- Senoi Praaq elite unit to be deployed to the Malaysia-Thailand border
- Indonesia is now a full member in BRICS
- US and Japan steelmakers are suing the US Goverment
IN Malaysia
Tahun Melawat Malaysia 2026 Campaign Launched
On Monday, PM Anwar Ibrahim launched the Visit Malaysia 2026 campaign at the Malaysia Airlines Berhad Engineering Complex in Sepang. Focusing on sustainable tourism, Malaysia set targets to welcome 35.6 mil foreign tourists in 2026, a 30% bump from the 2024 target of 27.3 mil tourists. Apart from the number of visitors, PM Anwar added that RM147.1 bil in revenue is expected to be generated from tourism in 2026, which will also benefit other sectors such as hospitality, transport, retail, and food industries.
However, the one thing that caught the public’s attention during the launch was the official mascot of Visit Malaysia 2026 which is a pair of sun bears, named Wira and Manja. According to Tourism Malaysia, Wira and Manja were chosen as the country’s commitment to wildlife conservation. Both were designed to look playful and friendly while wearing batik-themed attire. Some netizens on social media even commented that the mascots are cuter than the Labubu dolls. I think the team behind the creation of the logo and mascots of Visit Malaysia 2026 hit the mark this time.
Petition for @TourismMalaysia keluarkan keychain plush untuk mascot terbaru Visit Malaysia 2026 ni!
Buat blind box macam Labubu ke.. lepas tu market macam Mr. Merlion Singapore.
Mesti niceee 😍 https://t.co/0qril3C8pk pic.twitter.com/a5gab1HGMp
— AE (@arfdy12) January 6, 2025
As per the Budget 2025 announcement, RM550 mil has been allocated for Visit Malaysia 2026, including RM110 mil for tourist site upgrades and eco-tourism projects. During the event, PM Anwar jokes about Tourism Minister Tiong King Sing who keeps asking for funds from him, instead of generating revenue. Hmm, even the government also starts to act like the private sector, turning every bit of the organisation into revenue centres.
Source: https://m.malaysiakini.com/news/730829
The state of the Malaysia-Thailand border security is under control
Kelantan police chief Mohd Yusoff Mamat told the media that cross-border criminal activities have been under control since the ban on illegal crossings was enforced in December last year. Kelantan has always been seen as a porous section of the Malaysia-Thailand border, especially in the Pasir Mas district. However, the police have been rampant in patrolling the area and have identified over 20 illegal crossings.
Source: https://thesun.my/malaysia-news/malaysia-thailand-cross-border-crime-under-control-police-BO13485994
To further beef up the security at the border, over 100 members of the elite Senoi Praaq unit have been deployed at strategic locations. At the moment, the elite team has been stationed at 17 border posts. Senoi Praaq is a police unit that is made up entirely of Orang Asli. The Senoi Praaq are named after the Senoi people, an indigenous ethnic group in Malaysia, combined with the term “Praaq,” meaning “warrior” in their language. They specialised in jungle warfare and were highly successful in diminishing the threat by communist forces during the Malayan Emergency.
Shorts
- TA Securities stated that the demand for Malaysian crude palm oil (CPO) would increase if Indonesia proceeded with its plan to increase the export levy to support the country’s domestic biodiesel mandate. At the moment, Indonesia’s CPO is already traded at a premium compared to Malaysia’s CPO, where the former is USD146.30 per tonne more expensive than the latter. The plan to increase the export levy to 10% will add another USD26.49 per tonne to the premium. Your loss Indonesia.
Source: https://theedgemalaysia.com/node/739936
- The kopitiam chain that is always full (we never tried so we don’t know how good they are), Oriental Kopi Holdings Bhd has released its initial public offering (IPO) prospectus. The company aims to list on the ACE Market and priced its listing at 44 sen per share. Oriental Kopi is projected to raise RM184 mil that will be utilised for its expansion plans both in Malaysia and internationally. The one thing that amazes us is that the company, which was only been incorporated in December 2020, now already has 20 cafes operating in Malaysia and Singapore. Oriental Kopi is one of the pandemic babies that turn out well.
Around the S.E.A.
All things Indonesia
- Every time Malaysia does something, Indonesia mesti wants to up the ante and taknak kalah. After Malaysia and a few other countries were announced as partner countries for the BRICS, now Indonesia has been inducted as the newest full member of BRICS. Indonesia is the first country to join BRICS as a full member since the group opened to expansion during its 2023 summit in Johannesburg, South Africa. In BRICS, full members such as Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa and now Indonesia have voting rights while partner countries such as Malaysia do not have one.
- Indonesia is mulling over merging three state-owned airlines – Garuda Indonesia, Citilink and Pelita Air Services into one unified entity in order to streamline and synergize aviation planning within the country. State-Owned Enterprises Minister Erick Thohir announced that the government aims to initiate the merger exercise in 1Q2025. According to the 2023 Indonesia domestic aviation market share data, even after the merger, the merged entity still cannot become the largest airline in Indonesia as the Lion Air Group lives up to its name and holds the lion’s share of the market, controlling 64.6% share of the market.
Japan is suing the United States
After blocking their proposed USD15 bil deal, Nippon Steel and US Steel have now filed a suit against the ‘lame duck’ US President Joe Biden’s administration. According to the suit, the steelmakers requested Biden’s decision to block the acquisition to be voided as the blockage was deemed as ‘unlawful political interference’. The Japan Government has also questioned the sincerity of the US in its ‘friendship’ as Uncle Sam is treating Japan akin to China when it comes to foreign investments into the US. If the merger deal does go through, it would make Nippon Steel the second-largest steelmaker in the world.
Source: https://www.ft.com/content/4c32b6bc-019d-4b96-ab7d-c83ea0c34d66
For your EYES only
Indonesia is now eyeing World Cup glory as the country has appointed Dutch legend Patrick Kluivert as the head coach for the Indonesia national football team. While Indonesia dah jauh kedepan, Malaysian football teams are still arguing which grass are better for their stadiums.
🇮🇩🇳🇱 Patrick Kluivert is now Indonesia’s manager.
He’s recently managed Adana Demirspor in Turkey, but was relieved of his duties after only a couple of months.
Interesting decision by Erick Thohir…🤔#TimnasIndonesia pic.twitter.com/pK39m4wsig
— amiel 🇵🇭 (@amtcfc) January 6, 2025
