Morning Brief

With the recent restrictions imposed by the Chinese Government, cryptocurrencies especially Bitcoin have taken a beating, returning all their year-to-date gains. Varun Mittal, Global Emerging Markets FinTech Leader at EY tells us if this has long-term repercussions and will there be other regulatory or compliance risks that we should watch out for.

Image Credit: Shutterstock.com

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The construction sector is under scrutiny as causing workplace clusters of Covid-19 infections, with the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) revealing that a third of operational sites are flouting SOPs. We discuss the reasons behind this and what’s being done to address violations, as well as the state of the construction sector overall and the forms of support needed CIDB chief Dato’ Ahmad Asri Abdul Hamid.

Image Credit: Shutterstock.com

With the recent restrictions imposed by the Chinese Government, cryptocurrencies especially Bitcoin have taken a beating, returning all their year-to-date gains. Varun Mittal, Global Emerging Markets FinTech Leader at EY tells us if this has long-term repercussions and will there be other regulatory or compliance risks that we should watch out for.

Image Credit: Shutterstock.com

In the hardline cleric, Ebrahim Raisi, Iran has a new president. With a hitherto-unclear stance on Iranian domestic and foreign policy -- in particular its stalled nuclear deal -- the world waits to see what Raisi does next.

Rodger Shanahan, a Research Fellow at the Lowy Institute, discusses.

Image Credit: EPA-EFE

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The Ministry of Education is hiring 19,000 new teachers from all backgrounds to overcome the supply shortage. At the same time, Covid 19 is also proving the greatest disruption to our education system. Should we not take the time to revamp the entire system and what needs to be done? Chan Soon Seng, CEO for Teach for Malaysia tells us.

Image Credit: Azami Adiputera | Shutterstock.com

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Prolonged lockdowns and an economy in neutral have sent more than 600,000 households from the M40 income group into the bottom B40 category.

Calvin Cheng, Analyst in the Economics Program, Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS) Malaysia, discusses what's at stake.

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See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Ministry of Education is hiring 19,000 new teachers from all backgrounds to overcome the supply shortage. At the same time, Covid 19 is also proving the greatest disruption to our education system. Should we not take the time to revamp the entire system and what needs to be done? Chan Soon Seng, CEO for Teach for Malaysia tells us.

Image Credit: Azami Adiputera | Shutterstock.com

In the hardline cleric, Ebrahim Raisi, Iran has a new president. With a hitherto-unclear stance on Iranian domestic and foreign policy -- in particular its stalled nuclear deal -- the world waits to see what Raisi does next.

Rodger Shanahan, a Research Fellow at the Lowy Institute, discusses.

Image Credit: EPA-EFE

In the US, some companies like investment banks are compelling their staff to return to the office. Will this be the same in Asia when vaccination rates inch up or is there an alternative? Paul Cooper, Managing Director of Michael Page Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam tells us.

Image Credit: Shutterstock.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The government's Jaringan Prihatin program is aimed at helping students study from home though there have been hiccups, not to mention hidden costs like data plans and device sufficiency.

Alexander Wong, Managing Editor, at the tech news portal SoyaCincau.com, discusses.

Image Credit: Shutterstock.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.