International Students Contribute RM20B Annually to Malaysia's Economy

The presence of about 167,000 international students in Malaysia currently contributes around RM20 billion annually to the country's economy through spending on tuition fees and living expenses, according to a New Straits Times report published August 23, 2026. 

In fact, Education Malaysia Global Services (EMGS) chief executive officer Novie Tajuddin (left) had asserted that based on a study conducted by EMGS, each international student spends an average of about RM10,000 a month throughout their stay in the country. 

And the five main countries currently contributing international students to Malaysia are China, Indonesia, Bangladesh, India and Pakistan.

He noted that Malaysia is now recognised as one of the world's 14 leading higher education destinations, demonstrating that the country is increasingly becoming a preferred choice among international students pursuing their studies. 

"This shows that we have become a competitor in global higher education", he trumpeted. 

Novie noted the number of international students in Malaysia had increased by about 23 percent over the past three years, indicating growing interest among foreign students in pursuing their studies in the country. And he affirmed that Malaysia aims to attract 500,000 international students by 2035, as outlined in the 10-year Malaysia Higher Education Blueprint. 

A reminder to self:

"Happiness, homegrown" – Victor Ong.

😇😇😇

Viral Buffalo Saved From Ritual Sacrifice

In Bangladesh, a nearly 4-year-old bull became a national celebrity after videos of its cream-colored coat, pinkish nose, and signature golden comb-over resembling the US president swept across social media. 

The 700-kilogram (1,543-pound) rare albino buffalo, which, unsurprisingly, was nicknamed "Donald Trump", was sold for ritual slaughter for the Eid al-Adha festival but found itself spared. That was because the government, citing security and animal welfare concerns, intervened to cancel the sacrifice, refund the buyer, and relocate the animal to the Dhaka National Zoo. 

It's a happy ending! The viral buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) has become the Dhaka zoo's Eid attraction! 

Russian President Vladimir Putin has framed the growing alignment between China, Russia, and Iran as a lasting obstacle to Donald Trump’s ambitions for global dominance. 

In a video address to the International Security Forum in Moscow, Russia (May 26-29, 2026), he said the three countries are working more closely across military, economic, and diplomatic fronts to push back against US influence and challenge what he described as American hegemony.

I share this perspective. I do believe that working together, the three countries can genuinely help foster world peace!

Predictably, Washington dismissed the comments as propaganda – but the message from Moscow was clear: Russia, China, and Iran want to present themselves as a united counterweight to US power.

The days of Western hegemony are over!

Donald Trump’s 75-country US Visa Suspension Challenged

A group of United States citizens and immigrant rights bodies have launched a lawsuit seeking to challenge the sweeping suspension of immigrant visa processing for 75 countries by the administration of President Donald Trump.

The lawsuit, filed on Monday, argues that the Trump administration has relied on a false narrative to justify the visa processing suspension, one of the most substantial restrictions on legal immigration in the country’s history. 

The lawsuit charges that the policy “constitutes an unlawful nationality-based ban on legal immigration and a new set of discriminatory, unlawful public charge rules that strips families and working people of the process guaranteed by law”, according to a case overview by the National Immigration Law Center, which are among the groups supporting the legal challenge. 

The sprawling 106-page complaint further alleges that the administration relies “on an unsupported and demonstrably false claim that nationals of the covered countries migrate to the United States to improperly rely on cash welfare and are likely to become ‘public charges'”. 

The State Department has described the action, announced in mid-January, as a “pause” on immigrant visa processing on “countries whose migrants take welfare from the American people at unacceptable rates”. 

The department have not revealed the criteria it used to determine which countries were added to the list, which comes amid a wider effort to constrict legal immigration pathways into the US and to deport undocumented citizens from the country. 

According to a January 14 state department cable obtained by the Guardian, the sweeping list cuts across every major region of the world, spanning countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and eastern Europe. 

Amongst the affected countries include Albania, Algeria, Antigua and Barbuda, Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belize, Bhutan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cameroon, Chad, Colombia, Cuba, Dominica, Egypt, Ethiopia, Fiji, Georgia, Ghana, Grenada, Iran, Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Liberia, Mali, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Myanmar, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Russia, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Syria, Thailand, Togo, Tunisia, Uruguay, Uzbekistan and Yemen.

Donald Trump’s New Tariffs

We're seeing another TACO moment! 

United States President Donald Trump on Monday extended a pause on his sweeping reciprocal tariffs to August 01, while also sending “tariff letters” to fourteen countries, warning they would be subject to the new tariff rates if they failed to reach a trade deal with the US by the new deadline. 

As he spelt out in the letters, the rates could be modified "upward or downward, depending on our relationship with your country". I'm not even sure anymore what he actually means. 

[Note: The term TACO – Trump Always Chickens Out – was coined by Financial Times commentator Robert Armstrong to describe what he says is the president's tiresome pattern of announcing heavy tariffs on countries causing economic shock, panic and stock market hits and then later reversing course with pauses or reductions that create a market rebound]. 

For South Africa, South Korea, Thailand and Indonesia, these tariff rates are identical to what Trump had announced on April 02. Malaysia and Japan saw a 1 percent increase and the other eight countries – Kazakhstan, Laos, Myanmar, Tunisia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bangladesh, Serbia and Cambodia – will now encounter lower tariffs than they did on "Liberation Day". 

FYI, during the 90-day pause, the US only managed to broker two "deals" (if you can call them deals!) with the United Kingdom and Vietnam. 

The first deal was secured on May 08, between the US and the UK, setting a 10 percent tariff on UK exports to the US. The deal states that the first 100,000 vehicles imported into the US from the UK each year will face a 10 percent tariff, down from the 27.5 percent imposed earlier. Additional vehicles imported each year will face a 25 percent tariff. 

On July 02, Trump announced that he had secured a deal with Vietnam, which now faces a minimum 20 percent tariff in exchange for opening its market up to the US. Transshipments from third countries through Vietnam will face a 40 percent levy, while US products will not face any tariff in Vietnam. Specific details for this deal are unclear. On April 02, Trump had announced a 46 percent tariff on Vietnam. 

Meanwhile, US stocks, based on the three major indices, fell on Monday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 0.94 percent; S&P 500, which tracks the stock performance of 500 leading US companies, fell by 0.79 percent; and the Nasdaq Composite saw a 0.92 percent drop.

Malaysia Shines as 5th Most Affordable Country Globally

Malaysia has once again earned its place amongst the top destinations for budget-conscious travelers. 

According to a report by US News and World Report, Malaysia ranks 5th globally and 4th in Southeast Asia for its affordability. Joining Malaysia in the ranks are ASEAN countries, with Thailand claiming the top spot, Vietnam in second place, Philippines 4th and Indonesia sixth. 

The other top ten winners are India and China in 3rd place and 8th place respectively, Mexico is in 6th place, Türkiye is in 9th place and Bangladesh is in 10th place.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yesterday, Liverpool left it late to record their first Premier League win of this calendar year. It was certainly a massive relief when they produced a 2-0 win against Brentford in stoppage time.

 

The former had dominated possession and territory for large periods but couldn't turn that dominance – they attempted 37 shots! – into goals. And it looked as though their wait for a league win in 2025 was going to stretch to three games. Until substitute Darwin Nunez heroically stepped up. 

 

The Uruguay forward grabbed the opener in the 91st minute with a simple finish from close range after meeting a low cross from Trent Alexander-Arnold. Barely two minutes later, Nunez stole Harvey Elliott's pass from the feet of Mohamed Salah to smash home.

 

That's how you win titles. Going to the end, fighting until the end and taking your opportunities.

 

The Reds sit six points clear of second-placed Arsenal, who drew 2-2 against Aston Villa later on Saturday, and they also have a game in hand.

Tortoises Rescued from Ninja Turtle Gang

Malaysian authorities have rescued hundreds of smuggled tortoises meant for sale in Southeast Asia, disrupting an international crime gang, a wildlife official said on Thursday. 

 

Abdul Kadir Abu Hashim (left) wildlife and national parks department (Perhilitan) director-general, said 400 tortoises worth RM3.8 million ($805,084) bound for the lucrative exotic pet trade were seized during an operation by the police and wildlife officials on Saturday.

 

Across Asia, many believe that tortoises bring good luck and prosperity.

 

"This is the biggest ever seizure in the past 10 years", Abdul Kadir told AFP, adding that the reptiles were to be sold on to Thailand and Indonesia after local demand was met. He said the tortoises were believed to have been smuggled from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal. 

 

The joint operation, codenamed "United National Resource", crippled the tortoise smuggling ring known as the "Ninja Turtle Gang", he added. 

 

The operation involved a car chase in which the driver of a vehicle thought to be used in the smuggling was arrested. The driver subsequently led the enforcement officers to a location where rare three-keeled land turtles (Scientific name: Melanochelys tricarinata) and Indian star tortoises (Scientific name: Geochelone elegans) were being kept. 

 

Commercial trade in the Indian star tortoise was banned in 2019.

 

"The strategic location of Malaysia in Southeast Asia makes the country a hub for the smuggling of these exotic species", Abdul Kadir explained. The tortoises are illegally brought into Malaysia by road or in suitcases by smugglers aboard commercial flights. 

 

Traffic, a wildlife NGO, has previously said that Southeast Asian countries "function as source, consumer and as entrepots for wildlife originating from within the region as well as the rest of the world".

83 of the World’s 100 Worst Polluted Cities are in India

All but one of the 100 cities with the world’s worst air pollution last year were in Asia, according to the 2023 IQAir World Air Quality Report, with the climate crisis playing a pivotal role in bad air quality that is risking the health of billions of people worldwide. 

 

The vast majority of these cities – eighty-three – were in India and all exceeded the World Health Organization’s air quality guidelines by more than 10 times, according to the report by IQAir, which tracks air quality worldwide. The study looked specifically at fine particulate matter, or PM2.5, which is the tiniest pollutant but also the most dangerous. 

 

Only 9% of more than 7,800 cities analyzed globally recorded air quality that met WHO’s standard, which says average annual levels of PM2.5 should not exceed 5 micrograms per cubic meter. 

 

“We see that in every part of our lives that air pollution has an impact”, said IQAir Global CEO Frank Hammes. “And it typically, in some of the most polluted countries, is likely shaving off anywhere between three to six years of people’s lives. And then before that will lead to many years of suffering that are entirely preventable if there’s better air quality”. 

 

When inhaled, PM2.5 travels deep into lung tissue where it can enter the bloodstream. It comes from sources like the combustion of fossil fuels, dust storms and wildfires, and has been linked to asthma, heart and lung disease, cancer, and other respiratory illnesses, as well as cognitive impairment in children. 

 

Begusarai, a city of half a million people in northern India’s Bihar state, was the world’s most polluted city last year with an average annual PM2.5 concentration of 118.9 – 23 times the WHO guidelines. It was followed in the IQAir rankings by the Indian cities of Guwahati, Assam; Delhi; and Mullanpur, Punjab. Across India, 1.3 billion people, or 96% of the population, live with air quality seven times higher than WHO guidelines, according to the report. 

 

Central and South Asia were the worst performing regions globally, home to all four of the most polluted countries last year: Bangladesh, Pakistan, India and Tajikistan. South Asia is of particular concern, with 29 of the 30 most polluted cities in India, Pakistan or Bangladesh. The report ranked the major population centers of Lahore in 5th, New Delhi in 6th and Dhaka in 24th place. 

 

IQAir found that 92.5% of the 7,812 locations in 134 countries, regions, and territories where they analyzed average air quality last year exceeded WHO’s PM2.5 guidelines. 

 

Only 10 countries and territories had “healthy” air quality: Finland, Estonia, Puerto Rico, Australia, New Zealand, Bermuda, Grenada, Iceland, Mauritius and French Polynesia.

Forced Labor in Malaysia

Malaysia’s government and companies must address mounting allegations of workplace abuse of migrant laborers who fuel the country’s economy, or face risks to its export-reliant growth model. 

We no longer can afford to be in denial. FYI, we are known to be a perennial offender!

In the past two years, as far as I can ascertain, at least six Malaysian firms, including Top Glove, Supermax Corp Bhd, Smart Glove, Brightway Group, Sime Darby Plantation and FGV Holdings, have faced US import bans over allegations of forced labor. 

The country has for decades banked on migrant workers to power mainstay manufacturing and agriculture, becoming an integral part of the global supply chain for products as diverse as semiconductors, iPhone components, medical gloves and palm oil. But as the reliance on foreign labour increased, so have complaints of abusive working and living conditions for workers, who come mainly from Indonesia, Bangladesh and Nepal. 

It is claimed that the legal framework in Malaysia allows, and indeed sometimes insists on, practices which are on a collision course with the ILO 11 indicators of forced labor. 

Therefore, we must urgently scrutinize and rectify and strengthen our labor laws and enhance enforcement, while companies should invest to ensure better conditions for their workers. 

On Sunday, Liverpool were held to a frustrating 2-2 draw against Tottenham Hotspur. 

In fact, Spurs took the lead in the thirteenth minute – but Diogo Jota levelled with an outstanding header via Andrew Robertson's cross just twenty-two minutes later. Robertson then headed the Reds in front in the sixty-ninth minute, only for Spurs to even the score after a mistake by Alisson four minutes later in an open and frenetic game. 

Still, I think a blatant red card was missed in the first half and a nailed-on penalty wasn’t given. Anyway, I suppose, on balance, I’ll take a draw.

41 Million Cases

The Covid-19 pandemic is seething and raging – and the world has stacked up 41 million cases. And 1.1 million deaths. And still counting.

Spain and Argentina already crossed the 1 million mark, joining the US, India, Brazil and Russia to make it into the Top 6 of the world's worst-affected countries.

Also, Portugal became the forty-sixth country to have accumulated more than 100,000 cases. And collectively, all these countries account for 93.1% and 95.2% of worldwide cases and deaths respectively. 

Here’s a quick and easy guide to know if you have Covid-19 – the three symptoms to look out for:

 

• New and continuous cough – Coughing a lot for more than an hour, or having three or    more coughing episodes in 24 hours 
• Fever – A temperature above 37.8C 
• Change in smell or taste – Either you cannot taste or smell anything, or these senses are different to normal 

If you get just one of them, you should get a test. 

Public Health England say about 85% of people with coronavirus will have at least one symptom. 

Still, no need to get alarmed! Most people who get it recover from it!

40 Million Cases

Another milestone. 40 million coronavirus cases and 1.1 million deaths. Nope, no respite yet for the world. 

And most definitely, not the US! 

In fact, Michael Osterholm (right), a renowned infectious disease expert is giving Americans (except Donald Trump and his supporters) the fright of their lives when he told NBC’s “Meet the Press” Sunday that “the next six to 12 weeks are going to be the darkest of the entire pandemic”! 

“Vaccines will not become available in any meaningful way until early to [the] third quarter of next year. And even then, about half of the US population at this point is skeptical of even taking the vaccine”, said Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota. 

He also said something which is self-evident. He took issue with the fact that the country lacks a leading voice to guide the public – and that aggravates the problem. 

“We need somebody to start to articulate, ‘What is our long-term plan? How are we going to get there? Why are we asking people to sacrifice distancing? Why are we telling people if you really love your family, you won’t go home for Thanksgiving or Christmas and end up infecting mom or dad or grandpa and grandma.’ We don’t have that storytelling going on right now, and that’s every bit as important as the science itself”, he fretted. 

He should know better! 

And don’t expect anything to change if Trump wins a second term in November. It’ll be the same old, same old. In the unlikely event that Joe Biden triumphs, Covid-19 will be his first order of business as President – if he takes his job seriously, that is. 

If you don’t already know, the US has more than 8 million cases and nearly 225,000 deaths todate. Still, the No.1 country for coronavirus. Unchallenged.

On the global front, Guatemala makes it to the list – and with this addition, we now have 45 countries that have registered more than 100,000 cases. Combined, they account for 92.9% and 95.1% of the global caseload and fatalities respectively.

39 Million Cases

Covid-19 continues to rage out of control in much of the world.

According to www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/, it has now notched up 39,152,334 cases and 1,102,425 deaths as at today, 00:00 GMT.

Of the 44 countries that have recorded 100,000 cases or more, fifteen are in Asia, fourteen in Europe, twelve in the Americas and three in Africa. These countries collectively account for 92.7% of the global caseload. And 69.9% of coronavirus deaths worldwide.

 

Already, the World Health Organization have urged European governments "to step up" and take action as the continent passed a threshold of 1,000 deaths reported daily. Tough restrictions are "absolutely necessary" to save lives, WHO warned.

That is certainly a daunting and disquieting state of affairs for Europe because it is more than just getting sick from Covid-19, it's dying from the cursed pandemic that makes it so disturbing.

36 Million Cases

The coronavirus caseload has now passed 36 million – of particular concern is Europe which is witnessing a resurgence of infections. You should know that Europe is almost touching six million cases.

A total of forty-one countries have recorded more than 100,000 cases and their aggregations already account for 92.1% of the entire Covid-19 cases worldwide. Also, note that almost 30% (i.e. 12 countries) are from Europe.

 

The US President (left) on Wednesday, had in fact, declared that catching Covid-19 was a "blessing from God". I guess he is overjoyed because he can now depict himself as the man who vanquished the disease and emerged stronger, besides telling Americans not to be afraid. 

Donald Trump is right. We shouldn’t be afraid because even he survived. 

The latest Reuters-Ipsos poll, conducted October 02-06, found that 38% of adults approved of Trump's handling of the coronavirus, while 56% said they disapproved. Not that he cares anyway. 

And in the presidential race, it is interesting to note that opinion polls persist in showing Trump is down double digits, and his challenger, Joe Biden with sizeable leads in many swing states. 

I don't believe those polls. I happen to believe Trump will triumph, in spite of me having made known my feelings about him. After all, America deserves Donald Trump!

23 Million Cases

Covid-19 is still a serious threat.

It is continuing its spread across the world, with more than 23 million confirmed cases in 188 countries and territories. And at least 800,000 people have lost their lives. 

Cases are continuing to surge in many countries; even those which had apparent success in suppressing initial outbreaks are now seeing infections rise again – but there are also countries that are coping well.

 

Amongst the twelve worst-affected countries with confirmed cases – the list remains the same with the sole exception of the UK being displaced by Argentina. These 12 countries’ combined caseloads account for 73.5% of the world total.

19.5 Million Cases

Covid-19 is a ‘fast and furious’ pandemic! 

The total number of people who have contracted Covid-19 has edged past 19.5 million as at yesterday. There were 19 million cases on Thursday. Not to mention that around the world, more than 700,000 people have died. 

Six countries again broke records on Friday. 

Peru and Mexico both exceeded 460,000 cases. And Colombia and Spain are not far behind as they swept past 360,000 cases. Bangladesh reached 250,000 cases while Australia topped 20,000 cases. And on the same day too, Mexico mourned 50,000 dead.

 

For Malaysians who are out and about and still unsure where face masks must be worn: