Malaysia has made tremendous strides in achieving quality of life goals such as affordable housing, low cost of living, and better access to social amenities. Let’s uncover the favourable and unfavourable quality areas, and what the government is doing and plans to do in the future to better the lives of people living in the country.
What Is Quality of Life
The ability to access necessities such as food, water, housing, and health services determines an individual’s quality of life.
Other indicators to the quality of life are:
Living a comfortable life in Malaysia is easy. Quality of life is never a function of what we have access to, but rather, it’s an array of comprehensive indicators that highlight how comfortable people are in their lives and the difficulties they face.
Malaysia’s Global Ranking
Kuala Lumpur ranks well in the most important quality of life factor, having a 57% lower daily cost of living than some US cities such as San Francisco. Aside from low cost of living, Kuala Lumpur has a high quality of life owing to its business freedom and many indulgent leisure activities.
In 2022, Malaysia ranks 38th in digital quality of life, ahead of her neighbouring countries like Indonesia and Thailand that rank 72nd and 49th respectively.
Favourable Quality Areas
There are quite a few favourable quality areas when it comes to the quality of life in Malaysia:
Unfavourable Quality Areas
Like every country, there are always areas where the quality of life may not be the best, and Malaysia is no exception. Some of the unfavourable quality areas include:
Government Efforts to Improve Quality of Life
The Malaysian government’s primary method to improve quality of life has been taxation. Despite their efforts, there have been very few direct interventions made by the Malaysian government to improve life quality within the federal territories.
The government has also lowered the cost of doing business for local firms, which makes production cheaper. Cheaper products translate into lower cost of living for Malaysian citizens. By regulating the local economy, the government has more control over economic growth than if it had been participating in free market trade.
This has, however, not been received well by most international organizations who favour free market trade.
Working & Living in Malaysia
The increase in quality of life in Malaysia through the years has been welcomed by locals and foreigners. More businesses are stepping up their efforts in setting a company in Malaysia because of its low cost of doing business and liveable conditions.
With more businesses in Malaysia, there will be a need for global talents to support operations and creating a healthy cycle that will boost the economy in the long run.
FAQs
Depending on which factor you prioritise, Malaysia has low cost of living in any state. Kuala Lumpur offers commendable amenities and job opportunities and Penang excels in being one of Southeast Asia’s most establishes arts hubs and has great hiking trails, breath-taking rainforests, wildlife and beaches.
The three main cuisines are Chinese, Indian, and Malay, but there are numerous eateries that offer Western Cuisines or Fusion Cuisines that expatriates come to enjoy. The local supermarkets also offer food products from all over the world
For those applicants with children, Malaysia offers quality education facilities. There are some excellent internationals schools as well as private colleges and universities which attract many foreigners.
