DOGE, digital ID and taxman tales
An “unorthodox” midweek bureaucratic wrap.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has been asked by his own officials to ease the rhetoric on the Israel-Hamas war to avoid provoking US president Donald Trump, Bloomberg reported yesterday.
Malaysian authorities fear that Trump's threats to impose tariffs — potentially as high as 25% on key exports like automobiles, semiconductors, and pharmaceuticals — could harm the nation’s export-driven economy, especially its growing semiconductor and AI data centre sectors, according to the newswire’s sources.
I guess, Anwar’s officials have finally told the PM to cut the performative crap. The PM has been quite mellow these days, channelling his energy to humanitarian efforts such as a proposed fund with Japan for Gaza’s reconstruction.
Some foreign affairs folk I spoke to hope he’d heed the advice and lay low. But Anwar has a penchant for theatrics and isn’t one to listen to anyone but himself.
Well, our chances of getting on the Trump administration’s good side now rests on the shoulders of Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Zafrul Aziz, who’s planning a US visit to discuss trade and investments.
Zafrul, however, is expected to not make significant inroads. Malaysia has not done much to engage Trump. Exciting times ahead, everyone.
You’re reading a paid version of The Malaysianist, a newsletter on money and power by writer and journalist Emmanuel Samarathisa.
I run monthly and annual subscriptions. There’s also the atas or founding member tier where you get all the perks of an annual subscription and more, such as an annual or founder’s report and insight into how this little corner of the internet fared throughout the year.
Group subscriptions are on the table, if you’re mulling over purchases for your organisation or for family members.
All about the civil service today. Let’s start with our own quirky version of DOGE or the Department of Government Efficiency.
Unlike where it originally came from – the US – this one’s purely a government initiative, without the itchy fingers of a billionaire (hint: Elon Musk).
It’s called the Secretariat for the Rationalisation of Federal Statutory Bodies. A mouthful for sure. But the agency, tasked with streamlining government agencies, has presented a report to Cabinet with recommendations.
We’re not sure of all the outcomes. But government agencies could no longer establish companies without approval from “the highest level because thousands of these companies are incurring huge losses,” PM Anwar told civil servants two weeks ago, when briefing them about the secretariat.