Today’s edition is a quick post as I prep two pieces dropping after this one.
But, first, the usual baller round of ICYMIs this week:
🚀 The BIG update: Prices go up October 1. This is perhaps the best time to plug an annual or founding member subscription.
Deets here 👇🏽
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.
💡 The founding member tier is a sliding one, meaning it starts at US$60/year and you can raise it as high as you want — in case you want to give more, which I welcome anytime.
This article is inspired by Twistcode chief Nurazam Malim’s LinkedIn post quoting Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim: “Tell me what do you want me to do?”.
A frustrated national leader trying to make his policies work.
The semiconductor town hall last week was filled with industry veterans, many from the usual MNC suspects such as Intel and Infineon.
Nurazam’s post painted a farcical picture: a group of washed-up men and women pitching themselves instead of offering real solutions to the country’s lacklustre push in semiconductors and startups.
The problem — or rather, problems — stem from the fact that from top to toe, everyone in this space is in it for selfish reasons. That includes Anwar himself.