Despite the recent political hiccup, the country is peaceful, and life goes on normally.
In some other countries, there could have been a takeover.
For this, we are thankful to all Malaysians, especially the younger generation, who take the change calmly while demanding more social and political changes through the democratic processes.
Nevertheless, the challenges brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic confront us with many essentials that need to be put in place or strengthened, such as food security, social protection and the need to push political and economic reforms for greater income creation and social inclusion.
The past decades of development have not allowed us to raise salaries of workers and the self-employed much above the poverty line.
Hence, with lockdowns, incomes and standards of living have declined and livelihoods have depreciated because families have low savings, which are unable to sustain them for a few months.
As such, many in the Middle 40 income group have dropped below the poverty line to join the Bottom 40 group.
These illustrate a major fault in our development philosophy, that social and economic improvements thus far are not sustainable in the long run.
Not in the way how the Germans, Japanese and South Koreans overcome their constraints, weaknesses and challenges, putting them in the ranks of countries with the highest per capita incomes in the world.
To be sure, there are other societies with high incomes, too. However, most of them are petroleum-producing nations whose economic structure is not that diversified nor durable enough to withstand major long-term challenges.
The Malaysian experience of relying on labour-intensive foreign investments, while all right as short- and medium-term solutions, are not the answer to long-term concerns for sustained economic development and, more so, to address horizontal inequality.
The pandemic put to the test how durable and formidable our socio-economic formula is in sustaining long-term economic growth and development.
It allows us to see the fragility of our system and its components, including our political culture, and examine the subsystems to see how we can reset our economy and social relations to move into the future.
In retrospect, the formulation of the New Economic Policy, Rukunegara and enactments in the 1970s were the result of the nation's efforts to seek new ways for social and economic development. It is not farfetched to say that many countries with some forms of social conflict invariably find the causes of their conflicts as that of their failure to address horizontal inequality in whatever form it takes, such as regional, spatial and ethnic.
Indeed, the basis of our political economy is none other than addressing horizontal inequality.
Our new administration will have to put to rest our political and social squabbles, and work for a more enduring formula for social and economic development, positioning the interest of our youth and the coming generation, and leaving behind the social and political formula of the recent past, and instead, work for a new social contract.
Economists may suggest that these goals will free us from the middle-income trap.
Other technocrats may insist on focusing on technology, creativity and innovation, while others may call for good governance, transparency, ethics and integrity.
Yet some may call for greater emphasis on human rights and civil society.
These are all crucial elements and ingredients to be integrated into our new formula for the social, economic and political development of our people, especially youth and future generations, who have to mould this country based on their world views, perceptions and long-term interests, as Malaysians.
Hopefully, the government will look into these matters and put in place measures that will create a new, united Malaysia, where people will think of themselves as Malaysians first, rather than from their narrow racial and regional perspectives.
In this regard, all of us, especially political leaders, have a duty to stress these perspectives as the new direction of our endeavour if we are to remain united Malaysians.
The writer is Chairman of the Malaysian Institute of Economic Research (MIER) and Academic Fellow, Universiti Sains Malaysia
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times