This article first appeared in Forum, The Edge Malaysia Weekly on September 2, 2019 - September 8, 2019

Independence means many things in Malaysia. It is a celebration of who we are and what we have achieved. Yet it’s not just recognition of a shared past but the potential of a shared future built on equitable wealth and well-being for all.

In Part One of this series exploring well-being in Malaysia, I highlighted the importance of regenerating opportunity, not simply redistributing it. There is no long-term reward in shuffling the deck. We want to add more cards to the table. But crucially, we need to go a step further to make sure everyone has the same chance to enjoy the game.

As we celebrate the joy of Merdeka — our nation’s independence — we must look to supporting the independence of the nation’s citizens in building a better future. Malaysia, and its government, must work to create the right environment for its citizens to flourish.

Understanding sustainable progress

Boston Consulting Group’s Sustainable Economic Development Assessment (SEDA) provides a toolkit to assess well-being around the world. Overall, Malaysia’s SEDA performance reveals a nation doing well and enjoying gradual improvement. But stagnation remains a risk compared with the nation’s peers, some of which are pulling ahead in key elements of sustainable well-being.

The future is constantly evolving. That means government strategy must evolve alongside it. We are rightly focused on building opportunity for our youth but equally, we should not overlook the creation of opportunities for a changing national demographic.

Modern medicine means living to see 100 is increasingly realistic. Are we content to live in a rigid structure of study and work stretching towards 60, only to wallow in retirement thereafter? We must develop institutions designed to reskill older generations. My parents, and your parents, will need this support in adapting to the changing future of work.

A learning nation

Lifelong learning should be supported by the implementation of skill-based credentials that are aligned with changing workforce needs to complement higher education diplomas. Access to educational opportunities must expand beyond traditional institutions. We should also evolve to recognise existing skills and experience gained within work or through prior coursework. It is imperative that our education system adopts these steps to ensure a sustainable future built on lifelong learning for all.

We need to create an environment that makes longer retirements financially viable while ensuring meaningful work for citizens entering their senior years. Only then can we create a sustainable regeneration of well-being fit for tomorrow.

The future of work will see automation and artificial intelligence playing an increasingly important role. Robots might be after our jobs but the uncles and aunties are going to need some too. In a nutshell, well-being is intrinsically linked to a feeling of dignity and self-worth created by employment.

A working nation

Fittingly, independence is at the heart of this story. It is the independence to support our own future, encouraged by an environment that provides purpose and dignity to the individual. Malaysia’s small and medium enterprise (SME) sector is a crucial consideration in this regard. SMEs contribute just 37.1% to GDP yet account for 66% of our jobs!

Despite representing an essential arena of employment, SMEs have yet to receive the same national support enjoyed by government-linked companies (GLCs) whose size places them firmly in the national spotlight. The government should avoid the temptation to boost targeted companies with grants or subsidies and instead focus on promoting an enabling environment that allows businesses to succeed.

Champions are forged through adversity in an open market, creating enterprises that are able to adapt to an evolving business landscape. Supporting SMEs not only enhances the concept of independence for the nation but also enables a more equitable economic environment that feeds into positive well-being. That is especially true of citizens whose qualifications fall short of the educational demands of GLCs or multinational corporations.

A living nation

The nation’s property market is another area where social wealth and well-being face challenges. While the overhang of luxury condominiums continues to grow, affordable housing projects run the risk of creating ghettos that compound issues of poverty. A holistic approach to a living environment should provide space to live, work and play. Low-cost projects may seem like a solution but these are, at best, a quick fix, distant from the amenities that generate true communities.

If our personal environment influences our opportunity for well-being, there is nothing quite as personal as the space in which we live. A positive living environment is fundamental to independent social well-being.

A clean nation

The measure of environment represents the least impressive aspect of Malaysia’s performance in SEDA 2019, with the nation dropping 47 places in global ranking between 2008 and 2019.

Air quality is a major challenge, falling from a score of 89.7 in 2008 to 69.3 in 2019. Carbon intensity also increased, with Malaysia’s energy-hungry economy now consuming 2.71kg per kg of oil equivalent, up from 2.55 in 2008. There are positive signs of change. Cutting down on foreign plastic dumping, ramping up renewable energy use and a stricter regulatory environment for pollution are essential. Meanwhile, Singapore has committed a minimum investment of S$100 billion over the next century to mitigate the impact of climate change. Malaysia must embrace a more methodical approach to its own evolving climate challenges.

A healthy nation

Health is another area in which Malaysia has lost ground. While life expectancy increased between 2008 and 2019, other key metrics have remained stubbornly level, or fallen in the case of hospital beds per 10,000 citizens. It is hard to create an environment of independent social well-being when you cannot access vital healthcare. Once again, this is a particularly acute need for Malaysia’s SMEs. A small business owner does not get paid if he is too sick to work.

Malaysia should focus on a patient-centric healthcare delivery model in which healthcare providers are rewarded for positive patient outcomes rather than the volume of activities performed. This fundamental shift from volume to value can promote a system where patient outcomes are prioritised, contributing towards greater quality care and reduced costs for our healthcare ecosystem. A value-based approach starts by measuring outcomes that matter to a particular population segment, then tailoring interventions for patients across the care pathway. This represents a positive step towards positive health and well-being.

Sustaining a nation with shared well-being

The government, business and society must work to ensure that even as we tackle the challenges today, we nurture an environment that can evolve to address the challenges of tomorrow. Strategic investment in education, employment, health and the environment forms the foundation of that future for our nation.

But what is a nation?

“The essence of a nation is all of its individuals have many things in common, and also that everyone has forgotten many things,” said 19th century French scholar Ernest Renan. He added, “No French citizen knows whether he is a Burgund, an Alain, a Taifala, or a Visigoth”, revealing how even the bloody rivalry of these sects could be laid aside.

Certainly, this represents six centuries between sectarian violence and a united French nation. We are only six decades old. But we can surely try. Shared well-being should, and indeed must, play a part in this unity.

My wish then is for Malaysians to enjoy a nation built on common well-being, where we are empowered to forget our differences and blessed with the opportunity to appreciate all that we have in common. For that dream to become a reality, we need our leaders to help us forget rather than remind us of our ancestral past. We need leaders to help us forge a better future together. Together, we can regenerate a nation that fulfils that common hope of shared well-being for all.

Vincent Chin is Boston Consulting Group’s Leader for Public Sector globally. This is the second of a two-part series in conjunction with Malaysia’s 62nd year of independence.

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