Reading view
PSA: Hokas Are Nearly 50% Off Right Now at Zappos — But not for Long
This is not a drill! Everyone’s favorite walking shoe — aka the Hoka Bondi 8 — is steeply discounted over at Zappos. Whether you’re training for a race, shopping for a new supportive shoe or have been waiting for the perfect time to get your hands on the bestselling shoe, now’s the time to secure the deal before it’s gone. Sizes and colors are already selling out fast.
Get the Hoka Bondi 8 Walking Shoes for $94 (originally $165) at Zappos!
The Shop With Us team recently named Hokas as the best athletic shoes, so when we see them on major sale we have to share the news. Right now, you can choose from multiple sizes and colors, with most options ringing up under $100 (that’s nearly 50% off their original price!).
Okay, I Finally Gave In and Tried Hoka Sneakers — Here Are My Thoughts
Boasting the American Podiatric Medical Association Seal of Acceptance, these bestselling walking and running shoes have earned thousands of fans for their ultra-soft feel and supportive materials. They’re ideal for just about any activity: long walks, everyday runs and activities where you’re on your feet all day and need a trusty shoe that won’t result in unbearable pain hours later.
The best part? They’re super stylish. Though their ultra-supportive, they never look weird and bulky. The range of color options is the cherry on top.
Run, don’t walk to snag this deal on the Hoka Bondi 8’s before it’s too late. You’ll thank yourself later when the weather starts warming up and you need a trusty shoe for long walks at the lake!
Get the Hoka Bondi 8 Walking Shoes for $94 (originally $165) at Zappos!
More Hoka Shoes on Sale at Zappos
- Hoka Mach 6 — was $140, now $112 at Zappos!
- Hoka Arahi 7 — was $145, now $116 at Zappos!
- Hoka Kawana 2 — was $140, now $112 at Zappos!
- Hoka Mafate Speed 4 — was $185, now $148 at Zappos!
- Hoka Clifton L Athletics — was $150, now $125 at Zappos!
Save up to 70% on These Shoe Deals During Zappos Winter Sale
Us Weekly has affiliate partnerships. We receive compensation when you click on a link and make a purchase. Learn more!
3 Stanley Cup Rings Were Stolen From Home of Penguins Star Evgeni Malkin
Pittsburgh Penguins star Evgeni Malkin is the latest professional athlete whose home was burglarized while away at a game.
The home of Malkin, 38, was robbed on Saturday, January 13, with his three Stanley Cup rings among the stolen items. Malkin won the Cup as a member of the Penguins in 2009, 2016 and 2017.
According to local CBS affiliate KDKA-TV, which first reported the news, Malkin lives in the Pittsburgh suburb of Sewickley Heights, roughly 15 miles away from the Penguins’ home at PPG Paints Arena in downtown Pittsburgh.
A 911 call was made about the break-in “a few hours” after the Penguins hosted the Ottawa Senators at 4 p.m. ET on Saturday, January 11. Malkin did not play in the game due to an upper body injury, but he returned to the Penguin’s lineup on Tuesday, January 14, against the Seattle Kraken.
What NFL Stars Have Said About the String of Burglaries Targeting Players
The Penguins organization released a statement on Tuesday, confirming the incident at Malkin’s home.
“Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin’s home was burglarized this past weekend,” the statement read. “Details of the situation will not be made public as this is an ongoing investigation. We are working closely with local authorities and team security. Malkin has requested that his privacy be respected during this time and we will have no further comment on the matter.”
According to The Athletic, the FBI is involved in the matter and the investigation remains ongoing.
The robbery at Malkin’s home furthers a trend of pro athletes being burglarized while they are publicly away from their homes.
In December 2024, the Ohio residence of Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow was robbed while he was in Texas to face the Dallas Cowboys on Monday Night Football.
Burrow’s rumored girlfriend, Olivia Ponton, was at the home at the time of the robbery. Ponton, 22, told authorities a room in the home had been “ransacked” and gave “a non-detailed itemization of what items were possibly missing.”
Kansas City Chiefs teammates Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce were robbed in separate incidents less than 48 hours apart in October 2024.
Jared Goff Reveals His Home Was Once Robbed ‘Same Way’ as Kelce, Burrow
The Belton, Missouri residence of Mahomes and his wife, Brittany Mahomes, was burglarized in the early morning hours of October 6. Police were dispatched to the home on a burglary/breaking and entering call. According to the police report, there were no signs of forced entry.
The following evening, October 7, the Leawood, Kansas home of Kelce was similarly broken into. Police reported that $20,000 was taken and a rear door was broken. At the time of the break-in at Kelce’s home, the Kansas City Chiefs were playing the New Orleans Saints on Sunday Night Football at Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium.
In November 2024, a watch belonging to Kelce that was taken during the robbery was found in Providence, Rhode Island.
No arrests have been made in the Burrow, Mahomes or Kelce robberies.
Princess Michael of Kent Turns 80: What to Know About Controversial Royal
Princess Michael of Kent celebrated her 80th Birthday on Wednesday, January 15.
The royal, born Marie-Christine von Reibnitz, has been married to Queen Elizabeth’s first cousin, Prince Michael of Kent, since 1978. They have two children: Lord Frederick Windsor, 45, and Lady Gabriella Windsor, 43.
In recent years, Princess Michael has faced several controversies, including an uncomfortable encounter with the Duchess of Sussex in December 2018.
The Princess wore a Blackamoor brooch to Queen Elizabeth’s Christmas lunch, which was also attended by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. The style of art has previously been denounced as racist by many due to its depiction of enslaved African people.
“The brooch was a gift and had been worn many times before. Princess Michael is very sorry and distressed that it has caused offense,” a spokesperson for the princess said at the time.
Meghan Markle's Family: Everything We Know About the Royal In-Laws
The brooch was briefly referenced during the couple’s Harry and Meghan Netflix docuseries which aired in December 2022.
Afua Hirsch, a journalist and author of ‘Brit(ish): On Race, Identity and Belonging,’ spoke about the incident on the docuseries, saying she wasn’t “hugely surprised” because it’s common to be “faced with racist imagery” in palaces and stately homes in the UK.
More recently, the Princess mourned the loss of her son-in-law, Thomas Kingston.
Lady Gabriella’s husband died by suicide at the age of 45 in February 2024. Speaking to members of the British press in December, Princess Michael said Kingston was “a lovely man, so kind and thoughtful.”
Here are six things to know about Princess Michael.
1. Princess Michael met Prince Michael when she was married to her first husband.
The Princess’ first marriage was to the late Thomas Troubridge, a banker, in 1971. They divorced after six years together.
According to various reports, the Princess was first introduced to Prince Michael shortly after marrying Troubridge, while visiting her husband’s friend, Prince William of Gloucester, at his Barnwell Manor estate in Northamptonshire.
Prince and Princess of Michael became good friends after her marriage to Troubridge ended, reports said.
Prince and Princess Michael were married in 1978, and Prince Michael temporarily lost his place in the line of succession because British royals were not allowed to marry Catholics until 2013, when the law changed.
As of January 2025, Prince Michael is 52nd in line to the British throne.
2. Though not a British royal by birth, Princess Michael has royal heritage.
The Princess is the granddaughter of Princess Hedwig von Windisch-Graetz, and was raised on her Carlsbad estate in Bohemia, which was originally part of the Austrian empire.
Prince Harry Through the Years: His Military Career, Fatherhood and More
3. Princess Michael’s father was a Nazi officer.
The Princess was born on January 15, 1945, eight months before the end of World War II.
The royal’s father, Gunther von Reibnitz, was a major in Hitler’s SS, a military unit within the Nazi party.
Speaking to various outlets in 1985, a Buckingham Palace spokesperson said Princess Michael was shocked to learn of her father’s involvement with the SS.
“It came as a total surprise to her when she heard the news,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “And it came as a total shock. There will be no further comment or statement from the princess,” they added.
4. Princess Michael is an author and historian.
She has penned several books, including three novels and three non-fiction books. A Cheetah’s Tale, an autobiographical account of her experience living on her father’s farm in Mozambique, was published in 2017.
When she’s not busy writing or undertaking royal engagements, Princess Michael gives history lectures. Her a
Biggest Royal Family Scandals Through the Years
reas of interest include 18th Century Europe, 18th Century Russia, and Monarchy and Motherhood, according to her website.
5. She previously worked as an interior designer.
After studying Fine and Decorative Arts at the Victoria & Albert Museum in the early 70s, the Princess spent five years working as an apprentice to interior designers in London before becoming one herself.
After completing her training, the royal opened her own interior design business, SZAPAR DESIGNS.
6. The Princess is a night owl.
Princess Michael shared her writing routine in an essay for The Huffington Post in 2015, revealing that she is a “night-writer.”
“It is the only time I am undisturbed and often at my laptop until three or four in the morning,” she wrote. “For me, the night feels like an embracing cocoon of black velvet, welcoming and warm; also mysterious — layer upon layer of shifting thoughts allowed to overlap,” she added.
Melora Hardin Recalls 1st Kiss on ‘Little House of the Prairie’
Melora Hardin still has fond memories from her time working on Little House on the Prairie.
“I remember quite a few things because I auditioned with Matthew Labyorteaux when we were 9 to play Young Caroline and young Michael Landon’s character, Charles,” Hardin, 57, said on the Monday, January 13, episode of the “Still Here Hollywood” podcast. “Charles and Caroline had to be dancing together — and Matthew had already been cast. He said that he wanted me to play the part because I didn’t step on his feet and all the other girls did.”
Hardin, who grew up dancing ballet, wasn’t cast for the role of Young Caroline but was called back for another part.
“When the new Nelly was introduced, it was when I was 13 and my character was Belinda,” the actress recalled. “She got locked in the ice house by the new Nelly, who was just as mean as the old Nelly and then I got cast when Matthew’s character was leaving the show because he died of leukemia. I played his love interest.”
All the Times ‘The Office’ Cast Worked Together After the Show Ended
Hardin and Labyorteaux, 58, even shared their “first screen kiss together” and have remained friends.
“He’s still a very good friend of mine and the godfather of my second daughter,” the Office alum said on Monday’s episode. “He’s still in my life. And, you know, [my husband Gildart Jackson and I] didn’t let our kids watch much TV at all. We really hand-selected what they could watch and our youngest daughter, Piper, just got obsessed with Little House on the Prairie — and watched all of them over and over again. And so, it was a great, really fun experience.”
Looking back at Little House through her daughter’s point of view also reminded Hardin of her time on the set.
“I think, maybe, [it was] my first time working with someone like Michael Landon, who really had that community feeling,” Hardin said. “I also got a real feeling from Clint Eastwood when I did Absolute Power. He’s similar; he has that crew that follows him from movie to movie and he also works very much in the same way that Michael Landon works with TV pace, fast.”
Transformed! Melora Hardin Jokes 'DWTS' Got Her Back to 2008 Weight
Landon, who died in 1991, played patriarch Charles Ingalls on Little House. (The series was famously based on Laura Ingalls Wilder’s books of the same name.)
“He was just so warm [and] he was so sweet,” Hardin recalled of Landon. “He just really made all the kids and adults, I think, … feel like he had really chosen you. He just let you do your thing and even when he gave you direction, you never felt admonished by him. He was just lovely [and] he knew how to talk to kids.”
Little House ran for nine seasons starting in 1974 and also starred Melissa Gilbert, Karen Grassle and Melissa Sue Anderson as the rest of the pioneer Ingalls family.
Brody Jenner and Caitlyn Jenner's Complicated Relationship Over the Years
Keeping up with Brody Jenner and Caitlyn Jenner’s complicated relationship may be easier said than done.
Long before becoming a star of The Hills or a contestant on Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test, Brody grew up with a famous father who wasn’t always present.
“The big formative years for them, I was really struggling with issues,” Caitlyn — who went by Bruce before coming out as a trans woman in 2015 — said on 20/20 that same year. “I didn’t do a good job. And I apologized to my kids for that.”
Caitlyn, who is a former Olympic decathlete and motivational speaker, has six children with three different wives: Burt Jenner and Cassandra Marino with Chrystie Scott, Brandon Jenner and Brody with Linda Thompson and Kendall Jenner and Kylie Jenner with Kris Jenner.
Brody and Brandon Jenner’s Ups and Downs With the Kardashian-Jenner Family
“There’s no excuse for not being a good parent,” Caitlyn reiterated to ABC in 2017, “no matter how many problems you have.”
Keep reading to see how Brody and Caitlyn’s relationship played out in the spotlight and where they stand today:
Inside Brody’s Childhood
While Caitlyn’s older kids were not regular guests on Keeping Up With the Kardashians, Brody made several appearances when the show first launched on E! in 2007.
In a 2013 episode, the DJ shared a glimpse into being raised by Caitlyn. “I think Bruce is an incredible human being and I think that Bruce is a great father, he just wasn’t a great father to me. I grew up with my stepdad [David Foster],” Brody said. “Bruce was never around. I can’t tell you how many birthdays went by where Bruce wasn’t there. I resent him for that.”
Brody’s Reaction to Caitlyn’s Transition
Throughout Caitlyn’s transition, Brody was a supportive son and shined a light on what the process meant to him.
“The first thing I thought was just, like, ‘It finally makes sense,'” Brody told ABC News in 2017. “I’ve known Bruce for a long time and I didn’t really get along with Bruce. Caitlyn and I get along a little more, because Caitlyn is actually who she really is and she’s living her life finally now as the person she actually was.”
Where Brody Stands With Caitlyn Today
In October 2024, Brody attended Caitlyn’s 75th birthday party.
“Last night bday dinner in Malibu was so special,” Caitlyn wrote via Instagram at the time. “Family is everything! So many kids and so many of the grandkids, all in one place, at one time. …I love you all so much.”
Brody Jenner and Tia Blanco Celebrate 1st Holiday Season With Daughter
Brody Jenner’s New View on Parenting
After welcoming a baby girl with Tia Blanco in July 2023, Brody shared his perspective on parenting.
“I think that what I’m most excited about is doing things differently than my father did,” Brody said in an August 2023 YouTube video. “Growing up I didn’t have the greatest relationship with then-Bruce [now Caitlyn]. [Caitlyn] wasn’t really around for me growing up. So I think that just doing the exact opposite, being the absolute best father I could possibly be and getting ready for the journey and just so very excited.”
DOGE caucus roadmap for cutting government waste emerges after closed-door meeting: 'great synergy'
The Congressional DOGE Caucus’ plans for cutting government waste are shifting into focus after the group’s second-ever closed-door meeting on Wednesday.
Caucus leaders are splitting lawmakers into eight working groups focused on different sectors for waste-cutting. Those will focus on retirement, social and family safety nets, emergency supplemental funding, energy permitting, homeland security, defense and veterans, the workforce, and government operations, according to a document viewed by Fox News Digital.
Co-chairs Aaron Bean, R-Fla., and Pete Sessions, R-Texas, challenged lawmakers in the room to introduce at least one bill related to government efficiency in the 119th Congress.
REPUBLICANS GIVE DETAILS FROM CLOSED-DOOR MEETINGS WITH DOGE'S MUSK, RAMASWAMY
Both told Fox News Digital that it was just one of the coordinated efforts the caucus is planning as it seeks to be the legislative support for the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) being co-led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy.
"We’re going to aim for a day where we will drop pieces of legislation, a day where we will go on the floor and speak to the American people," Sessions told Fox News Digital.
Bean expounded on the idea, labeling it "DOGE Days."
"We're going to have a day where we hopefully can draw up 20, 30 bills and all the DOGE members come forward, boom, we're on them," Bean said. "We're going to have great team work and great synergy and momentum."
They asked attendees to fill out a survey, a copy of which was obtained by Fox News Digital, designating which working groups they would like to be a part of.
DANIEL PENNY TO BE TAPPED FOR CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL BY HOUSE GOP LAWMAKER
During the closed-door meeting, lawmakers took turns to discuss their own ideas for cutting government waste as well.
Rep. Jay Obernolte, R-Calif., called for a constitutional amendment requiring Congress to balance the federal budget.
And Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J., suggested cutting off child tax credit eligibility for illegal immigrants.
"Currently, we’re not nearly careful enough… where illegal aliens are getting a child tax credit, childcare tax credit. That's ridiculous. You know, so those are my point was those are the easy things to do, the low-hanging fruit," Van Drew told Fox News Digital when asked about his meeting comments.
Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, who is leading the DOGE effort on the Senate side and also attended the Wednesday House meeting, urged lawmakers there to work with their counterparts in the upper chamber on bicameral bills.
Lawmakers have been enthusiastic about the goals laid out by Musk and Ramaswamy’s new panel. Commissioned by President-elect Trump, the group is an advisory panel aimed at recommending where the executive branch can cut government waste.
The DOGE Caucus is a bid to make Trump’s cost-cutting initiatives permanent through legislation.
The group opened and email tip line which Bean and Sessions said has already received over 15,000 emails.
Bean said he was surprised but pleased at the enthusiasm.
Sessions added, "I've gotten probably 200 letters here that were really typed out, and some were written, that said, ‘Thank you for doing this. I'd like you to hear from me.’ And this is an acknowledgement back to the American people who have skin in the game also."
Malaysia wants to become Asia's Silicon Valley. This time, investors and founders say it's got a shot.
- As Malaysia enters a period of political stability, its new dream is to become a regional tech hub.
- Investments and startups are flowing into the country, but it's still early days.
- Despite its last tech mega-project failing, insiders told BI they see a winning plan this time.
Kean Wei Kong's hands snapped from the wheel as we hit the highway in the midday rain.
His sedan, a Malaysian-made Proton S70, kept cruising on its own, flowing with the traffic snaking into Kuala Lumpur.
The bespectacled 28-year-old, a former insurance salesman, was taking me for a spin of what he and two college friends were selling: a plug-and-play dashcam that uses AI to drive your family car.
Their company is Kommu, one of the 4,000 Malaysian startups the federal government hopes will form a key pillar of a new Asian tech boom. As the nation exits an era of political turmoil, founders like Kean say they're hopeful.
"The younger generations are stepping up," he said as he crossed his arms, letting the car do the work. "We're no longer thinking of survival. It's more like we're in an innovation phase."
Born from years of tweaking open-source code, Kean's software controls limited steering and acceleration. It's nothing that EV makers like Tesla aren't already selling, but he and his buddies custom-engineered their product, made with Chinese phone parts, for Malaysia's national auto brands.
Their pitch is that for $800, the owner of a $10,000 hatchback can plug in Kean's dashcam via two cables and get partial self-driving.
Kean is unsure if their product is legal, though he said they haven't seen trouble from authorities and secured prize money from a government-affiliated competition.
"It's like a gray area. Malaysia isn't a very regulated country yet," he said. "That's why there are opportunities for startups like us."
Off to a good start
A political reckoning saw Malaysia cycle through five prime ministers in six years, until Anwar Ibrahim, the current prime minister, squeezed through the November 2022 national polls through a coalition.
As the dust settles, more than a dozen local tech insiders told Business Insider that Malaysia feels like it's on the cusp of a new chapter. Anwar champions the idea of the next era in the nation's economy, rallying his government for an all-out push to develop Southeast Asia's version of Silicon Valley.
The prime minister described Malaysia's new effort as "a clear break from the past," saying in May that the country had missed opportunities for tech investments in previous years.
Malaysia is banking on more than just stability. It commands vast reserves of land and water, useful for facilities like data centers run by Intel, Nvidia, and ByteDance. US-China tensions and the Ukraine war brought a wave of investors looking to park funds in new havens. And Malaysia's popular but spatially constrained neighbor, Singapore, is contending with surging living and business costs.
Anwar's government is touting Malaysia as an appealing alternative, announcing a plan in April to extend financial support, visa access, and job benefits to foreign startups moving in. State money, including the sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional Berhad, is offering $27.6 billion for all local ventures over the next five years.
"It's different. Because this time, the government isn't doing too much," said Tan Eng Tong, a startup advisor who runs an education center for tech workers in Malaysia. He spent the 1990s building his career in Silicon Valley with Seagate and Hewlett-Packard.
Tan believes Malaysia's last tech mega-project in the 1990s was the result of a government trying to force a revolution. Then-Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad cleared land for global companies to settle down, dreaming of transforming greater Kuala Lumpur into an IT powerhouse.
But many of the prized multinationals eventually used their new Malaysian bases for low-cost labor in manufacturing and outsourcing. When a BI reporter visited Cyberjaya — a development near the capital meant to house the world's hottest startups — in 2022, the largely residential area was filled with abandoned business hubs and quiet malls.
5,000 startups by 2025
Now, the country is trying a new approach. Its semiconductor industry, largely based in the state of Penang, already houses Intel and Texas Instruments. Officials have announced a plan to bring in $100 billion in additional investment for the sector, without specifying a deadline.
Anwar is continuing the prior administration's goal of producing 5,000 local startups and five unicorns by 2025.
Norman Matthieu Vanhaecke, the Belgian-Malay CEO of Cradle Fund, the government's agency supporting early-stage firms, said the country now has about 4,000 startups. The overwhelming majority are located in the capital and the state that surrounds it, Selangor.
But Vanhaecke says Malaysia's true near-term goal is to get on the map and have Kuala Lumpur join Tokyo, Seoul, and Singapore on global lists like Startup Genome's ecosystem ranking.
Singapore and Indonesia have enjoyed the lion's share of venture capital activity in Southeast Asia. In 2023, they secured 651 and 165 deals, respectively, according to data from the investment database PitchBook.
Malaysia recorded 71 deals that year, and the total annual value of its deals has never reached $1 billion, per PitchBook. The total value of deals in Singapore has eclipsed $9 billion annually in the last three years.
The Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation, a government agency tasked with attracting tech investment, is trying to give foreign startups a "soft-landing zone" in Malaysia through coworking spaces.
The agency told BI that since 2016, it has partnered with 23 locations that have serviced about 600 startups. These firms are promised low business costs and potential access to government and private sector financing.
Malaysia opens its state funds to startups
Noor Amy Ismail, an analyst asked by the Malaysian government to assess the local VC scene in 2023, said she studied South Korea's 2014 tech drive for her recommendations. There, government funds set the stage, then petered off as private investors poured in.
Amy advised Malaysian officials to do the same.
"That is what our venture capital road map is trying to address, to get more corporate investors on board to support," she said.
State and national funds, which have long dominated investing in Malaysia, have been opening their coffers to startups.
One founder, Jimmy How, said state executives were far more risk-averse 10 years ago when he started his affiliate marketing company.
"Back then, guys like Khazanah wouldn't even look at startups like us," How said. Khazanah, Malaysia's main sovereign wealth fund, earmarked $1.3 billion in 2023 for startups and venture capital over the next five years.
How's company received an investment from Penjana Kapital, a national venture program, during a Series C funding round last year.
Gokula Krishnan, the founder of Vircle, a financial literacy app for kids, said his firm received a seed investment from Khazanah in 2023. It helped convince him to stay in Malaysia instead of leaving for Singapore.
"Talent is relatively cheap. Available office space is cheap. Cost of living is supercheap, even compared to Vietnam or Indonesia," he said about Malaysia. "I don't see any other country in Southeast Asia that has this mix."
No more 'shit-hole state of mind'
Khailee Ng, an energetic Malaysian with a mane of black hair flowing down to his shoulders, is perhaps the biggest name in Kuala Lumpur's venture capital scene. He's a managing partner with the US venture firm 500 Global, which has seeded at least six unicorns in Southeast Asia since 2014.
Malaysia, burdened by a history of infighting and policy reversals, has for too long wallowed in a self-defeating attitude — a "shit-hole state of mind," he said.
But Ng said he's seen far less of that among entrepreneurs in the last two years. "They're getting funding, they're kinda seeing that things are working. I think a lot of tech startups are starting to be open to the idea that something good will happen," he said.
His team analyzed 198 local startups from January 2023 to June 2024 and found that 33 were profitable, with at least 20% annual growth and $5 million in revenue.
Of that group, 11 had over 60% growth and $10 million in annual revenue.
"I was shocked," Ng said, adding that 500 Global has since invested in five of those 11 firms.
Stronger currency boosts purchasing power
In Puchong, a town about 10 miles south of Kuala Lumpur, entrepreneurs Amirul Merican and Chor Chee Hoe were preparing just after dawn to meet their startup's new landlord. They're looking to move into a factory to expand production at their firm, Qarbotech, by 50 times.
In a garage space on the outskirts of the capital, their workers hauled tubs of grounded carbon to be heated into a patented liquid via a dozen or so kitchen microwaves.
That liquid is their product, a spray that Amirul and Chor say boosts crop yields for rice paddies and vegetables through improved photosynthesis.
Amirul said the last two years of political stability were a boon for their expansion plans.
Malaysia's stronger currency has made purchasing American equipment cheaper — like a giant industrial-level microwave they bought to replace their kitchen appliances.
The ringgit has strengthened by over 3% against the dollar over the past year, peaking with a 13% gain against the dollar in September.
"That's crazy," Amirul said of the gains in September, when they bought the microwave. "We have a stronger currency, more international companies looking at Malaysia."
Quelling the brain drain
One of Malaysia's long-term challenges is quelling a brain drain to Singapore, Australia, and the West.
More than 1.1 million Malaysians lived in Singapore in 2022, about three-quarters of whom were skilled or semi-skilled workers.
Jayant Menon, a senior fellow who studies Asian trade and investment at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore, said if Malaysia does not fix issues like its talent exodus, the tech push could become a collection of short-term investments spilling over from the US-China trade war.
Amy, the analyst asked to assess Malaysia's tech scene, said the government should work on bringing middle-class female talent back into the workforce.
About 53% of Malaysian STEM graduates in 2021 were women, far higher than the global average of 29%.
"But the moment they enter the workforce, that number drops to about 43 to 44%," Amy said of how many working STEM professionals are women. Middle-income Malaysians are often under pressure to care for both their children and retiring parents, and many women choose to take on that role since they earn 33% less than men in the country, she added.
"Naturally, the women will stay at home," she said. "But we have all those women who we put on scholarships stuck at home."
Malaysia could also struggle with educational gaps for its future workforce.
Nearly a quarter of Malaysia's 17-year-old students failed math in the 2023 national exams, while another 28.9% scored a D or E grade, according to the Education Ministry.
The country has been grappling with inconsistent education policies, debating whether to offer science and math classes in English, Malay, or other mother tongues for the past two decades. Singapore's education and government are primarily in English, a decision that helped make the city-state a business hub.
On the global front, Malaysia must also overcome a hit to its reputation from a major 2015 corruption scandal, in which officials funneled $4.5 billion from its sovereign wealth fund 1MDB into their own pockets.
Kean, the founder who's building self-driving software, is aware of those potential pitfalls. But he said that for entrepreneurs like him, the only option for now is to keep going.
Since April 2022, Kommu says it has sold 400 dashcams, mostly to car enthusiasts. The company's next phase of development is creating software that can navigate to destinations and know when to exit highways.
His team is unsure where Kommu can take its dashcam or where their exits lie. But he hopes that a way up could come from local automakers noticing their work and reaching out.
"I think any entrepreneur will tell you that the best time to start is now," he said.
Australian Open live blog: Second round action continues
Yankees Could Sign Versatile Gold Glove Infielder to $60 Million Deal
Boston Braces for Weekend Snow as Arctic Chill Drops Temps Into The Teens
Ellen DeGeneres Is Unrecognizable After Hair Transformation Upon Returning to U.S.
Bronny James Remains Out for Lakers Due to Mysterious Illness
Luigi Mangione Donors Want Their Money Back
MLB Power Rankings: Top 10 Third Basemen
Neolithic People Sacrificed 'Sun Stones' After Volcano 4,900 Years Ago
Kylie Jenner and Timothée Chalamet hold hands during romantic date night in Paris
Travis Kelce says Taylor Swift is ‘fully encouraging’ him to continue playing football as retirement questions loom
Who are the American hostages in Gaza set to be released?
President Joe Biden announced the ceasefire deal on Wednesday, which is set to end the 15-month conflict