01/08/2026

SATURDAY | AUG 1, 2026

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The quiet strength of Malaysia E VERY few years, as elections approach and political temperatures rise, Malaysia is reduced to neat little boxes.

Politics often thrives on separation because differences are easier to exploit than common ground. Yet, ordinary Malaysians continue to show that real relationships are far more complex, more human and more enduring than political narratives suggest. A politician may see a voter as a demographic. A neighbour sees a neighbour. A politician may see a community as a number. A friend sees a person. That difference matters. Because Malaysia is not built only in government halls or backgrounds spend more time together than with their own families and in neighbourhoods where people borrow sugar, share meals and look after one another. Unity is rarely dramatic. Often, it is simple. A message asking: “Are you safe?” during a flood. Strangers helping each other after an accident. Malaysians of all backgrounds lining up to donate blood. Communities coming together in crisis without asking who belongs to which race. And sometimes, it is something so ordinary that it should never have been extraordinary at all. Like the moment I once saw – an Indian mother, still weak after childbirth, getting up from her own exhaustion to help a Malay caesarean mother change her baby who had soiled itself. No cameras. No audience. No awareness that such a moment would ever be “content”. Just one mother recognising another mother’s struggle and stepping in without hesitation. That video, when it surfaced, made headlines. But what stayed with me was not the attention it received; it was the fact that this kind of humanity exists every day – unseen, unrecorded and uncelebrated. A V I S H N P O I N T T R I during election seasons. It is built in classrooms where children learn side by side, in workplaces where people of different

We are reminded of our differences – race, religion, language and history. The conversations grow louder, the accusations sharper and the lines between “us” and “them” deepen. But the Malaysia seen on political stages is not always the Malaysia we live. Beyond microphones, speeches and carefully crafted narratives, another Malaysia quietly exists every day. A Malaysia where neighbours send food without asking about race. A Malaysia where children share snacks at school without being told they are different. A Malaysia where families open their homes to children from other communities because love has no ethnic checklist. This is the Malaysia that rarely makes headlines – the Malaysia that does not shout or trend. Yet, it may be the Malaysia that has held this country together all along. For many Malaysians, unity is not an abstract idea; it is lived experience. It is the Malay mother who raises an Indian child as her own because a child needed love. It is the Chinese uncle checking on his elderly Malay neighbour during a storm. It is the Indian family sharing Deepavali sweets with friends of every background as an act of joy, not tolerance. It is colleagues and classmates of all races growing up, working and arguing over football teams rather than identity. This is the Malaysia many of us know. A Malaysia where differences bring people together more often than they divide them. Of course, we cannot ignore that race and religion are sometimes used as political tools. Fear can be planted easily, suspicion spread quickly and division amplified when power is at stake. P O T T U B Y H A S H

“Malaysia is not perfect. There are real issues to confront, difficult conversations to have and inequalities to address. But we must also acknowledge this: despite everything, Malaysians continue to choose each other.

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The loudest voices may insist we are divided. Yet every day, millions quietly prove otherwise. – BERNAMAPIC

years of everyday coexistence. Malaysia is not perfect. There are real issues to confront, difficult conversations to have and inequalities to address. But we must also acknowledge this: despite everything, Malaysians continue to choose each other. The loudest voices may insist we are divided. Yet every day, millions quietly prove otherwise. Perhaps the true story of Malaysia has never been written by those on stages defining who we are. Perhaps, it has always been written by ordinary people – in homes, hospitals, schools, workplaces and neighbourhoods – who choose kindness over suspicion, friendship over fear and humanity over labels. This is the Malaysia we live. Not the Malaysia they debate. Hashini Kavishtri Kannan is the assistant news editor at theSun. Comments: letters@thesundaily.com

Perhaps, the mistake is thinking unity means erasing differences. It does not. Malaysia’s strength has always been its diversity. It is reflected in our food, our streets, our languages and our families. We are a country where nasi lemak , roti canai , char kuey teow and a banana leaf meal share the same table. Where celebrations cross cultural and religious boundaries. Where an invitation to eat together often says more about unity than any speech ever could. But unity still requires effort. It requires us to question voices that benefit from division. To look beyond viral clips and outrage. To remember that the person beside us is not a symbol of race or religion but a human being with the same hopes, fears and dreams. Because in truth, ordinary Malaysians are not living the divisions we are told to debate. We are living friendships. We are living shared memories. And we are living

LETTERS letters@thesundaily.com

Local manufacturing must remain central to medicine accessibility THE publication of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) report on rising health insurance premiums and private hospital charges has brought attention to medicine pricing and the wider cost of healthcare in Malaysia. For the local pharmaceutical manufacturing industry, the report provides a constructive basis to consider how Malaysia can improve medicine accessibility and the final price. This is not about assigning responsibility to any one participant in the healthcare system. Manufacturers, distributors and private healthcare providers each perform distinct and vital roles in ensuring medicines are accessible to patients when needed. However, this also highlights the complexity of medicine pricing. biosimilar medicines plays a fundamental role in creating greater choice for patients and healthcare professionals. When purchasers gain additional supply options, greater competition can help improve medicine affordability and accessibility. local manufacturer with the capability to produce the medicine is not a market limitation, but an important national asset. Significant progress has already been made in expanding this local manufacturing capability, particularly for medicines listed under the National Essential Medicines List. This offers a practical way forward to reduce unnecessary intermediary costs. However, to be truly effective, this approach must be backed by clear, consistent procurement policies that provide predictable demand for those committing resources to produce essential medicines domestically. Malaysia cannot control

While both imported and local generics contribute to this dynamic, local manufacturers provide a crucial added dimension: supply sustainability. The substantial investments made to develop and register these products domestically ensure that competitive pricing is paired with a reliable, uninterrupted supply for the rakyat . This domestic capability becomes even more critical for low volume or specialised medicines. The size of the Malaysian market may not always be sufficient to support multiple local manufacturers for the same product without predictable demand. In such cases, having at least one

This reflects the continued, joint efforts of the Health Ministry and the local industry to strengthen domestic production and reduce avoidable dependence on imported finished products. This progress must be sustained. Recent geopolitical tensions and disruptions affecting international logistics have proven that affordability cannot be separated from continuity of supply. In this context, PAC Recommendation 9.11 is both constructive and timely. It calls for the Health Ministry to explore direct sourcing from manufacturers while prioritising local manufacturers.

international conflicts, global freight costs or external supply chain disruptions. What we can control is the strength of our domestic pharmaceutical manufacturing base. By evaluating medicine prices holistically, implementing constructive procurement policies, and continuing to foster local capacity, Malaysia can ensure that essential medicines remain fundamentally accessible and reliably supplied to patients when they need them most.

This distinction is particularly important when evaluating the contribution of locally manufactured generic medicines. Bringing a locally manufactured medicine to market requires substantial, long-term investment in product development, technology transfer, regulatory complianc,and quality assurance. Local manufacturers must make these investments while serving a relatively small domestic market, competing against imported products that often benefit from massive global economies of scale. Yet, the entry of generic and

affordability while continuing to strengthen the security and reliability of our medicine supply. A crucial point arising from the national conversation is that medicine prices must be understood across the full supply chain. The price supplied by a manufacturer is not necessarily the same as the final amount charged to a patient. As highlighted in the PAC’s analysis, factors such as billing structures, cross-subsidisation, supply-chain mark-ups and distribution margins all form part of

Sharvin A. Subramaniam Malaysian Organisation of Pharmaceutical Industries