By Tariq bin Ziyad

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia: The Malaysian Institute of Economic Research (MIER), once the crown jewel of policy-oriented research in Malaysia, is now little more than an empty shell.

Founded in 1985 as a premier think tank to inform government and private sector economic decisions, it has since devolved into a rudderless entity, paralysed by financial opacity, poor leadership, and institutional drift.

A source with direct knowledge revealed that nearly all of MIER’s core staff—once 25 strong—have either resigned or retired. Today, only support staff remain: a driver, a librarian, a receptionist, and one IT officer. There are no researchers. A think tank without thinkers.

In its latest financial disclosures, MIER reported receiving RM2.5 million from the Ministry of Finance in 2023 to conduct post-COVID-19 impact studies. Yet, no outputs from those studies have been made public or submitted to the Ministry.

An audit flagged the issue, citing the inability to verify whether performance obligations were met or if the funds were used in accordance with their intended purpose.

Insiders allege that much of the money went to operational overheads rather than research. But what kind of “operation” is this, when research—the very heart of the institute—was not a priority?

Among the more questionable expenditures: payments to foreign consultants for legacy projects like the third national car, a durian feast, office renovations, and the hiring of a Chinese national—reportedly paid RM10,000 a month as a “consultant” while residing in Malaysia on a student visa. Her appointment as “Lead Researcher” is not only legally dubious but academically bewildering.

MIER was also reported to be collaborating with Sarawak’s state energy company, Petros, to become its designated think tank. But sources say this claim has no basis in fact—just another illusion in a narrative increasingly built on fiction.

The deeper rot, however, lies in governance. Since 2019, MIER has suffered from structural dysfunction. Its then-chairman unilaterally assumed the administrative functions of the Executive Director, sidelining Datuk Dr. Zakariah Abdul Rashid without due process. The Deputy Director post was abolished—widely seen as constructive dismissal—and senior roles were filled without proper consultation.

Symbolically, the demolition of MIER’s library encapsulated its decline. For a research institute to destroy its own archive is not reform—it is erasure. It is the act of an organisation that no longer values its intellectual capital.

Leadership since then has been erratic at best. One CEO came from a background in sustainable development. Another, from religious studies. More recent appointees lack both academic credibility and professional standing. This is not how serious nations run serious policy institutions.

Current Situation and Leadership Dynamics

Tan Sri Sulaiman Mahbob now serves as Chairman, having quietly replaced Norwawi Effendi without formal announcement. He has brought in familiar names—Dr. Khalid Hamdy and Dr. Zulkarnain—but made no effort to restore research capacity. No junior researchers have been hired. The exodus continues.

Strategically, Sulaiman appears to be steering MIER toward short-term project funding, relying on outsourcing rather than rebuilding internal capacity. This is a survival tactic, not a strategy for renewal. While some cash reserves remain, credibility does not. And once lost, it is far harder to recover.

The Board of Trustees has remained disturbingly silent. Either they are complicit, or they are asleep at the wheel. The lack of transparency, the absence of strategic coherence, and the tolerance for mediocrity all point to a failure of governance.

Even recent attempts at relevance fall flat. A collaboration with MIDA to produce the Monthly Business Conditions Survey has been criticised as derivative—allegedly borrowing heavily from Khazanah Strategic Institute reports.

Meanwhile, MIER has channelled its limited resources into organising events like the National Youth Summit and National Youth Debates—well-meaning, perhaps, but entirely outside its institutional mandate.

Its involvement in establishing a non-profit entity called Unisof, which dabbles in halal industry trade, further muddied the waters. The initiative lacks a clear mandate and overlaps with existing authorities already tasked with regulating that space. Once again, the question arises: what business does MIER have in this domain?

The Big Picture

MIER no longer stands at a crossroads. It teeters at the edge of irrelevance. Its internal structures have collapsed. Its core mission has been abandoned. Its leadership has traded intellectual ambition for administrative survival. And its output, once respected, now barely registers in the national conversation.

This is no longer just about one institution. It is about the kind of governance Malaysia expects from its public institutions. As a management thinker might put it: if the head is weak and the body is inert, no amount of spin will revive a comatose organisation.

There is still time to intervene—but only if someone in authority is willing to ask the hard questions and act decisively on the honest answers.

*Tariq bin Ziyad is a correspondent of Southeast Asian Affairs.*