While the us continues to engage in more violent conflict abroad, china routinely plans for better quality growth and development.
BUNN NAGARA Bunn Nagara is director and senior fellow at the Renaissance Strategic Research Institute, and honorary fellow at the Perak Academy. The views expressed here are solely the writer’s own.
8 Mar 2026
Shaping the future
While the us continues to engage in more violent conflict abroad, china routinely plans for better quality growth and development.
BUNN NAGARA Bunn Nagara is director and senior fellow at the Renaissance Strategic Research Institute, and honorary fellow at the Perak Academy. The views expressed here are solely the writer’s own.
PETALING JAYA: Air conditioner units will now be rated by how well they perform in real life, but experts say the new ratings will take time to be accepted by consumers.
Under the framework updated in January, a unit will be judged by how efficiently it cools a room relative to the electricity it consumes over a year, with higher values indicating better energy efficiency, rather than fixed laboratory conditions.
The change means the star rating now reflects real-life cooling performance more accurately rather than just controlled test results.
The rating is aimed at helping households better identify more energy-efficient air conditioner units which are usually pricier.
Previously, air conditioners were rated largely based on fixed laboratory testing conditions, where five stars indicated the most energy-efficient units under the earlier benchmark.
While the system still uses the familiar one to five-star labels, the performance benchmarks have been tightened.
The changes aim to curb rating inflation, drive manufacturer innovation and support national energy-efficiency goals as air conditioner ownership continues to rise.
Universiti Tenaga Nasional senior lecturer Dr Amar Hisham Jaafar, who led a national research project on the local electrical appliance market, said the revised labels under the new Guidelines on Energy-Using Product framework made it easier for consumers to distinguish genuinely efficient products.
“Air conditioners are already a common household appliance. The Statistics Department reported that 68.8% of households owned air conditioners in 2024.
“When air conditioners are used daily, mainly at night, electricity cost becomes a long-term household commitment rather than a one-off purchase decision,” he said.
Amar Hisham said the revised rating system will help households opt for models which could deliver the same level of comfort using less electricity.
“When a label is credible and the performance criteria tightened, it becomes easier for consumers to distinguish genuinely efficient products from those that only look attractive based on price,” he added.
He said households that relied heavily on air conditioning are likely to consider higher-efficiency models, even if it costs more initially, as energy savings will accumulate over time.
“The revised schedule raises the benchmark for new products entering the market. It does not mean that existing air conditioners suddenly become inefficient overnight.
“Air conditioners typically last between 10 and 15 years if properly maintained. Regular servicing, cleaning the filters and setting reasonable temperatures can help households keep the unit running efficiently,” he said.
On the revised rating system, Amar Hisham said labels alone might not be enough to change buying behaviour, mainly among lower-income households.
“Labels work best when they are combined with public understanding and practical support.
“Clearer explanations of how star ratings translate into electricity use and monthly costs will help consumers make better purchasing decisions,” he said.
Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations (Fomca) chief executive officer Saravanan Thambirajah advised consumers to better understand lifetime ownership costs rather than focusing solely on sticker prices.
“For households that use air conditioners frequently, the difference in electricity consumption between low-efficiency units and four- to five-star models can be significant.
“Families can realistically expect savings of about 20% to 40% on cooling-related electricity use, depending on usage patterns.
“Over several years, that can translate into hundreds or even thousands of ringgit,” he said.
SHAH ALAM: The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) has declared a lower dividend for 2025 at 6.15% for both conventional and syariah accounts.
The total dividend payout for 2025 is RM79.6bil, whereby RM67.1bil is for conventional accounts and RM12.5bil for syariah accounts.
For 2024, the EPF declared a dividend rate of 6.3% for conventional savings with a total payout of RM63.05bil, as well as a 6.3% dividend for syariah savings, with a payout amounting to RM10.19bil.
EPF chief executive officer Ahmad Zulqarnain Onn attributed the lower payment to the slower growth of Bursa Malaysia’s Kuala Lumpur Composite Index (KLCI), which grew at 2.3% last year compared to about 12.9% in 2024.
Secondly, he said, assets denominated in the US dollar were also impacted due to the strength of the local currency.
The strengthening of the ringgit against the US dollar “impacted the value in ringgit of our income from dollar assets”, he said during the retirement fund’s dividend announcement yesterday.
“The ringgit does impact our international holdings and it was one of the best-performing currencies in the world, gaining 10.2%.”
The EPF recorded a total investment income of RM79.2bil for 2025, up from the RM74.46bil reported in 2024.
Investment assets grew to RM1.409 trillion, which is a 12.8% increase from the RM1.25 trillion recorded in the previous year, driven by portfolio income and net contributions of RM66.5bil.
The EPF recorded a total distributable income of RM82.7bil for 2025, up 9.5% from RM75.5bil in 2024.
Domestic investments continued to provide steady income, with 61.7% of the RM1.409 trillion worth of assets invested domestically. They generated investment income of RM39.3bil and accounting for 49.6% of total investment income.
Global investments, representing 38.3% of the portfolio, generated RM39.9bil and accounted for 50.4% of total investment income.
Ahmad Zulqarnain said the outlook for 2026 is moderate in the face of uncertainties.
“We believe economic growth will continue to be within expectations for most parts of the world, including continued growth in Malaysia,” he noted.
“Malaysia delivered 5.2% in 2025; the estimates are 4.3% for this year. But as we know, we also live in a world of great uncertainties, more so today than it has been for many decades.
“The risks are around trade policies, geopolitics, the path of inflation and, therefore, monetary policy and interest rates, increasing public debt, and the impact of artificial intelligence, which will create new winners and new losers. We believe Malaysia is in a good place,” he added.
“The top three themes for Malaysia that we believe will be persistent for the next decade are healthcare as we age as a nation, artificial intelligence, data and digitalisation as our personal and work lives become more and more digital, and energy as the world transitions to green energy.”
Meanwhile, the EPF will introduce the i-Legasi scheme, enabling contributors aged 55 and above to pass down their retirement savings to their children.
This scheme allows contributors to transfer their savings “intergenerationally” to their children. However, this applies only to members who are already eligible to withdraw their savings.
Ahmad Zulqarnain also said EPF dividends must be credited into the correct account as provided for under the law.
“If the savings are in Account 1 or Account 2, the dividends must be credited into those accounts,” he said.
“We cannot take dividends from other accounts and transfer them,” he said in reference to Arau MP Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim’s suggestion that the dividends be channelled to the flexible account.
The good news is 41% of contributors have met the RM240,000 minimum savings, and parents can now pass down their retirement funds to their ...Read more
A glute bridge primarily targets the gluteus maximus (buttocks), hamstrings (back of thighs), and core muscles, including the abdominal muscles and lower back. — Photos: Freepik
A few targeted exercises can help tone up the muscles matter most
By now, you should know the benefits of building strength, especially as you age.
Strength training and cardiovascular exercises are equally important, with studies showing that combining both provides the lowest mortality risk and the best overall health outcomes.
Cardiovascular exercises are best for heart, lung and endurance health, while strength training is vital for muscle growth, bone density, metabolism, injury prevention and maintaining independence.
Numerous research reveals that significant improvements are possible even if you start strength training in your 80s and 90s.
That said, you don’t have to sign up for gym memberships or buy fancy equipment to begin a programme.
All you need is your own body.
Instead of working out different body parts on different days, the focus here is to do a few targeted exercises to help tone up the major muscle groups to improve your balance, flexibility and posture.
The emphasis is on the knees, hips, back and shoulders because these joints and their surrounding muscles are the primary drivers of human movement and are heavily used in daily activities like walking, sitting, bending and lifting.
The calves are also important. as building muscles in this area improves venous return – i.e. the process of blood flow back to the heart, which can decrease peripheral resistance and help stabilise or lower blood pressure.
When calf muscles contract, they compress the deep veins in the legs, effectively pumping blood against gravity toward the heart. This helps prevent blood pooling in the lower extremities and reduces the workload on the heart.
Ultimately, everyone’s aim is to be mobile till the last breath.
Here are five essential bodyweight exercises suitable for all ages and fitness levels.
Perform 10-12 repetitions of all exercises once a week, then progress to twice a week and if it gets too easy, repeat the circuit two or three more times or increase the repetitions to 15.
More importantly, do them in a controlled tempo to maximise muscle tension and safety.
By training once a week, you should feel stronger and more energetic in as little as three weeks.
However, visible, significant physical changes generally take about two to four months of consistent, once-a-week training.
There are no shortcuts, unfortunately.
By Revathi Murugappan, a certified fitness trainer who tries to battle gravity and continues to dance to express herself artistically and nourish her soul. For more information, email starhealth@thestar.com.my. The information contained in this column is for general educational purposes only. Neither The Star nor the author gives any warranty on accuracy, completeness, functionality, usefulness or other assurances as to such information. The Star and the author disclaim all responsibility for any losses, damage to property or personal injury suffered directly or indirectly from reliance on such information.
Five exercises that work all major muscle groups
https://apicms.thestar.com.my/uploads/images/2026/02/20/3778568.jpg1 Shoulder Rolls: Stand with feet hip-width apart, hands down by your side. Roll your shoulders up, back and down, making sure you get into the shoulder blades. Imagine drawing a big circle with your shoulders. Repeat 12 times and reverse the direction. Don’t be fooled by how easy this exercise looks as it is tiring but helps increase shoulder flexibility and improve posture. — REVATHI MURUGAPPAN/The Star
