- Insurance premiums increase will be controlled by BNM
- Today is the last day to enjoy free tolls
- Papa Trump wants to absorb Greenland and the Panama Canal as US territories
IN Malaysia
What’s up and down for 2025?
- Insurance premiums will still increase, but not that much – Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) is intervening in the insurance and takaful industry by mandating that industry players spread premium changes over at least three years for affected policyholders until the end of 2026. This interim move is expected to increase the annual premium by less than 10% for at least 80% of policyholders. For policyholders aged 60 and above with minimum plan coverage, premium adjustments will be paused for one year from their policy anniversary. Another interesting point is insurers and takaful operators (ITOs) must also provide a cheaper product to those who wish to switch from their repriced plans, without incurring any additional underwriting or switching costs.
- Pension rate to increase again in 2026, not 2025 – After enjoying a pension rate increase this month, another set of hikes (maximum 7% across the board) is expected for pensioners in January 2026, in line with the adjustments under the Public Service Remuneration System (SSPA). Previously on December 18, all retirees enjoyed a maximum 8% increase based on their last drawn salary.
Source: https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2024/12/1151459/pension-rates-rise-7pct-2026
- No electricity tariff increase for Peninsular Malaysia—The Energy Transition and Water Transformation Ministry (Petra) announced that electricity tariffs for all users in Peninsular Malaysia will not increase from January 1 to June 30, 2025. However, Putrajaya through the Energy Commission is finalising a proposal to implement a new tariff schedule that would reflect the actual cost of electricity supply, which will come into force on July 1, 2025. The government projected that before the new tariff schedule is adopted, for the first half of next year, Putrajaya will need to bear an RM2.388 bill of electricity subsidy.
Malaysians are travelling north for the Christmas holidays
Instead of Westerners who aspire to go to the North Pole to get off the ‘naughty list’, Malaysians go to Thailand to be naughty, of course among other things to do. Based on the observations at the Bukit Kayu Hitam and Kota Putra checkpoints (both in Kedah), there is heavy traffic into Thailand, mainly due to the school holidays that start on December 21 and last until December 29. Malaysia is the second contributor of tourists to Thailand, behind China, with 4.6 mil visiting the Land of Smiles. Additionally, in conjunction with the Christmas and school holidays, Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB) is launching a special MySawasdee Penang Edition train service between Butterworth and Hat Yai, which will operate as a trial route from December 29 to January 5. This trial run is to gauge the user demand, given success, the train service could be expanded to other locations operated by the State Railway of Thailand (SRT). The one-way ticket will cost RM45 and ticket sales already started yesterday (December 23) at 10 am.
Shorts
- In conjunction with the Christmas holidays, Works Minister Alexander Nanta Linggi announced toll-free travel for commuters on December 23 and 24. The toll exemption is only applicable to Class 1 vehicles (private vehicles) at all toll plazas except for those at the national borders, namely the Bangunan Sultan Iskandar (BSI) Toll and Tanjung Kupang Toll Plaza, Johor. Putrajaya is expected to fork out RM38 mil for this toll-free initiative.
- A unit under Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas), KLCC (Holdings) Sdn Bhd has acquired 486 acres of Bandar Malaysia for an undisclosed price. Separately, Sim Leisure Group Ltd, the company that owns the Escape Theme Park brand, has stated that Bandar Malaysia has cancelled the plan to develop 75 acres of the former Royal Malaysian Airbase into an outdoor theme park. Are we going to see any development in Bandar Malaysia anytime soon? No one has the answer, but despite the lack of development, Bandar Malaysia already has its own MRT stations, just stations going nowhere. Whenever I talk about Bandar Malaysia MRT stations, I always remember the picture below.
Chongqing Metro builds metro lines to undeveloped areas to seed development ahead of time. This is Danhe (丹鹤) Station on Line 5. pic.twitter.com/lnZIIgFzRw
— JR Urbane Network (@JRUrbaneNetwork) March 1, 2023
Around the S.E.A.
The Return of the American Empire
President-elect Donald Trump has announced that the United States should take over two sets of territories – Greenland from Denmark and the Panama Canal from Panama. For the former, Trump felt that the US should assume ownership of Greenland due to national security reasons. Historically, although Greenland is geographically located in North America, its culture and people have always been associated with the Europeans. The US attempted to purchase Greenland from Denmark a couple of times, first in 1867, initiated by US Secretary of State William H. Seward but the US Congress objected against the plan. Then in 1946, the US offered USD100 mil to buy the island from Denmark, but the Danes rejected it. Then, the latest attempt was in 2019, the US again extended the purchase proposal, however, then Denmark premier Kim Kielsen said – ‘Greenland is not for sale and cannot be sold.’ The US however did occupy Greenland briefly during World War II, to defend North America against the rising Nazi Germany.
As for the Panama Canal, Trump is mulling taking over the canal from Panama as it felt that the ships that passed through were charged with highly unfair fees and added that the US was being ripped off. The Panama Canal is an 82-kilometre waterway that connects the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. The canal was initially built by France in 1881 but construction halted in 1889. The US assumed the works in 1904 and opened the canal in 1914. The Panama Canal has been under US control since then until it was handed over to Panama in 1977 via the Torrijos–Carter Treaties.
For your EYES only
After removing Friends, How I Met Your Mother, the Modern Family and soon-to-be-removed Big Bang Theory, Netflix is planning to introduce the South Korean comedy live show series Running Man on January 5. Is the trade-off fair or do future Netflix users need to suffer the new Netflix content that is borderline garbage?
Running Man will be available to stream on Netflix on January 5. pic.twitter.com/jxB6qnZwbQ
— Kpop Charts (@kchartsmaster) December 23, 2024
