COMMENT | Last month, a series of commentaries and news reports highlighted Malaysia’s “sick man” syndrome.

Bangi MP Ong Kian Ming referred to the Philippines of the 1970s and 1980s. Ong attributed this sickness to the archipelago’s poor economic record and high rate of divestments.

Drawing a parallel with Malaysia, the MP’s depressing assessment of Malaysia’s current and future status as a nation was based on declining foreign investor confidence.

Social media readers added to the discourse, declaring that our “flatline” income per capita (in US dollars) has been in stark contrast to other Asean nations. Further comparisons were made with South Korea and Taiwan, two countries that have managed to successfully emerge from the middle-income rut.

Seven years ago, Thailand was branded as the sick man of Southeast Asia. Again, this was attributed to its low economic growth, unstable politics and lack of investor confidence.

The further back we go chronologically, it is not uncommon to find articles, books and media commentaries referring to the sickness of various nations throughout history.

My reading of “the sick man of….” metaphor relates to more than poor economic...