This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on August 30, 2021 - September 5, 2021
The swearing-in ceremony of the Cabinet under Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s new administration will be held on Monday at Istana Negara before Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah. The new cabinet line-up — the third since the 14th general election in May 2018 — was announced on Friday, following Ismail Sabri’s appointment as the ninth prime minister of Malaysia the week before.
In his speech last Friday, Ismail Sabri gave his ministers 100 days to come up with short- and long-term plans for their respective ministries in a bid to ensure a high-performance work culture.
Only the day before, Malaysia had registered 24,599 daily Covid-19 cases and 393 deaths — both new records. Some 60.2% of the country’s adult population are now fully vaccinated, according to the authorities, while 80.9% have received at least one dose of the vaccine.
To win over the sceptics, the new Cabinet — albeit comprised of nearly the same members as the previous one — will have to quickly demonstrate its ability to manage the pandemic and to nurse the sickly economy back to health.
On Monday, Bank Negara Malaysia will release the Detailed Disclosure of International Reserves as at end-July 2021 and the Monthly Highlights and Statistics for July 2021.
Malaysia will observe a public holiday on Aug 31 to celebrate her 64th year of independence.
Across the Causeway in Singapore, the country’s focus this week is expected to be on the National Day Rally speech by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. UOB Global Economics & Market Research, in its weekly outlook (Aug 30 to Sept 3), said the city state is anticipating a “further easing of Covid-19 restrictions, but again it will be differentiated by vaccination status”.
On Tuesday, Singapore is scheduled to release its July bank lending and money supply data, and on Thursday, the official Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for August. The August Markit PMI and July retail sales data will be out on Friday.
Further down south from Singapore, Australia will be releasing its 2Q gross domestic product (GDP) figures on Wednesday. UOB, citing Bloomberg, noted estimates of 9% year-on-year growth from 1.1% in 1Q while its own projection is 8.4% from the previous quarter. Australia will also be releasing its July trade and July home loans data on Thursday.
The world’s most populous nation, China, will release its official manufacturing PMI for August and non-manufacturing PMI on Tuesday. According to UOB, Bloomberg estimates August PMI at 50.1, from 50.4 in July, and the non-manufacturing PMI at 52, from 53.3 in July.
Over in the US, Federal Open Market Committee chair Jerome Powell will speak virtually at the Jackson Hole Symposium late Friday (Aug 27). Many, including UOB, expect Powell to give details of the anticipated timeline for the Fed’s quantitative easing (QE) tapering.
John Vail, chief global strategist at Nikko Asset Management, was quoted as saying that the Fed has “successfully prevented a taper tantrum” as the market was “greatly expecting a taper starting this year”.
Separately, the US has pledged to continue with evacuations from Afghanistan, despite a suicide bomb attack outside Kabul airport last Thursday which killed 79 locals and 13 US service personnel. The US and Taliban have agreed on the evacuation deadline of Tuesday (Aug 31). Some 1,000 US citizens have yet to be evacuated.
On Wednesday, at the Palace of Justice, Putrajaya, the Federal Court will begin hearing an appeal against the appeals court’s decision to quash a development order (DO) for the proposed Taman Rimba Kiara project.
Kuala Lumpur City Hall, Memang Perkasa Sdn Bhd, an association representing Bukit Kiara longhouse residents, and the landowner Yayasan Wilayah Persekutuan are appealing the Court of Appeal’s decision.
Residents of Taman Tun Dr Ismail had filed a suit to stop the mixed-use development project on a 25-acre public park site in the neighbourhood. In January, a three-member Court of Appeal unanimously ruled that the DO was null and void.
On a separate matter, on Thursday, the Court of Appeal will deliver its decision on the prosecution’s appeal to forfeit RM192 million from central Umno, RM300,000 from Wanita MCA and RM1.05 million from Umno Kedah — monies said to belong to 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) and paid out by former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
The forfeiture suits were filed by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission in 2019 against the three political parties. In all, more than 40 individuals and entities have been named as recipients of monies from Najib.
On the corporate scene, some of the companies holding their annual general meeting next week are Transocean Holding Bhd and Panasonic Manufacturing Malaysia Bhd on Monday and AMMB Holdings Bhd on Thursday.
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