COMMENT | If economy is doing well, why don’t Malaysians feel it?

COMMENT | Recently, Ipsos Malaysia, a research marketing firm released the results of a survey they conducted stating that 68 percent of Malaysians feel that the country is in a recession.

This is despite the fact that data shows Malaysia is actually experiencing economic growth. The economy grew to 3.7 percent in 2023 and is expected to grow steadily by four to five percent this year.

There is much more data that shows this. Bank Negara Malaysia announced last month that the economy expanded by 4.2 percent in the first quarter of 2024, from 2.9 percent in 2023.

Gross domestic product (GDP) also grew by 5.6 percent. I haven’t written this many economic terms in a single essay since I took micro and macroeconomics in university back in 1996!

The survey continues to show that...