Tricia Yeoh of University of Nottingham Malaysia’s School of Politics and International Relations said Malaysia’s household debt to gross domestic product ratio stands at 69.3%, one of the highest in the Asia-Pacific region.

She said more alarming is the composition of this debt.

“The bulk of it comes from loans such as housing and motor vehicle loans,” she said during a recording of BBC World Questions at the Petaling Jaya Performing Arts Centre yesterday.

“This should prompt us to relook government policy, especially since the price of vehicles in Malaysia is highly inflated.”

She also highlighted a lack of affordable housing, especially in the Klang Valley, as a pressing issue for working-class Malaysians trapped in financial precarity.

While cautioning against one-size-fits-all solutions, she said that any meaningful conversation about wealth inequality must address deeper structural problems, including stagnant wages and inadequate retirement savings.

“We’re becoming an ageing society, yet about 70% of Malaysians can’t even raise RM1,000 in an emergency. That’s just US$200,” she said.

“These aren’t just statistics. They speak to the very real insecurity Malaysians feel about their future.”

Yeoh’s comments reflect data showing that the richest 10% of the population take home nearly 40% of the country’s income, while the poorest 10% survive on just 1.7%.

Yeoh said that tackling this imbalance would require more than just tax tweaks or subsidy reforms.

She urged policymakers to place affordability and accessibility at the heart of future housing and transportation reforms.

“We need to ask ourselves, why do Malaysians need to go into debt just to be mobile or have a roof over their heads?”