Wishlist for 2026

THE year 2026 is afoot and there is hopefully a lot to look forward to this year after a tumultuous 2025.

Many would have made a list of their New Year’s resolutions, which we all know will not last the year for most.

Governments too enter the year with renewed vigour over what needs to happen and political turbulence is par for the course of any country. Few are spared the tumult that every year brings.

For Malaysia, there surely is going to be a wishlist of what we will like to see happen, and for me, I will pen five things I will like to keep an eye out for in 2026 to make Malaysia better.

First off is the economy. Yes, growth is projected to be a decent 4% to 4.5%. Growth last year is expected to be good to reach the upper end of estimates of 4.8%.

The economy keeps chugging along with the usual drivers doing their bidding in keeping growth elevated.

Consumption will be lifted by the usual salary adjustments by both the private and public sectors, but projected to get a lift from Visit Malaysia Year 2026 (VM2026) with an influx of foreign tourists.

VM2026 is the major programme to start the year that is projected to bring in tangible benefits for the country.

Tourist arrivals are expected to surge to 35.6 million people with tourism receipts looking to hit RM147.1bil this year.

That spending is expected to translate to a lift on consumption of between a reported RM13bil to RM21bil.

Apart from that, jobs will be created to support the activities of VM2026, which is already a substantial employer in the country.

As there is greater certainty in terms of the economic impact of VM2026, the US tariffs on industry in Malaysia will exert some drag on the economy.

It is projected that the US tariffs will shave gross domestic product or GDP by 0.76 percentage points in 2026 from both direct and indirect impacts on the economy.

Semiconductor exports to the United States have been spared the tariff effect of 19% for now, but Malaysia’s relative low tariffs of 19% offer some leeway from companies looking to move operations to Malaysia from higher tariff jurisdictions.

But the imposition of tariffs can offer some certainty, with some countries in this region yet to negotiate their tariffs with the United States.

Next on the list is institutional reforms that are intimated following the Sabah election.

Many of the reforms floated in political manifestos are now back on track.

There have been no details on what is enumerated in terms of reforms, but the general thrusts of that is to improve the governance and functioning of the political establishment in the country.

Improving governance in Malaysia can only be a good thing along with improvements and cutting back on regulations or red tape.

As the world simplifies to make the wheels of the economy better oiled, cutting back on regulations can only translate to real gains not encumbered by red tape that in a lot of instances do not offer tangible benefits.

Institutional reforms and the cutting of red tape will help the economy and as the economy grows, employment is surely to follow.

Malaysia needs to create 400,000 jobs a year to keep unemployment low.

The unemployment rate currently at 3% does indicate a full employment scenario, which is a huge plus for the government.

Keeping unemployment low is on step in order to boost confidence, especially when it comes to consumption.

People who are secure in their employment prospects will have little reservation when it comes to making discretionary purchasing decisions.

The final item to keep an eye out for is the performance of the ringgit.

The ringgit was Asia’s best performing currency last year, and this year, with the lift that is expected to come from VM2026 and further reductions in US interest rates, the ringgit is expected to perform better this year.

It is also normal for the ringgit to see some pullback after a stellar 2025, but inflows of money that keep raising Malaysia’s foreign-exchange reserves can only help the ringgit’s strength.

Also, the ringgit’s strength should be used as an opportunity to reform businesses, where productivity raising measures should be pursued at the expense of hoping for a cheap currency for competitive reasons.

The year 2026 will certainly be eventful like the preceding years and there is a lot to look forward to.

Here’s to wishing the best for the country in this new year.