tags - Sinar Daily

Bank Negara Malaysia’s (BNM) decision to maintain the Overnight Policy Rate (OPR) at 2.75 per cent on Thursday reinforced expectations that the central bank will likely hold the rate throughout 2026, although investment banks and research houses caution that prolonged geopolitical tensions and higher oil prices could still alter the inflation outlook.

US businessman Tim Cook looks on during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos on Jan 20, 2026. - (Photo by LUDOVIC MARIN / AFP)

IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva speaks during a television interview during the 2026 IMF and World Bank Group Spring Meetings in Washington, DC, on April 15, 2026. - (Photo by KENT NISHIMURA / AFP)

An Iranian collects his belongings from destroyed buildings following a military strike on the Iranian capital Tehran on March 15. - Photo by Atta Kenare/AFP

As the last lights of Hari Raya Aidilfitri twinkle out and kitchens cool from the festive rush, many Malaysians are left facing a sobering reality: emptying wallets and depleted savings. Photo: Edited via Canva

A man walks near a banner displayed at Valiasr Square in central Tehran on March 10, 2026, depicting Iran's late supreme leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini (L) watching as his successor the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (C) hands over a national flag to his son and new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei (R). Iran marked the appointment of Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei to replace his father as its supreme leader with a new barrage of missiles against Israel and the Gulf states on March 9, as the Middle East war sent oil prices soaring. (Photo by AFP)

Photo for illustration purposes only. - CANVA

They cook, clean, care for children, tend to ageing parents and keep households running day after day. Yet in Malaysia’s economic calculations, housewives' work barely exists. Photo for illustrative purposes only - Canva

A reveler poses as she celebrates New Year's Eve in Times Square on Dec 31, 2025 in New York. (Photo by John Lamparski / AFP)

Although some leaders and rank-and-file members are uneasy with the Prime Minister’s alignment with the DAP, Umno is expected to stay the course, as the risks of leaving the administration currently outweigh the benefits.