Today, the news media is a lethargic business with few investors keen to place advertisements, or at least contribute to keep online journalism afloat.

In turn, the media itself became the news, especially with the closure of The Malaysian Insider (TMI) at midnight yesterday. It joined KiniBiz, The Rakyat Post, The Ant Daily, FZ.com and ABN News, among others, that have either shut or downsized their operations.

The Edge Media Group, owner of TMI, has also been downsizing since its January announcement to staff that it is restructuring by streamlining operations and conducting layoffs.

Looking to hire a journalist? There are some 100 of them out there looking for jobs.

Added to the lack of fund inflow into the online news business is stricter enforcement by the authorities, as they rally around Premier Najib Razak, who is trying to fob off allegations over financial donations and mishandling of state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad.

According to independent watchdog Freedom House, Malaysia’s press status as of last year was “Not Free” and the organisation noted that self-censorship is common due to threats of legal action.

The Edge Media Group cited a lack of finances in shutting TMI.

“Despite the fact that TMI is one of the top three news portals based on traffic in Malaysia because of its courageous news reporting, it did not receive enough commercial support to keep it going,” group chief executive Ho Kay Tat said. Its announcement came two weeks after the government blocked the site for violating the Communications and Multimedia Act.

Ho said: “We will be letting go of all the 59 TMI staff and they will receive a severance package as required by law.”

In a separate statement, TMI editor Jahabar Sadiq said it had worked to “make all voices heard in this marketplace of ideas”.

Opposition MP Lim Kit Siang said the government is headed towards a “dark age” by blocking TMI and disregarding the country’s Multimedia Super Corridor pledge to ensure no censorship of the Internet.

The Malaysian Insider shut down

The Malaysian Insider (TMI) was updated for the final time last night, before powering down at midnight after an eight-year run that saw it become one of the best-read news sites in the politics-obsessed nation.

In June 2014, it was the marquee addition to what was The Edge Media Group’s brave expansion project. Ironically, the sudden closure of what has been a staple read for hundreds of thousands of politics junkies also marks the shocking pace at which Tong Kooi Ong’s media empire has shrunk since courting controversy with a slew of exposes on the government’s investment firm 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).

The Edge Media Group said in a statement that the shutdown of the site, which drew over a million unique visitors per month, came after it failed to “receive enough commercial support”.

“TEMG (The Edge Media Group) has incurred losses of around 10 million ringgit (US$2.42 million) in the 20 months since we acquired TMI in June 2014, and we are no longer in a position to keep it going,” said chief executive Ho Kay Tat.

Ho said three existing media players showed interest after The Edge made it known the website was for sale. TMI chief editor Jahabar Sadiq also led a management buyout.

But the fact that an agreement failed to be reached for what is Malaysia’s top free-to-read news website reflects deeper problems that have plagued The Edge’s operations in the past two years.

Ho cited “the recent problems TMI had with the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission” as the key stumbling block in negotiations which began even before the regulator ordered Malaysian Internet providers to cut off access to the website on February 25 due to the publishing of “unverified reports”.

The Straits Times understands that while many have been able to work around the block, the site lost about 20 per cent of its eyeballs but The Edge refused to budge on its asking price.

TMI’s closure comes just a fortnight shy of a year after Ho, Jahabar and three others were detained overnight over an article claiming that Malaysia’s nine rulers – influential heads of Islam in their respective states – had rejected a proposal to introduce Islamic criminal law, which the royals denied doing.

The Edge had also been running exposes on 1MDB’s controversial dealings. In July, Tong and Ho admitted to obtaining reams of stolen data from Swiss national Andre Xavier Justo, who was being held in Thailand for blackmailing his former employer PetroSaudi, an energy firm that was a joint venture partner with 1MDB.

But the revelation that hit Tong’s credibility was the admission that he never intended to pay Justo the promised US$2 million in exchange for about 400,000 pages of documents. The government swept in just days after, suspending The Edge’s printing licence on the grounds of national security.

By the time it overturned the decision in court two months later, the damage had been done. Other business titles had filled the void and advertisers began to view The Edge as toxic, in a market where government relations are all important.

In January, The Edge told its staff that it had to restructure due to headwinds expected across 2016/2017.

By then, some staff had already been asked to leave, its attempt at a regional magazine had failed, and the loss-making TMI had to be taken off its books.

This decision was taken at the 10th administrative review (POR 10), according to a notice of the International Trade Administration (ITA) on March 10.

The POR10 was requested on 51 Vietnamese shrimp exporters, including two mandatory respondents, Minh Phú Group and Sóc Trang Seafood JSC (Stapimex).

Mandatory respondents are exporters selected for individual investigation by the DOC as part of its countervailing duty review, whereas exporters that are not initially chosen for investigation but wish to participate, and are accepted by DOC, are voluntary respondents.

According to the preliminary results of the POR10, sales by Minh Phú Group and Stapimex to the US, the two mandatory respondents, were made below normal value, and, therefore, are subject to anti-dumping duties.

The duty on Minh Phú Group was initially set at 2.86 per cent, higher than the rate 1.39 per cent in POR9, while Stapimex was subject to a tariff at 4.78 per cent.

Anti-dumping duty on voluntary respondents was preliminarily established at 3.56 per cent, nearly four times higher than the official 0.91 per cent set in POR9.

The tariff on other Vietnamese firms, those exporters not examined as mandatory or voluntary respondents in the POR10, remains at 25.76 per cent, according to preliminary results.

The official duty at the POR 10 was scheduled to release in July.

In addition, in separate Federal Register notices published on March 1, the US Department of Commerce (DoC) and the US International Trade Commission (ITC) announced the initiation of Five-Year Sunset Reviews of the anti-dumping duty orders on certain frozen warm-water shrimps from Brazil, China, India, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Vietnam’s General Department of Customs said Vietnam’s export value of shrimp to the US in 2015 reduced 38.3 per cent year-on-year to US$657 million.

Minister Mustapa Mohamed said the committee would comprise representatives of ministries and government agencies involved in the trade agreement.

“The National Committee and subsidiary bodies will mirror the set-up of the TPP Joint Commission and subcommittees under the trade agreement.

“I will continue to engage with members of parliament in facilitating and monitoring the implementation of the TPP agreement,” Mustapa said in a statement Tuesday.

Following the signing of the TPP agreement on February 4, Malaysia as well as the other 11 member countries are currently completing domestic procedures to ratify the agreement.

In Malaysia, several laws will be amended concerning three main areas, the rules of origin, intellectual property rights and labour. The amendments will ensure the country is in a position to meet the obligations stipulated under the agreement.

Mustapa also said engagement with the local stakeholders will continue throughout the entire period before ratification.

“As part of our efforts to ensure engagement will continue during the implementation period, a separate Consultative Committee will also be formed.

“This committee will be made up of representatives from industry players, business chambers, small and medium enterprises, non-governmental organisations and various other local stakeholders,” he said.

“The role of this consultative committee will be crucial in gathering feedback and assessing the impact of the agreement implementation from time to time,” he added.

He said the government remains committed in ensuring that Malaysia will be able to take full advantage of the opportunities and mitigate the challenges that the agreement will bring.

“It is our hope that the formation of the committees will assist us in achieving such objectives,” he said.

Vice President of the LFTU Simoun Ounlasy described the seriousness of the situation when speaking to Vientiane Times last week, saying that many workers have been exploited by their employers in various ways.

“People are being forced to work longer hours than the time stipulated by law. Some employees do not receive the pay they anticipated in line with the amount of work they do,” Simoun said.

“Some employers have not increased the minimum wage for their workers after the government issued a decree stipulating a higher minimum wage.”

One resident of Vientiane who works in a shop selling imported goods told Vientiane Times her employer delayed paying her wages for 15 days, meaning that if she wants to quit the job within this period, she would not be paid for those days.

Simoun said workers can send letters of complaint or call their trade union to report any form of unfair treatment so that the union can report the issue to the government.

He said some companies didn’t allow their workers to have the legal number of holidays.

Many employers still refuse to cooperate with trade unions by allowing them to enrol members in companies or factories as they fear the unions could interfere with their business operations and reduce their profits.

“From now on we will submit a list of the names of companies where labour oppression is reported or companies that do not cooperate with trade unions to the government and other relevant sectors, in the hope that the law will be enforced,” Simoun said.

Under the law relating to trade unions, employers must allow the establishment of a trade union in their business within six months of starting operations, but many companies have ignored the ruling.

Simoun said there were many challenges in protecting workers’ rights given that trade unions have been established in only 30 percent of more than 124,870 private businesses and enterprises operated by Lao citizens and foreigners in the country.

At present, Laos has over 551,200 labourers, of whom many are unskilled or have few skills. About 70 percent of them work in the industrial sector.

However, trade unions have been established in all ministries, government agencies and departments as well as at the provincial, district and grassroots levels and have almost 210,420 members. There are over 7,200 trade union units at the grassroots level.

The inflow of foreign investment has contributed greatly to the growth of the country’s economy, but has posed a challenge for the LFTU in carrying out its work as some operators often try to cut costs by not paying their workers properly.

From running indoor vertical vegetable farms that grow crops in stacked layers, to raising fitter fish that are robust against aquatic diseases, farmers here are finding ways to overcome the limitations of traditional farming.

Sustenir Agriculture, for example, is an indoor farm which currently produces about 54 tonnes of vegetables a year – an output which its founders consider highly efficient for a 344 sq m space.

Grown in rolling racks less than 3m tall, the plants are packed tightly together, allowing for maximum light absorption. Their modular design means the racks can be moved around easily and the concept can be replicated elsewhere.

“Traditionally, when people look at vertical farms, they haven’t been looking at them from an urban standpoint,” said the farm’s co- founder Martin Lavoo.

“Especially if they are farms of gigantic size, most of them are placed in the outskirts of the city or in relatively rural areas. We wanted to look at how we can put this in the middle of the city – say, Raffles Place – delivering straight into the heart of demand.”

The farm’s controlled conditions also allow them to grow imported varieties such as the Tuscan kale. “This means a lower carbon footprint – we won’t have to air-freight them from the United States or Europe,” said the other co-founder of Sustenir Agriculture, Benjamin Swan.

Since 2014, the farm has been producing vegetables such as kale and arugula.

Sustenir is based in an industrial facility in Admiralty.

Its vegetables absorb light from LEDs and are tube-fed with nutrients while carbon dioxide comes through the air-conditioning ducts.

Before anyone can enter the area where plants are grown, they have to don a jumpsuit and take an air shower to remove dirt particles to ensure that the vegetables are not contaminated. They are grown at temperatures ranging from 14 to 22 degrees Celsius.

It takes about two weeks for the produce to grow before it is harvested – about half the time needed for outdoor farms to grow vegetables under normal conditions. It is then sold to restaurants.

While the vegetables sell for S$19 per kilogram – about 10 per cent more than it would cost businesses to buy from wholesalers – both Swan and Lavoo say the quality is worth the price.

“The usability of our product is actually much higher because ours contain less stalk than those you see in supermarkets, for instance,” said Swan, adding that their vegetables can stay fresh for up to two weeks as they are locally produced.

According to figures from the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) released last year, 10,848 tonnes of leafy vegetables consumed here in 2014 were produced locally – 12 per cent of Singapore’s total vegetable consumption that year. This was up from 7 per cent in 2010, meeting the AVA’s long- term target of 10 per cent.

Dr Jonatan A. Lassa, a Research Fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University, who researches food and environmental security issues, said that growing crops in a controlled environment can have several advantages, including a lower carbon footprint and less water wastage.

Both Swan, 35, who used to work as a regional project manager for Citibank, and Lavoo, 29, a former regional sales manager, said the concept of sustainability encouraged them to set up Sustenir Agriculture.

Half of the company’s 688 sq m facility is currently unused and there are plans to grow spinach and strawberries.

“The beauty of vertical farming is that the multiple is infinite,” said Lavoo. “We can go as many storeys up as we like. The sky is literally the limit.”

According to the agency, there are about 200 Thai projects in such industries, with combined investment of US$7 billion or 88 per cent of Thailand’s total investment in Vietnam.

These sectors are followed by agriculture, forestry and seafood sectors, which have 31 projects worth $235 million. The rest are in retail and construction sectors.

As the end of February this year, Thai businesses had invested in 428 projects in the country, with a total investment capital of $7.88 billion, ranking 11th among countries and territories that have invested the largest capital in Vietnam.

A Thai project was worth $18.4 million on average, about $14 million more than the average value of a foreign investment project in the country.

The southern Ba Ria – Vung Tau Province attracted the highest number of foreign direct investment projects from Thailand, worth $3.77 billion. It’s followed by the northern Vinh Phuc Province with projects worth $744 million and the southern Binh Duong Province with $513.4 million.

The statistics also showed that Thai joint venture investments comprised 70 per cent of Thailand’s registered investment in Vietnam, worth $5.5 billion.

Vietnam has become a favourite destination of many Thai billionaires in recent years, with many large projects and merger and acquisition transactions taking place in retail and consumption areas.

These include Thai company Berli Jucker’s (BJC’s) purchase of Metro Cash & Carry Viet Nam for more than $870 million; and Power Buy, a subsidiary of the Central Group of Thai billionaire Chirathivat, also acquired a 49 per cent share in New Solution and Technology Development Company NKT, the owner of Viet Nam’s leading retailer Nguyen Kim Trading JSC.

The framework was established by BNM and BOT to promote the use of Malaysian ringgit and Thai baht between Malaysia and Thailand to settle cross-border trade and direct investments.

This is the first bilateral currency settlement framework within Asean, with the aim of providing an alternative settlement framework for the US$22 billion trade between Malaysia and Thailand.

The framework would benefit businesses by reducing the risks associated with the volatility of global settlement currencies as well as lowering transaction costs.

CIMB Group chief executive Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Aziz said: “We are honoured to be part of this inaugural bilateral currency settlement framework within Aseanand to be among the first banks in the region to offer the direct settlement of ringgit and Baht. This is indeed a milestone to boost investment development and foster closer economic ties between the two countries.”

“This appointment is a validation of CIMB’s value proposition as a leading Asean universal bank, through our strong network in both countries, represented by 298 branches in Malaysia and 123 branches in Thailand. As such, we are well positioned to support the myriad of business needs of our customers and facilitate the currency cooperation effort. We look forward to participate in future cross currency arrangements with the other Asean countries in the future”, he said in a statement on Monday.

“Despite the fact that TMI is one of the top three news portals based on traffic in Malaysia, it did not receive enough commercial support to keep it going,” said group chief executive officer and publisher The Edge Communications Ho Kay Tat in a statement on Monday.

“In the 20 months since acquiring TMI in June 2014, TEMG has incurred losses of around 10 million ringgit (US$2.44 million) and we are no longer in a position to keep it going,” he said.

After announcing that TEMG would be disposing off TMI as part of a restructuring exercise, TEMG was approached by three external parties of whom all had existing media businesses and also an offer for a management buy-out (MBO).

“Unfortunately, we were unable to reach an agreement with any of the external parties as well as for the MBO to take place,” he said.

“We believe the recent problems TMI had with The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) had made it more difficult for a sale to be concluded even though discussions had started before that,” he added.

The whole TMI staff which consist of 59 people will be let go and will receive a severance package as required by law.

“The closure of TMI should serve as a reminder to those of us in the media industry as well as the public at large that good journalism cannot be sustained without commercial support. When good journalism stops, society is the loser,” he said.

Textiles and clothing remained the largest imported commodities from Laos making up 63 percent of total imports, growing by 8.1 percent, according to an EU report.

Coffee, the second largest import from Laos, accounted for 10.6 percent of total imports increasing by 33.3 percent, while sugar made up 4.8 percent of total exports from Laos experiencing unusually strong growth of 513.4 percent.

The large percentage increase in sugar exports was most likely due to it coming from a low base compared to the same period in year 2014.

The increase in Laos’ exports to the EU market could be linked to several factories in the Savan-Seno special economic zone in Savannakhet province beginning to export their products.

In the meantime, the EU’s total exports to Laos for the same period stood at 88.1 million euros, significantly decreasing by 36.1 percent.

The decrease may be linked to Laos becoming more regionally and globally integrated, with the nation sourcing products from more markets around the world.

Most of the key exports to Laos experienced moderate to sharp declines, including machinery, gems and jewellery, precious metals, pharmaceutical products, malt, starches, insulin, wheat gluten, electrical machinery and equipment. However, automotive parts, which represent 6.5 percent of EU exports to Laos, continued to enjoy robust growth of 107.7 percent.

Overall, the EU’s trade deficit with Laos widened to 186.4 million euros (from 133.2 million euros for the same period last year). The EU is the fourth largest investor in Laos after China, Thailand and Vietnam.

The EU works closely with Laos under the framework of the EU-Asean Cooperation Agreement to ensure an effective environment for trade and investment relations.

As a Least Developed Country, Laos benefits from the most favourable regime available under the EU’s Generalised Scheme of Preferences, namely the Everything But Arms scheme.

The Everything But Arms scheme gives the 48 Least Developed Countries – including Laos – duty free access to the EU for exports of all products, except arms and ammunition.

The EU is committed to fair trade and open markets. It is the world’s largest trading partner and the main destination for exports from 130 countries worldwide. It therefore has a strong interest in creating conditions in which trade can prosper.

Facilitating trade is also an important part of the EU’s strategy to foster development and reduce poverty.

The EU cooperation also helps Laos develop its trade policy and capacity so as to maximise economic development and poverty reduction as well as to integrate into the world economy.

Trade cooperation in this regard aims at improving market access on a preferential basis and assisting the beneficiary country in improving the structures and means of exploiting this ma rket access.

Prime Minister Najib Razak is leaning heavily on two of his allies in government, a move close advisers say is part of a wider campaign by the premier to quell a months-long revolt against his administration among powerful sections of the civil service.

Dr Zeti, 68, is set to retire at the end of next month after heading the central bank for 16 years.

For the moment, close aides to the premier say that the toss-up is between former assistant central bank governor Awang Adek Hussin, who is now Malaysia’s ambassador to the United States, and Abdul Wahid Omar, who is minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of economic affairs.

A third person in the running for the post is the current deputy governor, Muhammad Ibrahim, who is the central bank’s preferred internal candidate.

Government officials say how the premier deals with the succession at Bank Negara Malaysia will provide clues on how he intends to instil greater discipline and loyalty among the roughly 1.6 million civil servants who have long been a key support base for the ruling Umno, which is the linchpin of the Barisan Nasional government.

The developments are also being closely watched because they represent part of Najib’s campaign to consolidate power after nearly being forced out of office in late July last year.

He successfully turned the tables on his political foes by seizing on the raw power of an incumbent premier in Malaysia. In rapid succession last July, he sacked his No. 2, Muhyiddin Yassin, from the Cabinet, and replaced Abdul Gani Patail, the country’s long-serving attorney-general.

Najib’s position today is unassailable. Just days ago, he demonstrated his widening political clout by removing political strongman Mahathir Mohamad, who has been heading the campaign against him, of the prestigious post as adviser of national oil corporation Petronas.

Last Saturday, the chiefs of 148 Umno divisions – more than three-quarters its 191 divisions – declared their loyalty to Najib. They condemned Dr Mahathir for working with opposition leaders in the Save Malaysia campaign to topple Najib.

But Najib, who also holds the finance minister portfolio, has moved very cautiously with Bank Negara.

“The PM believes that it is not about personalities but the institution,” said a Finance Ministry official.

Relations between the Najib administration and the Zeti-run central bank have been less than cordial over the past one year, largely because of the financial debacle at state-owned 1Malaysia Development Berhad and the controversy surrounding the flow of about US$700 million into the premier’s personal accounts in October 2013.

Close aides to Najib say that he has been upset with Bank Negara for failing to come to the government’s defence to clear up the issue of the deposits into his account, especially when the flows of such large amounts of funds would have required the necessary approvals from the central bank.

Bank Negara was one of the government agencies that was later roped in to probe the 1MDB fund flows.

The 68-year-old Zeti enjoys a strong following in the international investment community for her steady stewardship of the Malaysian banking system and monetary policy, which have been crucial in ensuring a stable domestic economy.

The financial markets will be looking for a replacement that will continue that tradition.

For some time, the well-spoken and media-savvy Awang – who has a PhD in economics from Zeti’s alma mater, the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School – has been the front runner for the job. But close aides to the premier say that Awang had indicated last month that he would prefer to stay out of the race.

“You cannot say ’no’ to the PM and, at this point, he is the preferred choice,” said a government official who is familiar with Najib’s plans for top-level changes at the civil service.

Dr Awang is considered to be a very close ally of Najib.

Proponents of Dr Awang’s appointment say that his stint as ambassador to the US has made him a known entity with the international financial and diplomatic community. He also worked at Bank Negara for over a decade from 1985, handling banking supervision before becoming an assistant governor. “Awang knows the culture (at Bank Negara) and he is considered one of them,” said a senior aide to the premier.

With Awang less than enthusiastic for the job, Najib’s close aides say that former bankerAbdul Wahid has emerged as a back-up candidate.

Abdul Wahid, who at one-time served as the chief executive officer of Maybank, the country’s largest financial institution, also enjoys high regard among the international investing community. The only drawback with Abdul Wahid is that he has little experience in monetary policy, say bankers.

Close aides to the premier say that Muhammad Ibrahim, who is Bank Negara’s preferred candidate to replace Zeti, is in the shortlist because Najib is concerned about reactions from the international community.

“Bottom line, the PM will decide on who he thinks will be a set of safe hands and make sure that the thinking at Bank Negara is in line with his administration,” said a senior government official close to Najib.