- The Malaysia-Thailand bond is closer thanks to both PMs
- Muhammad Shahrul is being appointed as the new US ambassador
- The Economy Minister and the Natural Resources Minister have resigned
- AirAsia was being reprimanded in the Philippines
- The Thai and Cambodian armies clashed at the border
- Manchester United kalah lagi
IN Malaysia
PM Anwar Ibrahim kamceng with Thailand PM Paetongtarn Shinawatra
A senior Thai official has revealed that thanks to the close relationship between both Prime Ministers, it has been reflected in a strengthened bond between the two nations, across multiple sectors, especially in border region development. Both governments are committed to developing the shared border into a vibrant economic corridor, focusing on trade, investment, and cross-border infrastructure to enhance connectivity. Special border economic zones (SBEZ) have been integral in the bilateral trade, which constitutes over 30% of the bilateral trade pie. One of the SBEZs is Delapan, which has seen an influx of approved investments from data centre players such as Area Group and Open DC. Delapan is also a part of the ‘Two Countries, Twin Parks’ initiative with China, where all parties are committed to a cross-border industrial project valued at RM94.9 bil.
Tak cukup baru jumpa during the 46th ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur last month, both PMs have agreed to have a joint Cabinet meeting at the Sadao-Bukit Kayu Hitam border area, later this year. Kitonya clingy. Maybe PM Anwar can ask Thai PM Paetongtarn to invite the newly crowned Miss World 2025, Suchata Chuangsari, who just won the title last week. Sambil menyelam minum air.
Another good news in the Malaysia-Thailand relationship, as Agriculture Minister Mohamad Sabu announced that Malaysia is committed to renewing the memorandum of understanding (MOU) on agricultural cooperation with Thailand, which has been in place for over 50 years. At the moment, bilateral agricultural trade between Malaysia and Thailand continued to show positive performance in 2024, with the total trade value of agricultural products reaching RM20.96 bil.
Source: https://theedgemalaysia.com/node/757450
Malaysia is standing in the eyes of the world
Association of Private Hospitals Malaysia president Dr Kuljit Singh reiterated the previous Health Ministry’s statement that the country has been ranked as the top destination for medical tourism based on quality, infrastructure, cost-effectiveness and ease of access. In 2023, about 1.3 mil foreigners have sought treatment in this country, bringing in close to RM2 bil in revenue. From the 1.3 mil patients, Dr Kuljit stated that they are mainly from Indonesia, China, Bangladesh and the Maldives. The rest are from Europe and the United States. However, the duri dalam daging for medical tourism in the country is the shortage of manpower, such as nurses.
Source: https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2025/06/03/msia-leads-medical-tourism-charge
Shorts
- The Malaysian stock market is bleeding money over the previous week, as according to MIDF Research data, the net outflow of foreign funds rose to RM1.02 bil, nearly 2.6 times more than the prior week’s outflow of RM392.3 mil. The increase in net selling is in line with the regional trend, where foreign investors have been reducing their holdings amid growing concerns over trade and economic uncertainties. The sectors that saw the highest net foreign outflows were financial services (RM565.8 mil), consumer products and services (RM172.2 mil) and healthcare (RM129.9 mil). Tough luck for Malaysia, Trump already shook the economy, and this week Tengku Zafrul pulak drops a bombshell that makes the political scene even shakier. Penat.
- Veteran diplomat Muhammad Shahrul Ikram Yaakob has been named as the new ambassador to the US, amidst the tense relationship between the US and Malaysia over the reciprocal tariff storm and trade tensions. Hopefully, Muhammad Shahrul can utilise his 35 years of public service experience to guide the country onto a better path with the US. Muhammad Shahrul is currently the independent non-executive director of Sime Darby Bhd.
While we rarely touch on political news, however, today is an exception as no matter how much you wanna kona, you just cannot avoid the elephant in the room.
Resignation roulette
- What’s next for Rafizi? – He resigns. Rafizi Ramli is truly a man of his word as he resigns from his ministerial position as the Economy Minister, effective June 17. Rafizi stated that he will be utilising the remainder of his annual leave from yesterday until June 16. Even a minister has annual leave, but it is a bit scary when you need the PM’s approval to green light your leave. Rafizi justified his resignation by mentioning that it is the practice in countries that uphold democratic principles that party leaders who lose internal elections should make way for those who have been given a new mandate. This follows his loss to Nurul Izzah Anwar for the PKR deputy president position. Despite not having positions in PKR and the Cabinet, Rafizi is still the MP for the Pandan constituency.
Source: https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2025/05/28/rafizi-resigns-as-economy-minister
- Who follows Rafizi? – Nik Nazmi. Another PKR’s election loser, Setiawangsa MP Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, also tendered his resignation as the Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Minister, effective July 4. Akin to Rafizi, Nik Nazmi will also see out his final days as a minister by being on leave. The message by Rafizi and Nik Nazmi is clear and straightforward – party over public priorities?
- Former minister asked PM Anwar to resign – Former Law Minister Zaid Ibrahim has urged PM Anwar to step aside as the Federal Court is mulling over the PM’s eligibility for legal immunity, in regard to the civil suit initiated by his former research assistant, Yusoff Rawther. Previously, PM Anwar Ibrahim sought a definitive ruling from Malaysia’s highest court on whether Articles 39, 40, and 43 of the Federal Constitution provide him with qualified immunity against legal action. PM Anwar is requesting the High Court to conduct a ‘threshold inquiry’ to determine whether the legal proceedings should be halted or dismissed to preserve constitutional governance.
Is a Cabinet crisis looming for PM Anwar? This is because apart from the resignation of Rafizi and Nik Nazmi, PM Anwar will also lose another minister at the end of the year as the International Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Zafrul must resign from his ministerial position as his tenure as a senator is expiring soon. So, what’s next? There have been rumours that Selangor Menteri Besar Amirudin Shari will make his transfer from Shah Alam FC to Putrajaya FC. Another, here we go soon, would be the newly minted PKR Youth Chief Muhammad Kamil Abdul Munim, who is touted to become either a minister or a deputy minister.
This will be PM Anwar’s toughest test thus far, as the challenges come within and not from the outside. Perhaps apart from mandi bunga, maybe PM Anwar can go to Inteam’s concert to soothe his broken soul before attempting to fix his Cabinet.
Around the SEA
The Shangri-La Dialogue is here again
While June marks the start of summer for Westerners, it is also the month of the Shangri-La Dialogue (SLD), which has just been concluded on Monday. Let’s just say it was a memorable event, from the non-participation of Chinese senior officials to the French President Emmanuel Macron claiming that his country is still a major power in Asia (please, you become irrelevant since your country lost in Vietnam on May 7, 1954). Below are the key takeaways from SLD –
- US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth urged Asian allies to ramp up defence spending toward 5% of GDP, emphasising the need to prepare for a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan. He also called out China for not sending a senior official to the forum, traditionally a space for top US-China defence officials to meet.
- Philippine Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro openly criticised China, saying its vision of a fair and just world order clashes with international norms. The US, Japan and Australia pledged continued support and defence equipment to help the Philippines counter Chinese pressure.
- PM Anwar Ibrahim talked about protecting trade during his keynote address at SLD. Why talk about trade at a defence conference? Simple, when exports make up nearly 70% of your country’s GDP, trade becomes a matter of national security and prosperity. PM Anwar’s speech also sent a key message to the US – if Uncle Sam wants to really make its place in the region, it will have a hard time doing so while also undermining Southeast Asia’s lifeline: trade.
PM Anwar has been hitting home runs in regard to foreign relations in the past few weeks. However, if I could name one PM Anwar’s defeat, it would be his inability to convince French President Emmanuel Macron to visit Malaysia during the latter’s Southeast Asia tour. Takpelah, maybe the French President was traumatised, as the last time Malaysians and the French were in a room, it led to the Scorpene submarine scandal huhu.
AirAsia is in trouble in the Philippines
The authorities in the Philippines have ordered AirAsia’s digital platform, MOVE, to stop selling airline tickets in the country following complaints it charged ‘criminal-level’ high fares. Philippines’ Civil Aeronautics Board, which sets price ceilings for airfares in the country, says AirAsia hiked its prices following transportation troubles in Tacloban City due to the closure of a key bridge to trucks. Even the Philippines Transportation Secretary, Vince Dizon, accused AirAsia of ‘criminal economic sabotage’ and will file a case against AirAsia’s digital platform. During the weekend, AirAsia MOVE charged RM5,880 for a one-way ticket from Manila to Tacloban City via Philippine Airlines, three times the price quoted when directly booking on the flag carrier’s website.
AirAsia did not remain silent and has denied that its digital platform was manipulating fares. Instead, AirAsia blamed the high prices on a temporary data glitch, as the digital platform obtained flight pricing from its authorised upstream suppliers, including third-party aggregators and global distribution systems. AirAsia even added that the technical discrepancy caused by the third-party provider is not isolated to MOVE as it also affected other booking platforms across the industry, including Agoda, Kiwi.com, and Traveloka.
All things Thailand
-
One step closer towards having a common market – A good step in promoting more intra-ASEAN trade as Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia have signed the Framework of Cooperation (FoC) in Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) under the Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle (IMT-GT). The FoC will ensure more uniform and business-friendly formalities to promote more seamless movement of goods and people across borders.
-
Multi-billion USD budget to pump up the economy – Thailand PM Paetongtarn Shinawatra has proposed a USD115.5 bil budget to support a sluggish economy facing steep US tariffs. The budget will be a deficit budget, projected at a 0.7% increase in spending compared to the previous year. The budget plan projects growth at 2.3% to 3.3% for both 2025 and 2026, however, it did not take the US tariff into consideration, given that the country will be facing a 36% tariff. As a comparison, Malaysia’s 2025 Budget is USD99.3 bil in size.
-
Thailand clashing with Cambodia at the border – It will be a busy year for Malaysia as the ASEAN Chairman, as apart from the civil war in Myanmar, now one Cambodian soldier is dead after the Thai Army allegedly opened fire on a trench that is a part of Cambodia’s army bases. The Thai Army claimed that the Cambodian soldiers entered the disputed area near Thailand’s northeastern Ubon Ratchathani province before firing at its soldiers. Thai troops were then forced to return fire. Ironically, the skirmish happened just a day after the 46th ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur.
Australia is playing the limbo game with China
After promising to change the Port of Darwin from Chinese control back to Australian control, Australian PM Anthony Albanese is facing a dilemma as he wants and needs to tread this issue carefully, as he does not want to offend his country’s largest trading partner. In 2015, the Northern Territory government awarded a 99-year lease to a Chinese company, Landbridge Group, for the control of the Port of Darwin. The port is located near a military training facility and is Australia’s northernmost maritime facility, positioned close to Southeast Asia. According to Richard McGregor, a senior fellow at Sydney-based Lowy Institute, a simple buyout of Landbridge by an Australian company would be significantly less controversial than a sale to a US business or an attempt to cancel the lease and nationalise it. But, in the first place, why did you award the lease in the first place, then want to take it back again years later? Buruk siku betul.
Source: https://theedgemalaysia.com/node/757140
For your EYES only
Hm, whoever designed this signage for Batang Kali should kene ceramah by the ustaz.
Batang Kali hadir! https://t.co/AfzPqO9VA9 pic.twitter.com/K03JCs3CCO
— Daniel (@danieleskay) June 2, 2025
Manchester United memang kelab derita as the 16th placed club in the English Premier League, lost to the ASEAN All Stars at the Bukit Jalil Stadium. ManU really gave the authentic experience to its fans in Kuala Lumpur, delivering the same heartbreak and disappointment its English fans felt all this while
