Morning Brief

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.

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.

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.

The Ministry of Finance recently issued its 2023 pre-budget statement highlighting the priorities of the government in its annual spending plans. We speak to Julia Goh of UOB Malaysia for hints on what to expect in Budget 2023.

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The prefect storm of a war in Ukraine, supply chain shortages and rising energy cost is creating a sharp rise in food prices. We talk to Dr Paul Teng from the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Nanyang Technological University as to the consequence of this and what are the solutions.

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Recently eyebrows were raised over a RM30 million project to upgrade 200 lamp pole units for DBKL, leading to more questions about the procurement process between DBKL and the contracted parties, Ennova Sdn. Bhd. and subcontractor SCIB. Economist Dr. Nungsari Radhi helps to untangle the complexities of government procurement and the gaps in the process that need to be addressed to prevent mismanagement.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Ministry of Finance recently issued its 2023 pre-budget statement highlighting the priorities of the government in its annual spending plans. We speak to Julia Goh of UOB Malaysia for hints on what to expect in Budget 2023.

The prefect storm of a war in Ukraine, supply chain shortages and rising energy cost is creating a sharp rise in food prices. We talk to Dr Paul Teng from the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Nanyang Technological University as to the consequence of this and what are the solutions.

Recently eyebrows were raised over a RM30 million project to upgrade 200 lamp pole units for DBKL, leading to more questions about the procurement process between DBKL and the contracted parties, Ennova Sdn. Bhd. and subcontractor SCIB. Economist Dr. Nungsari Radhi helps to untangle the complexities of government procurement and the gaps in the process that need to be addressed to prevent mismanagement.

The long-awaited Anti-Hopping Bill will finally be tabled during the Parliamentary sitting beginning 18th July. Will this bill put an end to the party hopping that has been part of Malaysian politics? Dr. Azmi Hassan, Senior Research Fellow at the Nusantara Academy for Strategic Research gives us his analysis, while also diving into the prospects for Bersatu and the risk that it may see more defections.

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