As Garuda rises, events in Malaysia cast a sinking feeling

As Garuda rises, events in Malaysia cast a sinking feeling



From Walter Sandosam

The Garuda, a mythological bird, symbolising the virtues of knowledge, power, loyalty and discipline served as a mount for a Hindu God as a vehicle for flight.

Indonesia on Jan 18 passed a law to relocate its capital to East Kalimantan from the overpopulated and sinking Jakarta. The relocation is the direct consequence of its slow physical sinking. Is Malaysia also ‘sinking’?

The new capital city, Nusantara will cover at least 216 square miles. Indonesian president Joko Widodo said: “This (capital) will not only have government offices. We want to build a new smart metropolis that can be a magnet for global talent and a centre of innovation”.

We recall rather similar assertions when Malaysia shifted its administrative capital to Putrajaya, many years ago.

It was the golden age for Malaysia being the darling of foreign investors given its excellent infrastructure, talent pool, and economic vibrancy underpinned by a sound political environment with policies that chartered the course to greater heights on multiple fronts.

One can’t help but draw comparisons on the opportunities currently being offered by Malaysia and the tremendous potential which will be unleashed with the invigoration at Nusantara. Will Malaysia be able to capitalise on Nusantara?

Malaysians are also experiencing a “sinking” feeling. This is not attributable to earth movements. It is related to the cerebral senses. It encompasses integrity, loyalty, discipline, and moral values among others.

Indicators to this “sinking feeling” include the drop in corruption perception index (CPI) rankings, declining level of quality foreign investment, escalation of business costs, foreign labour exploitation, rising prices, and quality of life among others.

More disconcerting – and to further exacerbate this anxiety – is the failure of certain institutions to exhibit good governance. It embraces accountability and transparency when probed on questionable practices of double standards.

Some oversight bodies appear emasculated and much focus is spent on discrediting whistleblowers. At the extreme, there are instances of institutions being weaponised for political benefit.

Holistically, is Malaysia backsliding given its overdependence on foreign labour, smaller landmass, cost structure, corruption, rise in fundamentalism, erosion of moral values, and the migration of talent abroad due to outdated policies?

This fretfulness is compounded by the recent changes of the helmsman – three prime ministers in three years.

This contrasts sharply with what is observed at the immediate neighbours in the region. It has caused a certain degree of trepidation. At the state level, there is unpredictable flux.

The Milken Institute’s Global Opportunity Index, which evaluates countries to measure their potential attractiveness to foreign investors, ranks Malaysia first in emerging Southeast Asia. However, political uncertainty may result in cautiousness.

Let not Malaysia take the erroneous step of shooting itself in the foot. The country should get its footing intact as neighbours’ progress and it cannot continue to rely on past robustness to take it into the next decade of intellectualism and digitalisation.

To ensure consistency, a resilient political environment is crucial to drive policies to sustain and grow the economy.

Over the hilt political bickering, backstabbing, horse trading, character assassinations, or abuse of institutions to promote political gain will only serve to drive the nail into the coffin in Malaysia’s quest for future peace and economic prosperity.

At its core, the strong leadership in Indonesia which has the Garuda as its emblem is paying dividends as the country marches forward.



Walter Sandosam served as a senior research fellow at a leading local private university.