Our nation is the 43rd most prosperous nation on earth, Alhamdullillah Praise be to God Almighty

In its website www.legatum.com, says that The Legatum Prosperity Index is the world's only global assessment of wealth and wellbeing; unlike other studies that rank countries by actual levels of wealth, life satisfaction or development, the Prosperity Index produces rankings based upon the very foundations of prosperity those factors that will help drive economic growth and produce happy citizens over the long term.


Well anyway in their latest 2010 Ranking from a total of 110 nations, our blessed nation came in at No.43, must read the full report on Malaysia here.


The breakdown for Malaysia are as follows:


1. Economy - Ranked 21st
2. Entrepreneurship & Opportunity - Ranked 34th
3. Governance - Ranked 34th
4. Education - Ranked 45th
5. Health - Ranked 44th
6. Safety & Security - Ranked 52nd
7. Personal Freedom - Ranked 90th
8. Social Capital - Ranked 90th


I think we fared just about alright in the 5 main categories bearing in mind that we are the only very few nations in the world which can be truly called multiracial with a sizeable minority at roughly 40% of the population(2009 est). Of course as the report showed, despite plenty of positive comments, there are much rooms for improvement but in time slowly but surely we would be on par with the developed nations. These things take time but we will get there of that I am in no doubt.


There's some concerns though:


Safety & Security ranking at No.52;
The Index explained: Malaysia faces low-level threats to its national security. The state is rarely responsible for political violence and there were no deaths caused by civil conflict in 2009. However, above average levels of internal displacement and communal conflict place Malaysia 54th for demographic instability, which may result from border disputes, ownership or occupancy of land, access to transportation outlets, control of religious or historical sites, or proximity to environmental hazards. Personal security is apparently more mixed: assault in Malaysia is more common than the global average, affecting 6.1%* of those surveyed in the year running up to 2009. Theft affects 9.9%*, but this is below the global average, making Malaysians the 29th least likely population to suffer theft. Nonetheless, only half feel safe walking alone at night, placing the country 70th* on this variable, and an above average number* feel unsafe expressing their political opinions.


I agree these are areas of genuine concerns, I hope the KDN and other law enforcement agencies is monitoring the situation closely, many including myself don't feel safe with all the robberies, murders and kidnapping that is reported in the news. Politicians or news portal making inflammatory and sensitive statements or articles must be closely watched and the ISA should be used when it is necessary.


Personal Freedom - Ranked 90th;
The Index explained:The government affords Malaysian citizens relatively low levels of civil liberty. Despite this, in a 2009 survey, 87%* of respondents expressed satisfaction with their level of individual freedom, placing Malaysia in the top 20 countries of the Index on this variable. However, this level of freedom does not create a tolerant society. Malaysia ranks 109th* and 55th*, respectively, for its citizens’ attitude towards immigrants and ethnic minorities.


We have a problem here, but then is too much civil liberty necessarily a good thing, I don't have an answer for that unfortunately, our Perlembagaan and our Laws is adequate for now and we need not be mimicking the west too much. However, we must all support the Government effort towards unity among the races no matter which political party or coalition we are from. Best is to talk about race and religious sensitivities not in the public domain but in-doors among cooler heads.


Social Capital - Ranked 90th;
The Index explained:Social cohesion is weak in Malaysia: less than one in 10* Malaysians believe that others can be trusted, and less than a third* reported having helped a stranger in the month prior to being surveyed in 2009. Both of these figures placed Malaysia in the bottom 15 countries in the Index on their respective variables. Malaysians are more likely to help others through formal structures: almost a third* had donated to charities and volunteered their time over the same period, placing Malaysia 43rd* and 19th*, respectively. Informal social networks are weak, as indicated by the fact that less than 80%* of Malaysians feel able to rely on others in times of need, which is in the bottom 25 showings in the world on this variable. This is despite a high 59%* of respondents being married, and 73%* regularly attending places of worship, the latter variable placing Malaysia in the top 20.


I would agree with this comment, yes, our social cohesion is weak, what do you expect from the only nation in the world which allow national and vernacular schools funded by the Government where our children are segregated from each other by race from young?


In fact there is a brilliant timely piece from Blogger satD; here, The Search for A New Deal without defaulting on the Old Deal? An Analysis of Intergroup Contact among Malaysians.
Read the well researched article and be enlighthened friends. 


Unless and until we have a Government which insist on a Satu Sekolah Untuk Semua system, we will be lagging at the bottom of this ranking, and being at No.90 for Social capital is something that we should not be proud of.


Anyway please no more talk about comparing Malaysia with Zimbabwe which is at the Bottom of the overall most prosperous nation, OK Datuk Zaid and Prof Aziz Bari, read here. Thank You.