The Malaysian Dilemma

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They are the B40 and M40, Malays, Chinese, Indians, Sikhs, Sabahans, and Sarawakians.
Some live in low-cost condominiums, others in ageing apartments with leaking pipes and dim corridors. A few stay in PPR flats where the lifts have not worked in months. Others share cramped rooms above shop lots or in converted factory dormitories near industrial zones.
They leave home before sunrise, whether to man food stalls, work shifts, ride for deliveries, or clock in at factories. Life is not easy, but they carry on, because stopping is not an option.
You see them without needing to look. The mak cik selling nasi lemak under a blue canopy, the Indian aunty flipping thosai at a roadside stall, the Chinese uncle pouring tau fu fah beside his tiny stall.
ADSBy evening, an anne rolls out a cart with murukku and snacks, while someone next to him juices sugarcane for RM3 a cup.
Every street corner is a survival plan. Some open for breakfast, some stay till midnight. Each one is hoping today will cover tomorrow.
They live with the bare minimum, not because they want to, but because the system has pushed them into corners. Where even basic things - transport, rent, diapers - become luxuries to be rationed.
They are not asking for gold. They just want their money to mean something again.
Rising costs, same low salaries
Meanwhile, a meal that used to cost RM6 now costs RM10. A bag of rice that was RM28 now touches RM40.
But salaries haven’t moved in step. The minimum wage may be RM1,700, but that barely covers rent in the Klang Valley, let alone food, transport, or bills. The government can raise the floor, but what’s the use if the ceiling keeps rising?
The sales and service tax (SST) has long burdened everyday Malaysians. It is not just about luxury; it touches the basics.
The sales tax now reaches up to 10 percent, and the service tax has climbed to eight percent for many services.
For the working class, this means more expensive meals, pricier telco bills, and transport costs that quietly rise month after month.
You don’t need to be an economist to feel it. A packet of nasi campur, a bag of detergent, and a new pair of school shoes, everything cost more, but wages stay the same.
Youths grapple with broken system
ADSAnd what of the young? Those barely out of school, holding only an SPM certificate and quiet hope.
Some flip burgers in the heat. Others do wiring or car wash jobs under the sun. Some become full-time drivers or riders, weaving through traffic to earn just enough to cover fuel, phone bills, and loan payments.
They want to marry, to build a home, to be someone. But marriage now needs five figures. Rumah mampu milik is neither affordable nor available.
They are criticised for not settling down, for not being “responsible”, but no one asks what kind of system turns ambition into anxiety.
Even graduates find themselves stuck. They attend job interviews, collect rejection emails, and end up in contract roles with no long-term security. Some become junior clerks, while others land unpaid internships just for a shot.
A few manage to enter the civil service or government-linked companies, but often only after someone makes a call: An uncle who once worked in the agency, a friend of the family, or a strategic favour owed.
It is not merit; it is machinery. And when new intakes come, only a small fraction are true fresh graduates. The rest are recycled privilege, groomed to perpetuate the same culture of secrecy and silent corruption.
Rich get richer, poor get poorer
For decades, we have spoken of “uplifting the poor”, but rarely interrogated the wealthy. The factory owners, the silent millionaires, the politically connected contractors who cry poverty when asked to pay a fair share.
These are not myths; they exist in every state. They win tenders in silence, then collect profits while claiming the system is broken. When subsidies are slashed and taxes expanded, they are untouched because they have lawyers, accountants, and access.
The top 10 percent in this country are tightly woven together: Politicians, senior civil servants, and business tycoons.
Offshore accounts? Already opened. Beneficiaries? Already named. When one is exposed, the rest close ranks. The money may move in silence, but the network is loud in protection.
While these elites expand wealth quietly, the tax burden falls disproportionately on wage earners. The working class pays through SST, overpriced goods, rising rent, and disappearing subsidies.
There is no comprehensive wealth tax. No estate tax. Capital gains are only taxed in narrow bands.
As of 2024, a two percent dividend tax exists for income above RM100,000, and CGT only applies to certain unlisted shares or real property gains. But loopholes remain wide enough for the rich to stroll through.
We know the solution
We have the ability to change this. In New York, Zohran Mamdani, an aspiring young mayoral candidate, gained immense support for one radical idea: tax the rich.
He proposed a seven percent tax on income above US$1 million, specifically to fund public housing.
It is not utopia; it is practical. If one of the richest cities in the world can explore this, why not us? Why do we still treat millionaires like endangered species?
The problem is not a lack of funds. It is a lack of will. We know where the money is, we know who hoards land, inflates contracts, and evades taxes.
Zohran MamdaniMeanwhile, the rakyat survives by selling food on pavements, renting rooms with strangers, and praying their tyres don’t burst this week.
We must stop pretending this is a temporary glitch. This is the structure. This is the consequence of decades of protecting wealth while blaming the poor for their own struggle. No rebranding exercise will solve it.
The rakyat do not need pep talks. They need fairness, they need courage from those in power, and they need a country that stops feeding the top while draining the bottom.
They want stability, they want to come home from work and not wonder if their rent will go up next month, they want to afford groceries without checking their balance three times, and they want jobs based on merit, not connections.
But every day, they are reminded that this country rewards the well-placed, not the hard-working. That it honours pedigree, not persistence. And that the weight of this economy is carried by many, but controlled by a few.
The Malaysian dilemma is not just economic; it is deeply moral. A society where the honest are exhausted, and the dishonest are protected. A system where every ringgit is taxed at the bottom, and quietly hidden at the top. - Mkini
MAHATHIR MOHD RAIS is a former Federal Territories Bersatu and Perikatan Nasional secretary.
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.

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