BFM 89.9

HIGHLIGHTS 
Podcast  >  Evening Edition  >  Top 5 At 5  >  Top 5 at 5: Trump’s Trade War Begins—Are We Ready?

Top 5 at 5: Trump’s Trade War Begins—Are We Ready?

Arividya Arimuthu, Senior Fellow, ISIS Malaysia

03-Feb-25 17:00

Top 5 at 5: Trump’s Trade War Begins—Are We Ready?

President Trump has imposed steep new tariffs—25% on Canadian and Mexican imports and 10% on Chinese goods—igniting fresh trade tensions. As global markets brace for impact, Arividya Arimuthu, Senior Fellow at ISIS Malaysia, unpacks what this means for the economy and whether the world is prepared.

Other stories we covered:

• The Hague Group unites against Israel's war on Palestinians: A new international alliance brings nine Global South nations, including Malaysia, together to hold Israel accountable for its actions in Palestine. We turn to James Dorsey, a Senior Fellow at RSIS, for his thoughts on what this coalition hopes to achieve.

• Trump’s aid freeze hits Malaysian wildlife conservation: The 90-day freeze on US foreign aid isn’t just affecting humanitarian efforts, it’s crippling conservation work in Malaysia too. Nor Arlina Amirah Ahmad Ghani, co-founder of Justice for Wildlife Malaysia, shares how the funding cut has disrupted ranger training and wildlife protection programs.

• Malaysia’s minimum wage rises to RM1,700: The new minimum wage of RM1,700 took effect last Friday, benefiting 4.37 million workers but posing challenges for businesses. Calvin Cheng, a Fellow at ISIS Malaysia, breaks down the economic impact and what this means for employers and workers alike.

• Carcosa Seri Negara to Reopen: After six years of closure, the government is set to reopen one of the mansions of the iconic colonial building, the Carcosa Seri Negara. Heritage conservation expert Elizabeth Cardosa discusses why preserving these national landmarks matters and what the revival could mean for Malaysia’s historical identity.

Image Credit: shutterstock.com

Produced by: Dashran Yohan, Sudais Ferhard, Alia Zefri, Sneha Harikannan

Presented by: Sharaad Kuttan


This and more than 60,000 other podcasts in your hand. Download the all new BFM mobile app.

Categories:  politicsgovernmentinternationalLaw/Activismcorruptioneducationcontroversies

Tags:  Trump tariffsChinese goodsThe Hague GroupGlobal South nationsMalaysian wildlife conservationUS aid freezeminimum wage Malaysiahistorical identityCarcosa reopeningcolonial landmarkstrade tensionstrade warsglobal economyIsrael Palestine conflictforeign aid freezeJustice for Wildlife Malaysiawildlife protectioncarcosa seri negaraheritage conservationmalaysian history





Play / Pause

Listen now : Best of Enterprise: (REPEAT) Alexandre Salesse, Partner at BCG, explains how the...

Today’s Shows



11:00 AM

Best of Enterprise

(REPEAT) Alexandre Salesse, Partner at BCG, explains how the "Single Buyer" model and "Take or Pay" contracts have created a reliability gold standard at the cost of future flexibility.

12:00 PM

Just For Kicks

(REPEAT) The pundits look ahead to match week 27 of the EPL, featuring the big match between the wounded Arsenal against their neighbours in turmoil, Tottenham Hotspur.

1:00 PM

A Bit of Culture

(REPEAT) Does good always triumph over evil? Kam, Sheryll and Dhanya will unpack that, as well as talk about AI caricatures and whether it's cool to show off your partner on social media.

2:00 PM

Ringgit & Sense

(REPEAT) Dr. Mohaini Ahmad Basri, licensed financial planner with Wealth Vantage Advisory talks about EPF dividends, and who gets the most benefit from them.

2:30 PM

The Property Show

(REPEAT) Dr. YM Cheng, Founder and Principal Consultant of ChineseZodiacFengshui.com, discusses Fengshui outlook for Commercial and Residential properties for the upcoming Year of the Horse.

3:00 PM

Best of The Bigger Picture

(REPEAT) With TB cases on the rise and clusters reported across the country, we speak to a respiratory physician to break down what you need to know about the disease and precautions to take.

4:00 PM

Best of Evening Edition

(REPEAT) We speak to Balan, founder of a lion dance troupe and seasoned performer, about his journey to becoming part of this art form and what led to his passion for it.

5:00 PM

BBC World Service

This episode of The Life Scientific features Caroline Smith, Head of Collections and Principal Curator of Meteorites at the Natural History Museum, home to one of the finest meteorite collections in the world.