The Breakfast Grille

We are living in the Asian century, with the meteoric rise of China, India and ASEAN economies heralding the era of multi-polar geopolitics. Is this an era of optimism for the international order, or is it as some say the most dangerous time in geopolitics since the end of the Cold War? We discuss these themes with Professor Kishore Mahbubani, a distinguished fellow at the Asia Research Institute at the National University of Singapore. His latest book is, “Living the Asian Century: An Undiplomatic Memoir."

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The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales has appointed Alan Vallance as its new Chief Executive. He joins us to discuss his vision for leading the largest professional accountancy body in Europe. This discussion will also explore the role of artificial intelligence in accounting and the declining interest among young people in pursuing the profession.

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The Otis Elevator Company is responsible for installing elevators in some of the most iconic buildings in the world, including the Petronas Twin Towers. Given its long history in Malaysia spanning back to 1909, how has Otis' presence here evolved and what trends are driving growth in the vertical transportation sector? We discuss this with Pradeep Nair, General Manager for Otis Malaysia and Brunei.

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Bursa Malaysia-listed HSS Engineers has had an illustrious 40 year journey transforming Malaysia one infrastructure project at a time - it was involved in the PLUS Highway, KLIA as well the KL MRT lines. Tan Sri Kuna Sittampalam, the firm's founder and executive vice chairman, talks about future plans for HSS, including its overseas expansion with the Baghdad metro lines in Iraq, its most ambitious undertaking yet.

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Parti Pribumi Bersatu was born from the internal strife of UMNO in 2016 and over the course of 5 years  rose to the pinnacle of Malaysian politics under the premiership of Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin leading the Perikatan Nasional coalition.

Following Bersatu's exile to the Opposition bench post-GE15, what are their plans to stage a comeback in the next general elections? We speak to Bersatu Secretary General Dato' Seri Hamzah Zainuddin for a better sense of the party's identity and vision.

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The Singapore Exchange-listed Centurion Corporation is in the business of owning, developing and managing purpose-built workers' accommodation as well as students' accommodation assets in Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, the UK as well as the US. Its CEO Kong Chee Min talks about the company's plans to expand in Malaysia where it already owns several assets in Johor, a state that is set to be a main focus with the Singapore-Johor Special Economic Zone set to take centre-stage.

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The US Federal Reserve begin their two-day policy meeting today with investors widely anticipating the first expected rate, unwind its cycle of aggressive hikes, which started in March 2022. Yeap Jun Rong, a market strategist at IG International talks about how this decision might impact equities as well as the US dollar in the coming months.

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As climate change wreaks havoc on weather patterns in Southeast Asia, how has this affected perceptions of climate change action amongst its diverse population? We discuss the findings of the 2024 Southeast Asia Climate Outlook with Sharon Seah of the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute.

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As the war in Ukraine drags on over multiple years, how has the conflict with Russia shaped Kyiv's foreign policy direction? We speak to Hennadiy Maksak, Executive Director of the Ukrainian Prism, a non-governmental foreign policy council on how Ukraine is navigating relations with US and EU allies as well as efforts to bridge the divide with ASEAN member states that have pro-Russian leanings.

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Malaysia has the distinction of being at the forefront of Islamic finance, with the third largest market for Islamic financial assets, behind only Iran and Saudi Arabia. One of the homegrown bodies contributing to the vibrancy of the Islamic finance industry through human capital development is the International Center for Education in Islamic Finance or INCEIF University. Is Malaysia doing enough to maintain its leadership role in this sector? We discuss the trends in Islamic Finance with Prof Emeritus Dato' Dr Azmi Omar, President & CEO, INCEIF University.

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