Lim said Malaysia’s happiness ranking had been rising throughout Najib’s tenure, as shown by the annual report since its introduction by the United Nations in 2013.

Najib was the prime minister from 2009 until 2018, when Pakatan Harapan defeated Barisan Nasional.

Lim pointed out that Malaysia was ranked 56th in 2013 in the index and climbed to 35th in 2018, making it the second happiest country in the Asean region after Singapore.

“Unfortunately, after Najib fell, Malaysia’s ranking in this index kept falling and was slowly overtaken by other Asean countries,” he said in a Facebook post.

Based on the report, Malaysia dropped from the 55th happiest country in the world in 2023 to the 59th position this year.

According to Lim, Asean countries such as Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines surpassed Malaysia last year and Malaysia is now ranked the 5th happiest country in Asean for 2024.

In the 2024 World Happiness Report, Singapore ranked 30, the Philippines (53), Vietnam (54), Thailand (58), Indonesia (80), Laos (94), and Cambodia (119).

“Malaysia is the only country in the world whose ranking has fallen since 2018, while all other Asean countries recorded a rise,” Lim said.