Committee on 23 June, to assess whether the continuing Monkeypox outbreak represents a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. We speak to Dr. Chan Yoke Fun, Associate Professor and Head of Medical Microbiology at Universiti Malaya as to whether there should be any cause for concern and if Malaysia has a plan in place.

Image Credit: Poetra.RH / Shutterstock.com

With recent economic data showing mixed signals, we ask Gary Ng from Natixis if China’s economy is in recovery mode, or whether the worst is still to come.

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Sub-humane conditions in Malaysian jails and an apparent lack of political will for reform plague ex-prisoners, curtailing already slim chances of rehabilitation and a return to society. Jerald Joseph, former Commissioner of SUHAKAM, weighs in on the challenges of prison reform and his recommendations on what to prioritise in policy-making.

Image Credit: Mohd Izwan Awang / Shutterstock.com

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Malaysia has lost further ground in the race for global foreign direct investment (FDI), according to IMD's 2022 World Competitiveness Ranking, raising much-needed self-scrutiny into the country's development priorities. Daniel Bernbeck of the Malaysian-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry, analyses the factors considered by foreign investors and how Malaysia stacks up against regional peers.

Image Credit: Abdul Razak Latif / Shutterstock.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sub-humane conditions in Malaysian jails and an apparent lack of political will for reform plague ex-prisoners, curtailing already slim chances of rehabilitation and a return to society. Jerald Joseph, former Commissioner of SUHAKAM, weighs in on the challenges of prison reform and his recommendations on what to prioritise in policy-making.

Image Credit: Mohd Izwan Awang / Shutterstock.com

With recent economic data showing mixed signals, we ask Gary Ng from Natixis if China’s economy is in recovery mode, or whether the worst is still to come.

Malaysia has lost further ground in the race for global foreign direct investment (FDI), according to IMD's 2022 World Competitiveness Ranking, raising much-needed self-scrutiny into the country's development priorities. Daniel Bernbeck of the Malaysian-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry, analyses the factors considered by foreign investors and how Malaysia stacks up against regional peers.

Image Credit: Abdul Razak Latif / Shutterstock.com

The past few days have been terrible for cryptocurrency markets, with the market cap of crypto falling below USD1 trillion US dollars, down from USD3 trillion at its peak in November. The sell-off comes as investors rotate out of the riskiest assets due to macroeconomic headwinds and rising interest rates. Once touted as a hedge against inflation and the future of money, can cryptocurrencies rally? We discuss the outlook for the crypto space with fintech expert Varun Mittal.

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This Friday, the Malaysian Bar is staging a “Walk for the Independence of the Judiciary” at Padang Merbok, in response to the anti-corruption probe into Justice Mohd Nazlan Ghazali, the judge who presided over the SRC International 1MDB trial and convicted former Prime Minister Dato’ Sri Najib Razak. However, given the current climate of political polarisation, how much of an impact will the protest make? We speak to lawyer and activist Dato' Ambiga Sreenivasan on why the legal fraternity is marching.

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Although Malaysia's economy shows promise post pandemic, it is also time to engage in economic reform with focus on improving fiscal sustainability and improving the level of social protection for the most vulnerable. Dr Apurva Sanghi, Lead Economist for Malaysia at the World Bank tells us how on the back of their recently released Malaysia Economic Monitor report.

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