- Malaysia is still mulling to activate the nuclear power option
- MRCB won the transit-oriented development project in Ipoh
- Thailand is itching to start its casino journey
IN Malaysia
Malaysia will not go full Hiroshima-Nagasaki vibe yet
At the World Economic Forum (WEF) 2025 in Davos, Switzerland, PM Anwar Ibrahim told the media that Malaysia is not rushing towards adopting nuclear power in its power generation. Instead, the country sees the potential of solar energy and the ASEAN Power Grid. However, PM Anwar is quick not to dismiss the nuclear power ‘card’ and it is still on the table, given the mushrooming of the power-hungry data centres in Malaysia. Okay, we know all about nuclear power and solar energy but what is the ASEAN Power Grid? The ASEAN Power Grid (APG) is a project that connects the electricity systems of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries. The APG is a key part of the ASEAN Vision 2020. The implementation of the APG is expected to be carried out in stages, starting with bilateral agreements between neighbouring countries. As of now, several bilateral cross-border interconnections have been established, such as those between Thailand, Laos, Singapore, and Malaysia.
Source: https://m.malaysiakini.com/news/732410
One common time zone for ASEAN?
Bursa Malaysia chairman Abdul Wahid Omar lauded that the majority of ASEAN countries should adopt the common time zone of GMT+8 (same as Malaysia) to further integrate ASEAN as a united economic bloc. This proposal is not new as it has been mooted a couple of times – in 1995, 2006 and again in 2015 when Malaysia last chaired ASEAN. Below are the current spread of time zones –
| Time Zone | Countries |
| GMT+6.30 | Myanmar |
| GMT+7 | Western Indonesia (including Jakarta), Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam |
| GMT+8 | Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Central Indonesia (including new capital Nusantara), Philippines, China, Hong Kong, Macau and Western Australia |
| GMT+9 | Eastern Indonesia |
Perhaps it is about time we embrace the Mahathir in us and accept that ASEAN needs to have a united time zone. Back when Dr Mahathir was the fourth Prime Minister, he contributed a lot to the modernization of Malaysia, including proposing a Malaysian Standard Time (MST) of our own. This was because while West and East Malaysia came together, our time zones did not, as Sabah and Sarawak were 30 minutes ahead of us. Having a unified time zone is beneficial so bye-bye to missing business flights as you forgot there is a difference in time zones.
Shorts
- Malaysian Resources Corp Bhd (MRCB) is rumoured to have bagged the Ipoh Railway Station Integrated Development Plan (iRide) project. The iRide project will develop 70 acres of Railway Assets Corporation (RAC) land behind Ipoh Railway Station to become a new transit-oriented development (TOD). MRCB is not new in this TOD space as they have previously developed the Penang Sentral (with a total gross development value (GDV) of RM2.9 bil), RM1 bil KL Sentral, PJ Sentral and also Kwasa Sentral.
- Zecon Berhad has inked an agreement to develop the 8 hectares of land adjacent to Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) Medical Faculty into an RM3.1 bil project that will house 1,610 apartment units for 6,732 local and international students as well as staff of the medical faculty of UMS. The project will adopt the build-lease-maintain-transfer (BLMT) model while the land ownership remains under the Sabah Islamic Religious Council (MUIS).
Source: https://www.theborneopost.com/2025/01/21/rm3-1-billion-project-to-build-ums-medical-faculty-housing/
Around the S.E.A.
Thailand eyes the gambling money, money, money
Former Thailand PM Thaksin Shinawatra told the public that after the Entertainment Complex Business Bill (a.k.a The Casino Bill) is approved, it will create a slew of jobs for the local communities. In the Nakhon Phanom area alone, situated in northern Thailand, at least 20,000 jobs will be created for the locals, earning at least USD580 per month. At a separate event, the secretary general to the Prime Minister, Prommin Lertsuridej stated that six multinational corporations have expressed interest in investing in casino complexes in Thailand. However, Prommin wanted to reiterate that casinos will only occupy 5% of the total area of any future entertainment complexes and the complexes will be built near existing tourist destinations and will follow the Singapore, Macau and Hong Kong models as the benchmark.
https://www.nationthailand.com/business/investment/40045194
Indonesia attacks another international company
After preying on Apple previously, now the Indonesian Government set its aims on another Silicon Valley giant, Google as Jakarta ordered the company to pay USD12.4 mil in fines for unfair business practices related to its payment system services for Google Play Store, its software distribution platform. The penalty was imposed based on an investigation that started in 2022 following rumours that Google utilised its dominant position to force Indonesian app developers to use Google Play Billing (that imposes a 30% fee) or face removal from the Google Play Store. Google controlled a 93% market share in the country. Indonesia is not the first country to stand up to Google as the European Union (EU) has also slapped a EUR8 bil fine for anti-competitive practices related to its price comparison service, Android mobile operating system and advertising service.
Source: https://theedgemalaysia.com/node/741948
For your EYES only
Oh before we forget, OPR is maintained at 3%.
🚨JUST IN: Bank Negara Malaysia has maintained the Overnight Policy Rate at 3%.
The central bank says global growth is expected to be sustained by positive labour market conditions, moderating inflation and less restrictive monetary policy. https://t.co/wXenFYOBUp pic.twitter.com/Sr17RF9xBR
— BFM News (@NewsBFM) January 22, 2025
