US President Donald Trump’s decision to impose tariffs on imports from all countries has sparked concerns about the future of the low-carbon energy transition, as products such as solar panels, battery storage and electric vehicles (EVs) rely heavily on global supply chains.

The global clean energy supply chain

This year marks the 60th anniversary of bilateral relations between Malaysia and Singapore. Since the latter separated from the Federation of Malaya on Aug 9, 1965, trade, investment and tourism between the two countries have remained robust.

Six decades of strong ties between Malaysia and Singapore

The year 2024 marked the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Malaysia and the People’s Republic of China. In 1974, then prime minister Tun Abdul Razak Hussein cemented an official diplomatic relationship during a visit to Peking (now Beijing).

Ushering in another 50 golden years in Malaysia-China relations

Malaysian exports to the US were meant to be hit with a 24% tariff, effective April 9. Certain goods, such as semiconductors, were to be exempted. This was part of US President Donald Trump’s sweeping trade policy targeting countries that the US has large trade deficits with.

How much does Malaysia trade with the US?

There has been a noticeable shift within Malaysian organisations, where human resources grievances reported through whistleblowing channels have risen, says Deloitte’s 2024 Conduct Watch Survey Report: A Malaysian Perspective. It reflects employees’ growing awareness and confidence in raising workplace concerns.

Whistleblowing: Speaking up is becoming more accepted

Five years have passed since the World Health Organization (WHO) declared Covid-19 a global pandemic, marking the start of one of the most devastating health crises in modern history. The virus, which may have originated from bats in Wuhan, China, quickly spread worldwide, causing millions of deaths and overwhelming healthcare systems.

Special Report: The pandemic in numbers

According to CPA Australia’s annual Asia-Pacific Small Business Survey, which polled 4,222 small businesses and senior managers from organisations with fewer than 20 employees across the Asia-Pacific region, results from the 308 Malaysian respondents showed that increased technology adoption has been fuelling strong expansion for the nation’s small businesses. Notably, 71% of them reported growth in 2024 — the highest in more than a decade. The results also reflected that confidence in Malaysia has been equally strong, with 81% of small businesses anticipating that the economy will grow in 2025, well above Asia-Pacific’s average of 67%.

Tech-savvy malaysian small businesses most confident in over a decade

The rapid growth of deepfake technology has rapidly given rise to numerous identity fraud cyberthreats, making them more accessible to fraudsters. Traditional security approaches are no longer sufficient to keep up with these evolving threats, according to iProov’s annual report titled “Threat Intelligence Report 2025: Remote Identity Under Attack”.

Identity fraud is a growing concern

According to data from the Road Transport Department (JPJ) Malaysia (as at Jan 31, 2025), electric vehicle (EV) registrations reached a record high of 28,048 in 2024 (50% of which were cars, including jeeps and trucks), representing 10.76% of total vehicle registrations for the year.

Number of EV users rising in Malaysia

Advancements in technology and the rise of  digital platforms have led to the exponential increase in independent workers or self-employed individuals who do not hold full-time jobs.

The rise of the gig economy

The prevalence of illicit cigarettes in Malaysia fell for a fourth consecutive year to 55% in 2024, from 55.6% in 2023. JT International Bhd (JTI Malaysia) managing director Juliana Mohd Yahaya attributed the decline to law enforcement efforts in curbing illegal tobacco smuggling and a ban on the trans-shipment of tobacco products.

Malaysia’s illicit cigarette trade down for fourth straight year

Bank Negara Malaysia, via the Financial Education Network (FEN), has issued the Discussion Paper on the Proposed Features of Malaysia’s Second National Strategy for Financial Literacy (2026-2030).

Improved financial literacy not translating sufficiently into good behaviour and attitude

Why women need to save more than men

The entry of China’s DeepSeek, which launched the DeepSeek-V3 artificial intelligence (AI) model in December and the DeepSeek-R1 reasoning model on Jan 20, has been described as a “Sputnik moment”. We look at the better-known generative AI models in the market, and how they compare.

Getting to know GEN AI players

US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy will talk again on Saturday after speaking at the Vatican as the US leader presses for a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia.

Trump, Zelenskiy to hold more talks on Saturday in peace plan push

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attended a ceremony for the launch of a "new multipurpose destroyer", state media KCNA reported on Saturday.

North Korea unveils new 'Kim Jong Un style' 5,000-tonne warship

Voting for the Ayer Kuning state by-election officially ended after all polling centres closed at 6pm on Saturday.

Ayer Kuning state by-election: Voting ends at 6pm

EDGE WEEKLY: Taking flight

PKR vice-president Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad confirmed he had sent a protest letter to the party’s Central Election Committee (JPP) regarding several issues related to the Setiawangsa division head election results.

Nik Nazmi sends protest letter to PKR committee over Setiawangsa divisional election results

A US judge has set a May 2 hearing to discuss remedies the US Justice Department and a group of states might ask the court to impose on Google after it ruled the Alphabet unit illegally dominates two markets for online advertising technology.

US judge sets May 2 hearing to discuss remedies in Google digital ads lawsuit

ByteDance, the Chinese parent company of TikTok, is weighing a major investment in a data centre in Brazil, three people familiar with the matter told Reuters, tapping abundant wind energy on the country's northeast coast.

TikTok owner could invest in data centre in Brazil — Reuters

Ukraine is experiencing major outages in payments, banking and online services, local media and providers reported on Saturday.

Ukraine seeing major outages in banking and online services

Reference is made to the publication in The Edge of an article entitled “Maybank CFO’s sacking-the allegations and rebuttals” of April 28, 2025.

Maybank: Information in The Edge article on CFO dismissal incomplete

The Health Ministry (MOH) is closely monitoring two key issues following the tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump, particularly those affecting medical devices and pharmaceutical products.

MOH closely monitoring new US tariffs, focusing on medical devices, pharmaceutical products

Reference is made to the publication in The Edge of an article entitled “Maybank CFO’s sacking-the allegations and rebuttals” of April 28, 2025.

US President Donald Trump suggested another delay to his higher so-called “reciprocal” tariffs is unlikely, raising pressure on nations to negotiate trade deals with his administration.

Trump doubtful on another tariff pause, wants China concessions

For a small domestic-focused bank, Alliance Bank Malaysia Bhd (KL:ABMB) has managed to rack up admirable growth in the last two years by playing to its strategy of doubling down on small and medium enterprises (SMEs) — its niche business — while firing up the consumer and corporate banking businesses that had been lagging.

Can Alliance Bank keep up its strong growth momentum?

US Federal Reserve (Fed) chair Jerome Powell used a gathering of finance chiefs from around the world to stress that central banks must be shielded from politics to ensure they can focus on keeping inflation stable and employment high, according to people who listened to his remarks.

Defying Trump, Powell said to tell world's finance chiefs 'central banks must be shielded from politics'

A shipment&nbsp;of Malaysian palm oil from Sabah totalling 100,000 tonnes entered the storage depot at the Port of Liverpool, England, on April 5, said Malaysian High Commissioner to the UK and Northern Ireland&nbsp;Datuk Zakri Jaafar.

CPTPP: Consignment of Malaysian palm oil totalling 100,000 tonnes enters UK tariff-free

Finance Minister II&nbsp;Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan said Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) takes a measured approach in managing the overnight policy rate (OPR), describing it as a powerful policy instrument that should be used only when circumstances warrant&nbsp;it.

BNM'S OPR decisions based on measured approach, not pre-emptive, says Amir Hamzah

US President Donald Trump said he would “absolutely” sign a bill banning congressional stock trading, saying he is concerned lawmakers could be using insider information for an advantage.

Trump says he would 'absolutely' sign bill banning congressional stock trades

Voting for the Ayer Kuning state by-election officially ended after all polling centres&nbsp;closed at 6pm on Saturday.

Most stock indices climbed on Friday, with Wall Street buoyed by technology-related shares, while the dollar had its first weekly rise in over a month as investors searched for signs that the US-China trade war may be easing.

Stocks rise with tech-related shares, notch weekly gains; dollar up

Citadel founder Ken Griffin extended his&nbsp;criticism&nbsp;of the Trump administration’s trade policy, saying that tariffs won’t bring back American manufacturing jobs the way that the US president anticipates, and the country should play to its strengths instead.&nbsp;

Citadel founder criticises Trump tariffs: 'These jobs are not coming back’ 

Elon Musk’s xAI Holdings is in talks with investors to raise roughly US$20 billion (RM87.48 billion) in funding for his newly combined artificial intelligence (AI) start-up and social media business, according to people familiar with the matter.&nbsp;

Musk’s xAI Holdings in talks to raise US$20b, Bloomberg reports

Malaysia seeks to maintain&nbsp;good ties with the US, said&nbsp;Finance Minister II&nbsp;Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan.

“Malaysia has always been a good economic partner to the US. That's why the US has always been among Malaysia's highest foreign investors.

Amir Hamzah: Malaysia seeks to maintain good ties with US

As Malaysia’s growth forecast is being revised downward in reflection of&nbsp;a broader global trend, Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan&nbsp;is&nbsp;emphasising&nbsp;the importance of not being overly fixated on growth figures.&nbsp;

Malaysia won't be fixated on growth forecasts but will focus on building resilience — Amir Hamzah

US President Donald Trump’s administration is putting pressure on Europe to ditch a rulebook that would compel developers of advanced artificial intelligence (AI) to follow stricter standards of transparency, risk-mitigation and copyright rules.

Trump administration pressures Europe to ditch AI rulebook

There will be road closures and diversions around the Bukit Jalil National Stadium from 2pm on Saturday, in conjunction with the 2024-2025 Malaysia Cup final between Johor Darul Ta'zim and Sri Pahang FC.

Road closures, diversions for Malaysia Cup final

Google is the only company that can offer the level of features and functionality that its popular Chrome web browser has today, given its “interdependencies” on other parts of the Alphabet Inc&nbsp;unit, the head of Chrome testified.&nbsp;

Only Google can run Chrome, company’s browser chief tells judge

Royalty, presidents, prime ministers and a legion of faithful arrived in St&nbsp;Peter's Square on Saturday to pay their last respects to&nbsp;Pope&nbsp;Francis&nbsp;at a&nbsp;funeral mass&nbsp;to honour his sometimes turbulent papacy.

Royalty and presidents join multitude of mourners at Pope Francis' funeral

China’s DiDi Global Inc&nbsp;is quietly recruiting new drivers in Hong Kong as it looks to grow outside of mainland China.

The move sets the Chinese ride-hailing pioneer up for close competition with Uber Technologies Inc&nbsp;in a financial hub where regulations governing the sector are still in flux, providing a window for rivals to win market share. DiDi has been offering limited taxi services in Hong Kong for some time, but lacks a ride-share option.

China’s DiDi recruits ride-hailing drivers in Hong Kong push

A Jeff Bezos-backed start-up aims to appeal to American car buyers’ patriotism and pocketbooks.&nbsp;

Bezos-backed start-up launches cheap, US-made electric pickup

The Asean&nbsp;Power Grid (APG) is a pillar that can strengthen&nbsp;cooperation among&nbsp;the bloc’s member states, according to Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof.

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