2026: The Year To Prove MADANI Policies Deliver

By Nurul Hanis Izmir

PUTRAJAYA, Dec 25 (Bernama) -- Over the course of its three-year tenure, the MADANI Government has successfully stabilised the national economy and mitigated cost-of-living pressures, navigating a complex period of post-pandemic recovery and global instability.

However, as we enter 2026, a narrative centred solely on stability is no longer adequate.

The coming year heralds a more decisive test: whether the government possesses the resolve to translate its policies into tangible public benefit, or remains preoccupied with managing perceptions. This question will be weighed closely by the public, scrutinised by analysts, and judged by the markets.

This scrutiny carries immense weight, as the nation enters the final two-year countdown to the 16th General Election, a period where every policy move is fraught with significant political and economic consequences.

The cost of living is set to remain the defining domestic issue, one that resonates most directly in the daily lives of citizens.

The government's prioritisation of this challenge is evident in its targeted initiatives, notably the allocation of approximately RM15 billion to programmes like Sumbangan Tunai Rahmah, Rahmah Sales and Sumbangan Asas Rahmah.

The central question as we approach 2026 is whether the government is prepared to move beyond stabilisation and implement more decisive measures, including reforms to subsidies and wage structures,  which may prove unpopular but are necessary for long-term fiscal sustainability and social equity.

Chief economist of Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd, Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid, believes that entering its fourth year, the benchmark for the MADANI Government's success has shifted.

The focus is no longer merely on maintaining stability, but on the degree to which its reforms translate into palpable, everyday relief for citizens.

In this context, he highlighted the use of MyKad as a subsidy targeting mechanism as a significant achievement, as it has laid the groundwork for a more equitable and precise assistance system.

By ensuring subsidies reach the intended majority of citizens while curbing leakages to non-citizens and large firms, the system achieves two key objectives. It protects vital support for the public while generating the essential fiscal capacity to enable further, phased subsidy reforms down the line.

Meanwhile, from a macroeconomic perspective, Malaysia's performance this year indicates a promising trajectory of underlying economic resilience.

Gross Domestic Product grew by 4.7 percent in the first nine months of the year, buoyed by robust domestic demand, a stable labour market and consistent investment inflows into high-value sectors.

This positive momentum is reflected in HSBC Global Research's revised growth projection, which has been raised from 4.2 percent to five percent, reflecting investor confidence.

However, a strong economy does not equate to a licence for complacency. On the contrary, it creates higher expectations that the government must leverage this improved fiscal space to pursue difficult yet essential reforms, ranging from subsidy rationalisation to strengthening the social safety net.

Success in implementing such policies will also hinge on effective communication. Reforms that are not clearly understood by the public risk being rejected, regardless of their good intentions.

In this context, the role of the media extends far beyond merely reporting information. As Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has noted, the media is a strategic partner to the government, particularly in explaining policy nuances and scrutinising legislative provisions that could potentially impinge on freedoms.

Such transparency is viewed as crucial, not just for bolstering public confidence but also for empowering the media to effectively fulfil its role in overseeing the process.

Ultimately, 2026 will be more than a year of continuity; it will be a decisive trial of the MADANI Government's ability to balance public aspirations with economic stability, while summoning the political will to implement tough but essential reforms.

Having built a solid platform over its first three years, the administration must now translate that groundwork into tangible results, with policies that provide genuine relief in people's daily lives and lift the nation to a stronger, more resilient position.

 -- BERNAMA