Bfm :: The Breakfast Grille

This Saturday, as we celebrate Merdeka, we speak to Tricia Yeoh, CEO of think tank, IDEAS, about the realities of coalition politics in Malaysia. We also discuss the significance of essential reforms, both institutional and economic and whether the pace of progress is sufficient. We will also explore if Malaysia is on the right path to becoming a nation that truly upholds liberty and justice for all.

On August 24th, Ukraine marks its Independence Day while continuing to defend against Russian aggression since Crimea's annexation in 2014 and the invasion in February 2022. We speak with Denys Mykhailiuk, Chargé d'Affaires at the Ukrainian Embassy in Malaysia, and examine Ukraine’s recent bold move into Russian territory.

The humanitarian catastrophe as a result of the war in Gaza is impacting millions of Palestinian lives. In a bid to alleviate the suffering, Malaysia has flown in 41 injured Palestinians and their families for medical treatment, a move that has seen mixed reactions. We speak to H.E. Walid Abu Ali, the Ambassador of Palestine to Malaysia for more clarity on the mission and his assessment of Malaysia's policy on refugees.Image Credit: Utusan Malaysia

Earlier this month, a mass protest movement led by the youth of Bangladesh ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her ruling party the Awami League after 15 years in power. What are the hopes of and challenges for the nation of a 170 million people following a tumultuous summer? We discuss the future of Bangladesh with its High Commissioner to Malaysia, H.E. Md. Shameem Ahsan.

Studies have found that Malaysia ranked fifth for countries with the most dangerous roads, and third for countries where you are most likely to die on the road. With these figures, we speak to Dr. Rizati Binti Hamidun, Director of Road Safety Engineering and Environmental Research Centre from MIROS and Dato' Professor Dr Ahmad Farhan Mohd Sadullah, Vice Chancellor, UPM and former DG at MIROS about what does it take to turn this around.

Sabah is renowned for its natural heritage but also faces the paradox of plenty: despite being resource-rich, it has consistently lagged in economic development. What is Invest Sabah doing to change the investment narrative? We discuss the priorities and opportunities to bring in investment to Sabah with CEO Dr. Firdausi Suffian.

The Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB), established by the Construction Industry Development Act (Act 520), works to improve the construction industry's standards and capabilities. CEO Dato' Sr Mohd Zaid Zakaria addresses the sector’s current challenges, emerging opportunities, and future directions as well as helping us unpack who are the winners and losers in the recent construction boom experienced in Malaysia.

Kyndryl, the world's largest IT infrastructure player also had the title of world's largest start up after their separation from IBM in 2021. We speak to Effendi Azmi Hashim, Managing Director of its Malaysian and Indonesian operation about being agonistic when it comes to partners, their strategy for growth and how they intend to benefit from the secular trends of AI and Data Centres.Image Credit: shutterstock.com

Prime Minister Dato’ Sri Anwar Ibrahim took office on 24 November 2022 on a platform of sweeping reforms to strengthen Malaysia’s institutions. 20 months later, his unity government has been described as “the most dictatorial that the country has ever had”, according to prominent lawyer Dato' Ambiga Sreenevasan. What prompted this drastic change in sentiment towards the reformist government and is this a fair charge? We discuss the reform agenda versus actions of the Madani government with the former President of the Malaysian Bar and former Chairperson of Bersih.

It has been 26 years since the first LRT in Kuala Lumpur began its services, transforming how citizens of the city get around. Today there are nearly 140 kilometres of trains, served by the monorail, LRT and MRT lines, supplemented by a bus service under one agency, Prasarana Malaysia. Dato’ Ridza Abdoh Salleh, the former CEO of Prasarana and Afiq Daniel, a public transport activist give us an assessment of how far we have come and what improvements need to be put in place.

The Institute for Strategic and International Studies (ISIS) Malaysia was set up in 1983 as an autonomous non-profit research organisation functioning as the nation’s think tank. What role does this body play in influencing the policy decisions of the Madani Government? We discuss Malaysian foreign policy with Datuk Prof. Dr. Mohd Faiz Abdullah, Chairman and Chief Executive of ISIS Malaysia.

Established in 1969, Agrobank, a DFI is crucial to Malaysia's agricultural development, offering specialised financial services tailored to the sector. CEO Dato' Tengku Ahmad Badli Shah Raja Hussin tells us how the bank aligns with the Ministry of Agriculture's initiatives and how they manage the challenges of being a DFI and managing higher NPLs compared to conventional banks.Image Credit: shutterstock.com

Records were broken for markets this week with a broad global selldown but an almost equally sharp rebound. Anand Pathmakanthan, Head of Regional Equity Research, Maybank Investment Banking Group and Steve Larson, Portfolio Manager for Principal Equities tells us what to expect for the rest of the second half of 2024, what investment strategy to adopt and where the opportunities are.

The world's largest aeroplane manufacturer, Airbus, has navigated the post-Covid-19 years with increased demand for its aircraft as travel returns with a vengeance amid an increased awareness that sustainability needs to also be a driving force. Anand Stanley, president of Airbus Asia-Pacific, joins us to discuss the path this European multinational aerospace corporation is embarking on following its most recent quarterly results coming in below analysts' expectations.

Alps Global Holding Berhad aims to revolutionise healthcare through biotechnology research and wellness services, focusing on personalised and precision medicine to reduce costs. Group CEO Dr Tham Seng Kong discusses the challenges of high costs and failure rates in biotech, emphasising their strategy to control the entire supply chain for more affordable treatments.

While Malaysia has yet to win an Olympic gold medal, Malaysian Paralympic athletes have secured six golds since 2016. But these achievements have not been rewarded with greater investment into para sports. Paralympic Council of Malaysia President Datuk Seri Megat D. Shahriman makes the case for more funding for para sports development in line with performance merit and addresses controversies of the 2024 Paralympics season.

Penang has been hard at work wooing travelers back to the island ever since Covid-19 global travel restrictions were lifted, and these efforts are showing results with the number of visitors from China nearly trebling in the first half of 2024, as an example. Wong Hon Wai is the Penang executive councilor in charge of tourism & creative economy outlines his plans to continue to develop new tourism products for the state, covering everything from culture to nature and of course gastronomy.

Co-opbank Pertama is Malaysia's first co-operative bank set up in 1950 but only having received its deposit-taking license from Bank Negara in 2014. Its CEO Khairil Anuar Mohammad Anuar, shares the bank's growth plans that he initiated when he took over the helm in 2021, while ensuring CBP's members continue to receive attractive dividends.

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation or APEC was born at a time when globalisation and free trade were fully embraced, but the conventional wisdom has changed since then. What does this then mean for APEC’s role and approach as an interlocutor platform for its 21 member economies, including Malaysia? We discuss trends in global trade with Tan Sri Dr. Rebecca Sta. Maria of the APEC Secretariat.

Sarawak has come a long way since 1963 and is charting a seemingly independent economic future that hinges on greater autonomy from the federal government. What is the pathway to shared development and prosperity for Sarawak and Malaysia as a whole, in line with the Dayak phrase “segulai, sejalai” or onward together? We discuss this to mark Sarawak Day on 22 July.Image Credit: Shutterstock.com