HiGo · Malaysia
Corner Journal
City life, told from street level: events, neighbourhoods, states and industries. We check every date and venue against the official source. Our figures come from HiGo merchant listings, and each one is dated.
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TrendingRHB revises its DuitNow QR merchant fee: 0.35% and 0.60%
At RHB's rates, a RM100 payment costs RM0.35 or RM0.60 — charged to the shop, not the customer.
Event · Pulau PinangTLM Food Expo in Penang opens 30 October
Setia SPICE has several venues, and this one is at the Arena (No.108).
TrendingOMODA 5 recall: check your VIN — is yours one of the 8,878?
Any authorised service centre nationwide can do the inspection; Careline Mon–Fri 9:00–17:00, closed on weekends and public holidays.
Trade report1,463 laundries listed as 24-hour, more than convenience stores
Not all of them are shops: 738 mosques, plus parks and tourist attractions, are registered as open 24 hours all week.
TrendingiPhone Duo is on sale, but only online: Malaysia's one Apple Store is at TRX
Four storage sizes from RM9,499; instalments up to 24 months; Trade In credit of RM150–RM5,250.
Event · Kuala LumpurMaybank Championship in KL: five Malaysians on the entry list
Tickets from RM38 across three tiers; defending champion Miyu Yamashita is on the entry list.
TrendingFrom RM125: ECRL Gombak to Kota Bharu fares, plus 30% off economy in the first month
Transit to Kuala Terengganu starts from RM95, and to KotaSAS from RM60.
Event · Kuala LumpurHOMEDEC KL at KLCC, 29 Oct–1 Nov: two showhome themes, deals and rewards
The Savers Best Deals and Bundle Deals, with the organiser advertising up to 80% off.
TrendingTNG Pokémon cards: RM29 for one random card, and an RM232 box costs the same as eight packs
The product page links the Enhanced card's PDS: a card life of 7 years, or any other period set by TNGSB, and an RM1,500 cap.
Event · Kuala LumpurThree education expos at Bukit Jalil, 24–25 October: talks and kids' contests
Swim safety, speech therapy and physio talks, plus drawing and storytelling for the kids.
TrendingSeptember inflation: 1.8% nationally, 2.41% in Labuan, 0.54% in Sarawak
In the same month, transport rose 2.53% and clothing just 0.22%.
Event · Kuala LumpurStephen Hough plays the "Emperor": all-Beethoven with the MPO, 24 October
MyKad holders get 10% off and senior citizens 15%; standard seats are RM249, RM299, RM349 and RM399, plus RM5 per ticket and 3.5% per online transaction.
TrendingiPhone Duo inner screen: RM4,749 estimate out of warranty
AppleCare+ owners pay a RM469 service fee for that same inner screen.
Event · SelangorMIAPEX car expo, 23–25 October: drifting, modified cars, auctions
Over 50 car clubs meet up, and lucky draw prizes are worth RM10,000 or more.
TrendingState education offices decide haze school closures, and announce by 17:45
Group A is Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu; every other state is group B. A closed school is not a holiday.
Trade reportIn Perlis, 55% of eateries are rated 4.5 or above — nowhere else tops half
Selangor has the most places to eat, and its figure is near enough the national one. The real gap is up north and on the east coast.
Event · Kuala LumpurMalaysian Games Festival at Padang Merbok, 29 October to 1 November
Beyond the contests there are stage shows, a food festival and local product stalls — plenty to do even if you're not competing.
Event · SelangorMotoGP Sepang: all seat zones free on the Friday, MyKad holders' seats RM49.90
Most tiers were still on sale on 15 October 2026; check the price at the official ticket shop before you book.
TrendingElectric panel van TQ WULING Porta EV in Malaysia: the RM99,800 is marked an estimate, the RM105,800 is not
A van built for work: the official figures give a load bay of up to 6.5 cubic metres, a payload of 1,165 kg on the 300km variant against 1,105 kg on the 400km, and servicing of less than RM2,000 over five years.
TrendingRM1 pandan donuts at every Big Apple outlet in Malaysia, 10–31 October 2026, as the 100th store opens in Puchong
Nationwide, the brand says. Its own store directory, though, doesn't carry a single outlet entry in Penang, Perlis or Labuan.
Event · Kuala LumpurJaclyn Victor with the MPO, 17 October 2026 at Dewan Filharmonik PETRONAS: one performance, 920 seats, from RM249
After three turns on stage as a guest, Jaclyn Victor gets the whole evening with the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra: a hall of 920 seats, and a programme booklet that prints 14 items with one 20-minute interval in the middle.
TrendingMyKomuter50: an RM50 monthly pass for the whole KTM Komuter line, saving an average of up to RM160 (Budget 2027)
Three different RM50s sit in the same transport section, and only one of them is this pass. What the pass buys is the Komuter network, and KTMB's own site describes that network two different ways.
TrendingMalaysia's minimum wage rises to RM2,000 from June 2027: MSMEs with sales below RM50 million are exempt
The official documents stop at the month, June 2027, and name no day. On the tax side, the appendix calls the changes a proposal and ties them to the year of assessment 2027 — that is, income earned in 2027, not anything you will see on a January 2027 payslip. The two RM100 payments for those who do not receive STR are, per the official documents, estimated for payment ahead of Aidilfitri and Merdeka in 2027, with no month or day named.
TrendingOPPO Find X10 Malaysia launch set for 22 October: two RM200 pre-orders, different terms, still no price
Changing colour, getting the RM200 back towards the phone, having it delivered to your door — each one turns on a different clause. One payment leaves out the phone and still lets you switch model and colour; the other locks in the colour you picked and is spelt out as non-refundable.
Event · JohorOver 40 BAM players named: the ALLIANZ Malaysia SUPER 100 in Iskandar Puteri, Johor, 13–18 October 2026
BAM's press release presents the tournament as a proving ground for players, with Malaysia's rising stars competing for honours on home soil.
TrendingMazda CX-5 2026 Malaysia: from RM166,900, and RM3,000 for a pane of glass
Where you register changes what you pay: on the East Malaysia price list, both versions are RM2,387.30 higher on the road, excluding insurance — even though a year's road tax there is RM372.70 lower. Register in a company name and the Peninsular on-the-road price goes up another RM200.
TrendingMyEG stops handling JPJ transactions, RM314 million not handed over: from 5 October 2026, road tax, licences and summonses move to official channels
Two small things trip people up: whether the signboard at the door says Pos Laju, and whether your insurance covers the road tax period you are applying for. The official rates for road tax and a licence have not changed — what has changed is where you go.
Event · Kuala LumpurMYHOME Home Expo 2026, Pavilion Bukit Jalil, 9–11 October: the 44 appliance brands carried straight over to the 16–18 October Sunway show
A roster of regulars that simply gets re-dated: useful if you want to know who this organiser usually brings in, useless as a record of who turned up.
TrendingBudget 2027 will be tabled in Parliament on 9 October 2026: so far, all that's on paper is 10 focus areas and no figures
What the 2027 budget spends, and on whom, is on none of the finance ministry's pages: all that is on paper is 10 focus areas, not even a total. Anyone who wants to follow the tabling has to find their own way to it — the ministry has not said where to watch, and its portal footer lists only four official social platforms.
TrendingSamsung Galaxy Tab S12 in Malaysia from RM4,999, on sale 7 October 2026
The S Pen is in the box; the 45W adapter and the keyboard are sold separately. Samsung’s release says nothing about pre-orders.
TrendingGrab adds booster seats for children aged 4 to 12: RM10 per booking on a Standard 6-Seater, KLIA advance bookings only
Grab groups the launch with its other safety features, AudioProtect and Women-Only Rides (Beta). From there the rollout moves in phases to the rest of the Klang Valley, then Penang and Johor Bahru — but the statement gives no start date for any of them.
TrendingJPJ: Ops Luxury seized 3,790 luxury vehicles, Negeri Sembilan highest at 469
Bernama's report carried only the top five states. Add the other ten, which Sinar Harian and Kosmo supplied, and the 15 states and federal territories add up to exactly 3,790, with nothing left over. The same rulebook has a quieter side, set out on JPJ's own pages: the vehicle must carry insurance for the licence period applied for, and where the last licence lapsed by more than three years the vehicle must pass PUSPAKOM before the road tax can be renewed.
TrendingNew Honda City in Malaysia from RM89,900: the warranty runs up to 8 years, and years 6 to 8 cover engine and transmission (September 2026)
RM340 of that RM89,900 is not the car: it is road tax, the registration fee, the number plate and the ownership endorsement fee. Honda publishes no monthly instalment either — only a calculator on its own site for you to work it out yourself.
Trade reportSunday's gap is a daytime one: 51,978 fewer shops open at 09:00 than on Thursday, 2,671 fewer at 22:00 (HiGo listings, Malaysia, September 2026)
Saturday's gap is shallower and later: only 24,001 fewer shops open at 09:00, 81.2% of Thursday against Sunday's 59.3%, with the low point in the afternoon and the two days close again by night.
TrendingProton S70 Lite at RM56,800 (September 2026): the peninsular price after the RM3,000 rebate, list price RM59,800
Eight figures on the official list, and RM59,800 is the one that catches people out: on the list-price table it is the Lite on the peninsula, on the after-rebate table it is the Prime. Ask which variant you are being quoted, then ask whether the rebate has already come off.
Trending14 of the 20 banks that provide hire-purchase financing in Malaysia had begun offering the reducing balance method: where things stood on 18 September 2026
In Bank Negara Malaysia's own worked example, borrowing RM100,000 over 9 years at a flat rate of 3% p.a. and at an EIR of 5.5% p.a. works out the same either way: RM1,175.93 a month. So when you're shopping for a car loan, don't compare flat rates — ask for the EIR.
TrendingNothing Phone (4b) at RM1,499 and Ear (3a) at RM399 in Malaysia: the official store button still says “Pre-order” (20 September 2026)
Ordering online? The shipping line on both pages reads pre-order, 14 working days. Rather buy it in a shop? The on-sale date and the shop names come from the media, not from Nothing's own product pages.
TrendingPerodua Aruz price: four regions, four prices — from RM68,900 on the peninsula, RM70,900 in East Malaysia and Labuan, RM69,200 in Langkawi (18 September 2026)
Perodua's price and specification list splits Malaysia into four regions and gives each one its own figure: the same 1.5 X costs RM2,000 more in East Malaysia and Labuan than on the peninsula, and RM300 more in Langkawi. The AV carries exactly the same two gaps.
Event · SelangorRM138 a ticket, Fridays to Sundays only: Nights of Fright 12 at Sunway Lagoon, 25 September – 7 November 2026
Two things to settle before you book: which night to pick, and how you're getting out of Bandar Sunway afterwards.
TrendingMyKad replacement in Malaysia costs RM10 to RM1,010: the new version opens on 17 September 2026 and the minister says don't rush
JPN's site carries only its current replacement fees, checked on 16 September 2026: a damaged card, a lost one, a change of address and a change of details each work out differently, and a loss on its own splits into three bands. Whether swapping a perfectly good card for the new version costs anything isn't on the site.
TrendingH-series plate bidding: from RM300, single digits RM20,000
Winning is where it starts: the number has to go on a vehicle within 12 months, or it's withdrawn, the money's gone, and you can't ask for an extension.
TrendingNetflix Malaysia 2026: from RM19.90 in English, RM18.90 in Malay
Signing up? Budget for RM19.90 to RM69.90. Already paying? You'll be told a month before a new price reaches your bill, and your payment history shows what you're charged.
TrendingApple Watch Series 12 Malaysia 2026: from RM1,799, in stores 18 Sept
On its own, the entry-level RM1,799 model falls short of the 0% instalment threshold. Hypertension Notifications won't be available here at first, and on 18 September the TRX store opens two hours early, at 08:00.
State report · JohorTwo-thirds of Johor's hotel and travel trade is outside JB district (Sept 2026)
In HiGo's listings, Johor Bahru district, which takes in JB city, Iskandar Puteri and Pasir Gudang, has more merchants than Johor's other nine districts combined. Beauty businesses are even more concentrated there, about two in three; for restaurants and cafés, it's roughly half.
Trending · Kuala LumpurMalaysia's first Pokémon Center pop-up is at Ombak KLCC until 31 December 2026
Nintendo's first pop-up in Malaysia is in the same mall, also open until the end of December, with exclusive Mario-design merchandise made for Malaysia.
Trade reportStill 4.9 after 1,000 reviews: phone shops 85%, restaurants under 10% (Malaysia, September 2026)
In HiGo's listings, more than 85% of dental clinics, phone shops and medical clinics with at least 1,000 reviews are still rated 4.9 or better. Not a single hypermarket or supermarket with that many reviews makes it.
TrendingFoldable iPhone Duo in Malaysia from RM9,499, out October 2026
The iPhone 18 Pro gets here first: it starts at RM5,499, pre-orders opened on 12 September, and it goes on sale on 18 September.
Neighbourhood report · SelangorPetaling district has 41,128 businesses, more than all of Penang (September 2026)
In HiGo's listings, it is also home to half of Selangor's office-based firms, from consultancies to law firms, and two-thirds of its software companies. Close to one in four of its cafes is marked permanently closed.
Trade reportOnly 27% of Malaysian restaurants with 100+ reviews rate 4.5+; at clinics it’s nine in ten (September 2026)
A 4.5 carries a different weight in every industry. Restaurants draw more reviews per shop than any other group, yet their share of 4.5s sits in the bottom three of 17. Clinics are the opposite.
State report · SelangorSelangor has more industrial firms than Johor and Penang combined, in HiGo's listings (September 2026)
Close to one in three of Malaysia's industrial firms in our listings is in Selangor. Stays and travel, on the other hand, make up just 3.5% of the state's merchants, about half the national figure.
State report · Kuala LumpurOnly in KL do offices outnumber car businesses: 5,155 to 3,994 (September 2026)
A third of the software companies in HiGo's listings are in KL. It has less than half Selangor's merchant count, yet more Japanese restaurants and bars. Homestays? Just 198.