Nurlin: Different generations of employees have different needs, which employers have to be aware of and pivot towards.— FAIHAN GHANI/ The Star.
KUALA LUMPUR: Day in and day out, Malaysians of all walks of life navigate their everyday routines.
Whether they are hustling beneath the canopy of skyscrapers in Kuala Lumpur or braving the sea for their livelihood in Kelantan, what aspirations fuel their journey through life?
A survey by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Malaysia found a striking consensus: achieving financial freedom and having physical and mental wellness.
In the study dubbed MY Impian: Uncovering the Malaysian Dream, a total of 1,501 Malaysians were asked to rank their top dreams from a list of 16 options.
A majority (67%) of respondents included financial freedom among their top five dreams, with physical and mental wellness trailing just behind at 66%.
“We may be a multicultural country that is highly diverse when it comes to ethnicity, background, age and geographic location,” said Nurlin Mohd Salleh, BCG Malaysia head, managing director and partner, “but at the end of the day, the one thing that unifies all Malaysians is a shared sense of our dreams.”
Granted, people of different income levels define financial freedom differently.
Wealthier individuals are more likely to think of financial freedom in terms of free spending, taking risks and working for passion, while those with a monthly household income of less than RM2,500 are concerned with meeting immediate needs.
But overall, most Malaysians see financial freedom as a means of escaping the stress cycle, with 78% of respondents hoping to be debt free, 64% wanting simply to not worry about being able to afford basic necessities, and 59% expecting to save enough for retirement.
The report’s second tier of dreams – worth pursuing but are a lower priority – are having enough money saved for emergencies, ensuring family is supported, having a home that meets one’s needs, and living in a safe community.
Other aspirations that are key priorities for some Malaysians, but not widely shared, include completing religious commitments, starting/raising a family, starting/growing a business, and creating a positive impact.
With respondents of varied locations, ages, occupations and life stages, BCG’s inaugural MY Impian survey seeks to fill a gap in existing research, which often focuses on macro indicators such as gross domestic product (GDP) or unemployment rates rather than personal aspirations.
By putting a more human lens on individual Malaysians’ idea of progress, the survey yields findings that show the scale of their ambitions and the motivations behind, and reveal where government, employers and financial providers help or hinder their journey towards achieving their goals.
Four archetypes
Four archetypes are useful for thinking about the personal aspirations of Malaysians: Go-Getters, Legacy Makers, Harmony Seekers and Providers.
Made up of mostly Gen Z-ers, Go-Getters want a financially secure and successful future, and are willing to sacrifice family responsibilities.
Legacy Makers (baby boomers and millennials) yearn to start their own business and will give up on other comforts to do so.
Providers, mostly millennials and Gen X-ers, prioritise starting and supporting family at the expense of personal milestones.
Harmony Seekers – a mix of millennials, Gen X-ers and baby boomers – want a better balance of physical and mental well-being, and will put conventional earning approaches aside.
In a way, Malaysians evolve from one archetype to the next as they progress through their lives, but Nurlin observed that the shift happens rather quickly based on the survey data.
“We’re moving towards an aging population, and less and less people want to have families and kids, so you won’t have as many Providers.
“What does that mean for Malaysia? If you don’t have as many people who are Go-Getters and Legacy Makers, where is the source of entrepreneurial growth, innovation and development?” she said.
Different levers are at play here, Nurlin added. A culture of risk aversion in Malaysian society is one.
“Another is the economic market and whether it is an environment that encourages innovation and risk taking, and associated with that are linkages to sources of capital, and an environment that celebrates and supports this kind of success.
“That’s some of the things we need to actively think about. Look at it from a demographic perspective and how that will translate into the type of economy you want to have in the future,” she said.
Balanced life equally important
While financial freedom being the top priority was expected, physical and mental wellness ranking a close second was a little surprising. Nurlin sees this as evidence of the nation’s evolution, from one that has been hustling and driving towards economic growth and prosperity to being one that also wants to prioritise the quality of life.
“We haven’t achieved the high income status yet, and that’s causing some challenges for our people, but the fact that we are now at this point where physical and mental well-being is top of mind for them, ensuring a right balance between the two is quite important.”
The dream for physical and mental well-being echoes the national discourse on burnout and stress not just at the workplace but also schools.
People reported being overwhelmed by financial pressure and demanding workload, which could result in productivity losses for the national economy.
Nurlin stressed that different generations of employees have different needs, which employers have to be aware of and pivot towards.
“The workplace has evolved, and you have to realise what motivates your people. Maybe a simple financial reward no longer incentivises people.
“Obviously, they need it so they can alleviate the financial stress, but ensuring that they have a balanced lifestyle to help them achieve the second ambition of physical and mental well-being is also important,” she said.
More motivation needed
To a question of whether they are closer to achieving their top dream today, an average of 63% and 68% of respondents picked “strongly agree” and “somewhat agree” for the dreams of financial freedom and physical and mental wellbeing, respectively.
This trend is noted across all demographics of age, gender, background and ethnicity, which hints at a healthy level of optimism among average Malaysians on how achievable their dreams are.
However, Nurlin cautioned that this warrants a close look.
“Malaysians, in general, have a very relaxed culture. We are comfortable where we are, but if we really want to achieve high income status, strong economic development and growth, how do we motivate our people to want to help to achieve and drive towards that?
“Go-Getters and Legacy Makers are a smaller demographic (14% and 20% of the respondents, respectively). Now, how do we work with them to really drive the ambitions of the country? Or perhaps, do we need to actively think about how we motivate some of the others to drive more growth and development?” she elaborated.
While Malaysians have dreams and ambitions that they are working towards, Nurlin added, the question is whether these unlock their full potential.
“Do we need to try to encourage a greater dream or ambition amongst our people?”
Reduce ceiling and floor gap
Launched in July 2023, the Madani economic framework has three pillars - raising the ceiling of national growth, raising the floor of people’s living standards, and driving good governance and public service reform.
Nurlin noted that the MY Impian survey touches on the first two pillars by looking at the linkage between the ceiling and the floor.
“My view is that there needs to be a closer look at this linkage - what individual Malaysians want and what ambition we have for the country, and how can we close that gap a little bit more.”
Read the MY Impian: Uncovering the Malaysian Dream report at https://www.bcg.com/publications/2025/malaysia-my-impian-uncovering-the-malaysian-dream.
