Malaysia’s Economy: Identity Politics and Reality!

The recent move by the United States to impose new tariffs makes one thing clear: we are heading toward economic warfare. You do not need weapons to attack and bring down a government. Economics is simple. It doesn’t care about your race, religion, or rhetoric. It rewards productivity and punishes inefficiency. It respects innovation, not entitlement. 

And this is where Malaysia keeps failing. We need to educate ourselves that the era of the 1990s and early 2000s—is over. Our future now boils down to pure productivity, innovation, and collaboration. For decades, we’ve been trapped in the politics of identity. We argue about quotas, special rights, and who deserves what, while the world races ahead.

 

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org

 

Vietnam is attracting manufacturers we once had. Indonesia is building a digital economy. Even Singapore, with no natural resources, is outpacing us (and that too with a population one-fifth of ours).

 

Meanwhile, we’re still measuring opportunity through the lens of race. Are we doing a disservice to our nation and to future generations? Here’s the hard truth: the global market doesn’t care if you’re Malay, Chinese, Indian, Kadazan or Iban. Investors only ask: Can you deliver? Can you innovate? Can you be trusted? If not, they will take their money elsewhere. The world owes Malaysia nothing.

 

Every time we reward mediocrity based on race, we punish the excellence that could lift the entire country. Every time we craft policy based on identity instead of merit, we weaken our international competitiveness. Every time we allow politics to divide us, we hand our future over to our rivals.

 

The government should not assume ordinary Malaysians are blind to this. Walk into a pasar malam or a kopitiam, and you’ll see people of all backgrounds trading, buying, and working together seamlessly.

 

On the ground, economics is colour-blind. It is politics that has poisoned the system for decades. If Malaysia wants to prosper, we must have the courage to separate race and religion from economics. This is a bitter pill to swallow, but a necessary one.

Education must focus on skills, not slogans. Our mantra must be quality education that delivers unmatched, excellent skills. Opportunities must be based on merit, not ethnicity. Merit breeds productivity and innovation—a fact proven by our own history. Productivity must matter more than privilege. Otherwise, we will slide into irrelevance.

 

Economics is not sentimental; it is not swayed by hype. It does not reward identity. It rewards those who work, innovate, and cooperate. If Malaysia doesn’t learn this truth soon, we will pay the price—not in political rhetoric, but in lost jobs, declining industries, and a generation left behind.

 

The staggering statistics of brain drain to our neighbours, who were once a part of us, tell the whole story or those that have left us for Canada, US, UK or Australia (over 285,000). And to Singapore… over 2 million. What’s the point of STEM, if we don’t have R&D in this country. What’s the point of space launch pads in Sabah or Pahang when we don’t have the engineers or astro-physicists? What’s the point of national cars which have out-dated technologies and remain shielded from competition? What’s the point of APs if it’s only for Ali Babas to thrive? Time is now to reform this nation. Have the courage please!

 

Reference:

Malaysia’s economy: Identity politics doesn’t pay the bills, KT Maran, Focus Malaysia,
1 September 2025