Page 27 - ELITE PLUS MAGAZINE VOL9

I think the underlying reason behind therally is the fear in the people – the fear about the rising cost of living, how to make ends meet, especially withall the financial scandals and leakages being reported in the mediaas Malaysians,” she said. “Whether you are an Iban, Chinese, Melanau, Malay, etc – there’s no distinct separate identity over here.”The private sector will be hoping that such positive sentiments take greater hold across the country in the coming year, but much will hinge on economic growth. In Southeast Asia especially, whenever the economy improves, political and societal frustrations tend to ease. The political divide in Malaysia at the moment, however, is threatening to become an impassable gulf.As Zara, 31, a civil servant, put it, “I think that it’s great to see that people would rally together for a just cause. And that societies every- where need free, impartial processes. However, I also think that the majority of people do not really care a fig about ideologies. They are more concerned with making a living, andwho could fault them? I think the underlying reason behind the rally is the fear in the people – the fear about the rising cost of living, how to make ends meet, especially with all the financial scandals and leakages being reported in the media. There’s no great leap needed to see that if the leakages are contained, the economy will be resurrected and the people will be better off.”On the eve of the inauguration of the AEC, all is not well in Malaysia. And due to longstanding structural problems and factional politics, and the cooling of a Chinese juggernaut once able to drag ASEAN economies along with its own, the outlook for 2016 is somewhat bleak for much of the region – but for Malaysia and Thailand in particular.Elite+ 25