Almost nine in 10 Malaysians are already using AI in some form, one of the highest adoption rates in the region. But while excitement is high, trust is still catching up. We speak with Dr Ieva Martinkenaite, Senior Vice President and Head of AI at Telenor Group, about what makes Malaysia’s AI moment unique, why issues like fairness, data, and accountability matter more than ever, and what’s really at stake if we fail to get responsible AI right.

Almost nine in 10 Malaysians are already using AI in some form, one of the highest adoption rates in the region. But while excitement is high, trust is still catching up. We speak with Dr Ieva Martinkenaite, Senior Vice President and Head of AI at Telenor Group, about what makes Malaysia’s AI moment unique, why issues like fairness, data, and accountability matter more than ever, and what’s really at stake if we fail to get responsible AI right.

Helping you navigate the ever-changing universe of business, from headlines to the bottom line

Helping you navigate the ever-changing universe of business, from headlines to the bottom line

Enterprise Explores

Building Trust in Malaysia’s AI Future

Is the return of GST really the silver bullet for Malaysia's fiscal deficit and cascading business costs? Dr. Veerinderjeet Singh, Senior Advisor on Tax Policy at KPMG in Malaysia, debunks GST & SST myths.



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The RM50+ Billion Math: Why reintroducing GST at a low 3% or 4% rate is "suicide" for the fiscal deficit, and how the expanded SST is already outperforming historical GST revenues.


The GST Breakdown: Why the 2015 GST implementation failed, from crippling government refund delays to intense political pushback.


Solving the Cascading Tax: How the current SST relies on targeted B2B exemptions to prevent the "tax-on-tax" compounding effect across the manufacturing supply chain, and why enforcing it is still a work in progress.


Exemptions vs. Refunds: Why the current SST's reliance on business exemptions is operationally superior to the GST's cash-draining refund mechanism.


The E-Invoicing Evolution: How the ongoing rollout of e-invoicing will effectively replicate the auditable paper trail that made GST so appealing to authorities.


The Ultimate Tax Road Map: Dr. Veerinderjeet’s proposal to merge the currently separate Sales Tax and Service Tax acts into a single, aligned-rate legislation to ensure policy continuity for the corporate sector.

Is the return of GST really the silver bullet for Malaysia's fiscal deficit and cascading business costs? Dr. Veerinderjeet Singh, Senior Advisor on Tax Policy at KPMG in Malaysia, debunks GST &amp; SST myths.Learn More About:<ul><li>The RM50+ Billion Math: Why reintroducing GST at a low 3% or 4% rate is "suicide" for the fiscal deficit, and how the expanded SST is already outperforming historical GST revenues.</li><li>The GST Breakdown: Why the 2015 GST implementation failed, from crippling government refund delays to intense political pushback.</li><li>Solving the Cascading Tax: How the current SST relies on targeted B2B exemptions to prevent the "tax-on-tax" compounding effect across the manufacturing supply chain, and why enforcing it is still a work in progress.</li><li>Exemptions vs. Refunds: Why the current SST's reliance on business exemptions is operationally superior to the GST's cash-draining refund mechanism.</li><li>The E-Invoicing Evolution: How the ongoing rollout of e-invoicing will effectively replicate the auditable paper trail that made GST so appealing to authorities.</li><li>The Ultimate Tax Road Map: Dr. Veerinderjeet’s proposal to merge the currently separate Sales Tax and Service Tax acts into a single, aligned-rate legislation to ensure policy continuity for the corporate sector.</li></ul>

Forget GST. Refine SST. Aim for a Single Rate

Is the EPF's 6.15% dividend good enough? While the recent payout drew mixed reactions, the real crisis isn't the percentage, it's the dangerous over-reliance on a single pillar to fund decades of post-work life.



For generations, Malaysians have leaned heavily on the EPF as their primary retirement strategy. But as the ringgit fluctuates against the US dollar and global markets shift, generating outsized returns from overseas investments is becoming increasingly complex. 



To provide a harsh but necessary reality check on retirement adequacy, Rajen Devadason, Licensed Financial Planner with Manulife Investment Management (Malaysia), unpacks why the 6.15% yield is mathematically stronger than it looks, how to define your personal "enough" (ranging anywhere from RM500,000 to RM20 million), and the concrete blueprint required to build true financial freedom beyond the EPF.



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The 6.15% Verdict: Why EPF's dividend is stronger than it looks.


The Account 3 Trap: Why Rajen calls the suggestion to funnel all dividends into the flexible EPF Account 3 "monumentally asinine" and a major threat to long-term wealth.


Capital Preservation vs. Liquidation: The stark realities of retirement funding, and why the common strategy of draining your capital until your final day is a terrifying way to live.


The 5-Element Blueprint: A breakdown of Rajen's framework for financial freedom, featuring a "portfolio barbell" strategy designed to balance high-risk capital gains with reliable passive income streams.


Personal Inflation & Stagflation: Why the official national CPI likely doesn't reflect your real cost of living, and how rising energy costs from geopolitical conflicts could trigger a brief period of economic stagflation.

Is the EPF's 6.15% dividend good enough? While the recent payout drew mixed reactions, the real crisis isn't the percentage, it's the dangerous over-reliance on a single pillar to fund decades of post-work life.For generations, Malaysians have leaned heavily on the EPF as their primary retirement strategy. But as the ringgit fluctuates against the US dollar and global markets shift, generating outsized returns from overseas investments is becoming increasingly complex.&nbsp;To provide a harsh but necessary reality check on retirement adequacy, Rajen Devadason, Licensed Financial Planner with Manulife Investment Management (Malaysia), unpacks why the 6.15% yield is mathematically stronger than it looks, how to define your personal "enough" (ranging anywhere from RM500,000 to RM20 million), and the concrete blueprint required to build true financial freedom beyond the EPF.Learn More About:<ul><li>The 6.15% Verdict: Why EPF's dividend is stronger than it looks.</li><li>The Account 3 Trap: Why Rajen calls the suggestion to funnel all dividends into the flexible EPF Account 3 "monumentally asinine" and a major threat to long-term wealth.</li><li>Capital Preservation vs. Liquidation: The stark realities of retirement funding, and why the common strategy of draining your capital until your final day is a terrifying way to live.</li><li>The 5-Element Blueprint: A breakdown of Rajen's framework for financial freedom, featuring a "portfolio barbell" strategy designed to balance high-risk capital gains with reliable passive income streams.</li><li>Personal Inflation &amp; Stagflation: Why the official national CPI likely doesn't reflect your real cost of living, and how rising energy costs from geopolitical conflicts could trigger a brief period of economic stagflation.</li></ul>

EPF’s 6.15%, The Account 3 Trap & Retirement Mistakes

Is Southeast Asia's venture capital slowdown a crisis, or a necessary calibration? Kevin Brockland, Managing Partner at Indelible Ventures, joins us to unpack the desperately needed reset across the LP, VC, and startup funding chain. We discuss the region's historic lack of cash returns, the truth behind the "AI hype bubble," and why vertical integration is the true key to building defensible tech companies in the next cycle.



During the previous boom cycle, the region's venture ecosystem was fueled by overexuberance, "spray and pray" capital deployment, and a heavy reliance on copy-pasted Silicon Valley playbooks. This strategy ultimately led to a landscape plagued by overstated revenues, inflated paper valuations, and a severe lack of Distribution to Paid-In Capital (DPI) for investors.



Today, Southeast Asia is facing a harsh but necessary reality check. With a visible slowdown in fundraising momentum and increasingly selective LPs, the entire ecosystem must grow up. To unlock the next wave of durable value creation, founders and fund managers must abandon generic tech wrappers and instead focus on addressing the real efficiency layers and deep vertical workflows of traditional businesses.



We discuss:




The VC Reset: Why the funding chain, from LPs to VCs to startups, needs a harsh reality check to correct the overstated revenues and inflated paper valuations of the previous cycle.


The Missing Middle: The concerning lack of new fund managers in the region, and why fresh strategies are desperately needed to fix Southeast Asia's historically poor VC return outcomes.


Escaping the AI Bubble: Why founders need to stop pitching "AI agents" to business owners who only care about revenue, profit, and solving operational friction.


The "SaaS Apocalypse": Why the narrative of AI destroying all software is overblown, but why generic, horizontal SaaS layers are in severe danger of commoditisation.


The Vertical Moat: How the next durable wave of value creation in Southeast Asia will come from vertical AI/SaaS companies that deeply integrate into highly nuanced industry workflows to create ultimate customer stickiness.

Is Southeast Asia's venture capital slowdown a crisis, or a necessary calibration? Kevin Brockland, Managing Partner at Indelible Ventures, joins us to unpack the desperately needed reset across the LP, VC, and startup funding chain. We discuss the region's historic lack of cash returns, the truth behind the "AI hype bubble," and why vertical integration is the true key to building defensible tech companies in the next cycle.During the previous boom cycle, the region's venture ecosystem was fueled by overexuberance, "spray and pray" capital deployment, and a heavy reliance on copy-pasted Silicon Valley playbooks. This strategy ultimately led to a landscape plagued by overstated revenues, inflated paper valuations, and a severe lack of Distribution to Paid-In Capital (DPI) for investors.Today, Southeast Asia is facing a harsh but necessary reality check. With a visible slowdown in fundraising momentum and increasingly selective LPs, the entire ecosystem must grow up. To unlock the next wave of durable value creation, founders and fund managers must abandon generic tech wrappers and instead focus on addressing the real efficiency layers and deep vertical workflows of traditional businesses.We discuss:<ul><li>The VC Reset: Why the funding chain, from LPs to VCs to startups, needs a harsh reality check to correct the overstated revenues and inflated paper valuations of the previous cycle.</li><li>The Missing Middle: The concerning lack of new fund managers in the region, and why fresh strategies are desperately needed to fix Southeast Asia's historically poor VC return outcomes.</li><li>Escaping the AI Bubble: Why founders need to stop pitching "AI agents" to business owners who only care about revenue, profit, and solving operational friction.</li><li>The "SaaS Apocalypse": Why the narrative of AI destroying all software is overblown, but why generic, horizontal SaaS layers are in severe danger of commoditisation.</li><li>The Vertical Moat: How the next durable wave of value creation in Southeast Asia will come from vertical AI/SaaS companies that deeply integrate into highly nuanced industry workflows to create ultimate customer stickiness.</li></ul>

Building Trust in Malaysia’s AI Future

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