The Breakfast Grille

For thirty years, Puspakom, a wholly-owned subsidiary of DRB-Hicom, has been the sole company appointed by the government to conduct mandatory inspections of commercial and private vehicles. This long-term monopoly officially ended in August 2024. How prepared is Puspakom to compete in an open market and can it overcome the legacy issues it has collected over the years? We discuss Puspakom’s strategy and outllook with Mahmood Razak Bahman, the CEO of Puspakom.

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Malaysia's hospitality sector is enjoying strong tourism growth, but hotel operators are also navigating rising labour costs, wage pressures, and intensifying competition. Marriott International continues to expand aggressively across both established and emerging destinations, raising questions about brand positioning, operational efficiency, and the long-term potential of secondary cities. As the industry evolves, how is Marriott balancing growth with profitability in one of Southeast Asia's fastest-changing hotel markets?

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With the Johor state assembly around the corner there is increased jostling between political parties, even those which are formally in alliances. And there has been quite a bit of chatter about wanting youth voices and with many parties claiming that their candidates reflect a mix of veterans and new faces, experience and youthful idealism. But what’s really at stake in the political contest and can our political leaders speak from a different script? We talk about the history of youth wings, cooperation during the Madani period, UMNO Supreme Council Puad Zarkashi's shock resignation and if Bersama is eating any party’s proverbial lunch.

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The US-China geopolitical rivalry and President Donald Trump's mercurial policies have upended the established multilateral order, to the detriment of countries like Malaysia that base development strategies on the rules-based system. Can multilateralism survive these geopolitical shifts and what role do smaller countries play in reshaping multilateralism for the future? We discuss these themes with Danny Quah, the Li Ka Shing Professor in Economics at the National University of Singapore.

Image Credit: Shutterstock

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Malaysia's refugee policy vacuum, rising anti-Rohingya sentiment, and whether refugee issues are becoming politically salient in the lead-up to upcoming elections. Adrian Pereira of the North South Initiative and May of the Refugee Emergency Fund and Reimagine Education, discuss refugee governance, shifting public attitudes, and whether Malaysia's decades-long approach is still fit for purpose.

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The Netherlands has long been one of Malaysia’s key partners in Europe, with ties spanning trade, investment, semiconductors, water management, and sustainability. As geopolitical tensions, supply chain shifts, and climate challenges reshape the global landscape, both countries are looking to deepen cooperation in areas critical to future growth and resilience. How is the bilateral relationship evolving, and where do the biggest opportunities for collaboration lie in the years ahead?

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Atlas Copco is a Swedish multinational giant in the industrial sector, providing much of the infrastructure and equipment needed for manufacturing plants to operate. How are they navigating global economic headwinds and does Malaysia provide safe harbour for geopolitical currents? We catch-up with Khalid Shaikh, General Manager of Atlas Copco Malaysia & Singapore.

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Industrial chemicals rarely grab headlines, but they sit quietly behind Malaysia’s most aggressive economic sectors, including the massive infrastructure and data center construction boom. Now, specialty chemical distributor Eckem Holdings is stepping out from behind the curtain, looking to raise RM15 million via an IPO on the ACE Market of Bursa Malaysia. However, the listing arrives alongside a complicated financial reality: profit after tax has tumbled roughly 35% over consecutive years due to cyclical, oil-linked chemical prices and a steep rise in finance debt used to fund a RM60 million industrial land bank.

Executive Director Jack Tan joins The Breakfast Grille to defend the company’s 16.7x earnings valuation multiple against contracting profit after tax. Jack breaks down how their local in-house laboratory acts as a technical moat to secure customer loyalty over direct foreign suppliers, addresses the governance optics of declaring a RM1.9 million pre-IPO dividend, and details the strategic roadmap to double its capacity in high-margin rubber export manufacturing to transform the business from a pure middleman into a resilient industrial player.

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The World Bank Group recently released its biannual flagship publication on Malaysia’s economy titled “Raising the Ceiling, Raising the Floor: The Jobs Agenda as a Productivity Agenda” which focuses on the Malaysian Government’s progress in undertaking structural changes of the economy as well as improving living standards. Taking into account conflict in the Gulf and expectations of a supply-side induced crisis, we ask what the domestic and external hurdles to growth are.

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Malaysia has long been a global leader in Muslim-friendly tourism, but can that leadership evolve into something more? Mohammad Faisal Abu Suaib Khan, Director-General of the Islamic Tourism Centre, discusses the growth potential of the Muslim travel market whether or not Malaysian standards such as MFAR can become an exportable asset.

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