KUALA LUMPUR, May 16 — Malaysia needs a concrete and accountable economic strategy to create high-quality jobs instead of relying on “wishful thinking” and broad policy slogans, says Parti BERJASA vice president Afif Badhrulhisham.
Commenting on the latest Malaysian Economic Monitor by the World Bank, Afif said the report should serve as a serious warning over Malaysia’s weakening competitiveness and inability to generate enough high-paying jobs for educated workers.
“The World Bank’s findings are not minor technical observations. They are a structural indictment of Malaysia’s economic direction after decades of development promises,” he said in a statement.
He pointed to the report’s conclusion that Malaysia’s frontier firms have either failed to scale up or lacked sufficient innovation, resulting in a widening productivity gap between top Malaysian companies and global competitors.
‘Talent exists, but ecosystem is failing’
Afif argued that Malaysia’s problem is not a shortage of talent, but the failure to build an ecosystem capable of retaining and maximising local capabilities.
He said weak university-industry collaboration, poor technology commercialisation and limited transfer of expertise from foreign firms have collectively constrained innovation growth.
“This is compounded by brain drain, where skilled Malaysians increasingly look abroad because the domestic economy is not creating enough high-skill, high-productivity opportunities,” he said.
According to Afif, the consequence is clear: Malaysia continues to struggle in producing competitive firms capable of offering strong wages and long-term career growth.
Graduate underemployment reflects deeper structural issue
Afif also highlighted concerns over graduate underemployment, saying the issue reflects a demand-side failure rather than a simple mismatch of skills.
He noted that many tertiary-educated Malaysians are now working in jobs below their qualifications despite continued expansion in higher education and training programmes.
“We keep focusing on producing more graduates while neglecting whether the economy is creating quality roles capable of absorbing them,” he said.
“A graduate may technically be employed, but if he is trapped in low-productivity work with suppressed wages, then the system is still failing him.”
He warned that prolonged underemployment would further accelerate brain drain and weaken Malaysia’s long-term productivity growth.
Calls for ‘real industrial policy’
Afif said Malaysia urgently requires a serious industrial strategy focused on scaling frontier firms and building domestic innovation capacity.
Among the measures proposed were stronger university-industry partnerships, improved innovation financing mechanisms, and regulatory reforms to help high-growth firms expand more efficiently.
He also urged the government to address what he described as the structural dependence on cheap foreign labour, arguing that it suppresses wages and discourages firms from investing in automation and productivity improvements.
“For decades, Malaysia has spoken about becoming a knowledge economy, but execution has consistently lagged behind ambition,” he said.
“The assumption that growth and foreign direct investment alone would naturally push Malaysia up the value chain has clearly not materialised.”
‘Graduates deserve more than slogans’
Afif said the Madani government must now demonstrate how its reform agenda will translate into measurable economic outcomes.
He questioned whether the government has a clear roadmap to narrow the productivity gap between Malaysian firms and global competitors, including specific timelines, targets and accountability mechanisms.
“If institutional reform and economic restructuring are serious commitments, then the government must present a concrete and time-bound plan instead of another glossy blueprint,” he said.
“Our graduates are waiting for answers. They deserve more than slogans.”
