Morning Brief BFM Media

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has visited Japan for the second time within six months. This trip saw him meet with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. Zarina Zainuddin, an analyst in Foreign Policy and Security Studies at ISIS Malaysia talks about what this means for both countries' bilateral relations.
Image Credit: Prime Minister's Office of Malaysia Official Website
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Following a slow start at the beginning of 2024, industrial metals like copper have recently been hitting new highs. The rally is also seen in precious metals like gold and silver. Michelle Leung, Head of Asia Metals & Mining at Bloomberg Intelligence helps us understand what is behind this rally in metals' prices and is this sustainable.

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The situation in Gaza has deteriorated into a humanitarian catastrophe over the course of 7 months. The recent advancement of the Israeli Defence Forces into Rafah and the closure of the border crossing to Egypt has meant that civilians and international aid workers are trapped, including a team of Malaysian doctors under Mercy Malaysia. We speak to Dato’ Dr. Faizal Mohd Perdaus, President of Mercy Malaysia for updates from the ground.Image Credit: Mercy Malaysia Facebook
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In a Special Address, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim reminded the nation that the government fiscal reforms are on track, starting with the targeted subsidy plan. We get Dr. Geoffrey Williams views on the messaging, level of ambition and the likely schedule of rolling out the rationalization.Image Credit: Shutterstock.com
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Yesterday, it was confirmed that Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi had died in a helicopter crash.  Maryam Ismail, analyst at ISIS Malaysia goes through his legacy and possible successors. We also ask her that with the death  of both the President and the Foreign Minister how might this impact Iran’s foreign policy during a time of heightened regional tensions.

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Singapore's three major banks - DBS, UOB and OCBC - have all reported their first quarter earnings. Sarah Jane Mahmud, a senior financial services research analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, reflects on what was announced and the implications for Singapore's banking sector as well as Malaysia's going forward.

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