How will Malaysia fare in 2016?

There are only 12 days left to the year. A year that Malaysians will probably remember as one that recorded the lowest oil prices in recent years – it reached below US$34.50 a barrel on Friday – and which saw the government having to grapple with its impact on the national coffers. It was also a year that saw Malaysians struggling to cope with the April imposition of the 6% goods and services tax, besides contending with imported inflation from a plunging ringgit, which slumped to new 17-year lows of 4.50 against the greenback. The nation also saw rising political tension after the public spat intensified between former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak over 1Malaysia Development Bhd, which is being investigated for financial mismanagement and graft. The issue was no doubt exacerbated by a surprise Cabinet reshuffle in July in which Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin was sacked as deputy prime minister just days after he publicly called for greater transparency on the 1MDB debacle, and the sudden removal of then attorney-general Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail for "health reasons". On the heels of that came well-respected Bank Negara Malaysia governor Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz's hint that she would be retiring when her contract ends in April 2016.  These and more characterised 2015 to Malaysians, a year in which we also became acquainted with the phrase "trust deficit". An easy year it definitely has not been thus far, but there are surely some key takeaways and lessons learnt from it. In the latest The Edge Malaysia publication (December 21 to 27), the weekly features nine individuals whom it hoped were a good representation of "today's corporate and thought leaders, as well as tomorrow's up-and-coming minds, and movers and shakers", of their take on the year that will soon come to pass, and what they believe 2016 has in store for us – their fears, hopes and expectations for the coming year, as well as what they would like to see done. In no particular order, they are:  1. Datuk Seri Abdul Wahid Omar, 51, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department in charge of the Economic Planning Unit since June 2013, and one of two technocrats handpicked to join the Cabinet after the 13th general election. He also chairs the Special Economic Committee, which was announced on August 26 to develop immediate and medium-term plans to strengthen Malaysia's fundamentals. 2. Datuk Seri Nazir Razak, 49, chairman of the CIMB Group and youngest son of second prime minister Tun Abdul Razak. Nazir has been counted as one of Asia's most influential corporate figures for at least a decade, but, describes himself as a "semi-retired banker & Chelsea" fan in his popular Instagram account. 3. Datuk Seri Jamaluddin Ibrajim, 56, is in his eighth year as president and group CEO of Axiata Group Bhd, one of Asia's largest telecommunications groups, serving more than 260 million customers across nine countries in the region. 4. Datuk Abdul Farid Alias, Maybank CEO, 47, was appointed group president and CEO of Maybank Group in August 2013. He was formerly Maybank deputy president and head of global banking and has more than 20 years' experience in investment banking and capital markets. 5. Liew Chin Tong, Kluang MP, 38, has been member of parliament for Kluang, Johor, since May 2013. He is political education director and a central executive council member of the Democratic Action Party (DAP). 6. Wan Saiful Wan Jan, 40, CEO of IDEAS, a public policy think-tank he co-founded with two others in early 2006. IDEAS is inspired by Tunku Abdul Rahman's vision that this nation should "be forever a sovereign democratic and independent state founded upon the principles of liberty and justice and ever seeking the welfare and happiness of its people and the maintenance of a just peace among all nations". 7. Ruben Emir Gnanalingam, 39, is CEO of Westports Holdings Bhd and Westports Malaysia Sdn Bhd, the 13th busiest port in the world (in 2011). 8. Patrick Grove, 40, CEO of Catcha Group, who started Catcha.com in 1994, but failed to take it public in 2000 when the dot-com bubble burst. The Australian with Malaysian permanent residency was the only Catcha Group founder to stay on and transform Catcha.com from Asia's Yahoo! search portal to a media and technology group.  9. Vivy Sofinas Yusof, 28, is an up and coming fashion mogul who runs fashion e-commerce site FashionValet. – The Edge Malaysia, December 19, 2015. * Find out what they have to share. Pick up a copy of The Edge Malaysia from newsstands around you. The Edge Malaysia can also be downloaded from Apple's Newsstand and Android's Google Play.]]>