I learn that our economy is being affected by ‘negative noise’ fed by alternative media. As a result, it is the wrong perception that weighs down our economy.

The word ‘noise’, in one of its ordinary meanings, means ‘unexplained or unexpected information that is not useful or that can be ignored’. The word ‘perception’ means ‘a belief or opinion held by many people based on things seem’ (Cambridge dictionary).

I believe this is how the secretary-general of the Treasury looks at the ‘state’ of the Malaysian economy today - it is the negative noise which gives rise to perception that is not based on reality. The economy is doing fine, but persistent negative noise gives it an impression that the economy is bad. To turn around, we have to get rid of the negative noise and change our perception.

To begin with, we have to look at the so called negative noise. I leave it to you to decide whether these are ‘noise’ or ‘verifiable information’.

(i) 1MDB and its plethora of problems;

(ii) The court cases in the US and Singapore and investigations in other jurisdictions;

(iii) The escalation in cost of living far outstripping the Goods and Services Tax (GST) rate;

(iv) The falling value of ringgit far surpassing other regional currencies;

(v) The continued fiscal deficit and the added burden of public debts - debt servicing is how many percent of operating expenditure now?

(vi) The questionable and burdensome public infrastructure investment programmes;

(vii) The problems in Felda, Felda Global Ventures (FGV) and other government-linked companies (GLCs);

(viii) Graduates’ unemployment and their inability to service study loans;

(ix) Serious differences over policies on race, religion, education and economic management;

(x) Political parties hardly able to compromise on any issue.

If the above are verifiable information, how do we expect the people to perceive differently or wrongly?

There is a saying “perception is reality”. What we perceive are based on what we experience or observe. Occasionally we may draw wrong inferences from our experience or observation but it is difficult to fathom we are wrong all the time. More often than not, experience and observation are our best teachers.

In Malaysia, we like to blame wrong perceptions. We blame negative noise that gives rise to wrong perception as if perception is something that can be orchestrated, managed or manipulated.

Here is my question to the authorities: If a few nitezens could create ‘wrong’ perception, why can’t the authorities create the ‘right’ perception? I am sure the government has more resources at its disposal to dispel any wrong perception and to put in place the right perception.

We can’t run away from the truth, can we? We may choose to manipulate, but truth shall eventually prevail. Why argue the pump price of petrol is more than one pound per litre in the UK when the people there are earning pound like the way we earn ringgit? It is a choice whether we want to talk like an economist or a layperson at the coffeeshop.