Sum Dek Joe

14/08/2026

Terima kasih Youth Policy Lab atas jemputan untuk berbual dengan pelajar universiti tentang bagaimana sesuatu dasar dirangka. Antara yang saya kongsikan: sasaran yang nampak cantik di atas kertas tak bermakna kalau sistem kita tak mampu melaksanakannya. Objektif dasar p**a perlu terang dan telus. Kalau kita sendiri tak dapat nyatakan masalah apa yang cuba diselesaikan, dasar itu belum siap. Kami turut berbincang tentang bagaimana pihak berkuasa perlu menangani dan mengimbangi "trade-off" sesuatu dasar, kerana setiap dasar pasti ada pihak yang menanggung kosnya.

谢谢 Youth Policy Lab 的邀请，让我有机会和一群大学生聊聊一项政策是怎么被草拟出来的。我分享的其中几点：锁定得再漂亮，如果我们的系统根本做不到，那也只是纸上谈兵。政策的目标也必须清楚、透明。如果连我们自己都说不出它要解决什么问题，那这项政策其实还没成形。我们也谈到当局该如何面对和拿捏政策的取舍，因为任何一项政策，总会有人承担它的代价。那个下午营员们的提问都很犀利。我觉得学到更多的人是我。

13/08/2026

Honored to be given the opportunity to represent Parti BERSAMA to speak on policy issues. After a decade working overseas as a fiscal economist, I am grateful to be able to bring that experience home and put it to use for Malaysia. We look forward to listening, learning, and engaging with subject matter experts, businesses, civil society, and the public as we work to develop practical, credible, and implementable policy alternatives based on BERSAMA's 12 Agenda. ✊

11/08/2026

Come and join BERSAMA's first ever Chinese fundraising dinner, to be held in Petaling Jaya on 5th September. Please get in touch if you have any question. Looking forward to seeing all of you there.

11/08/2026

If you no longer believe the party you contested under can deliver the mandate entrusted by the people, the honourable thing to do is resign and return that mandate to the voters.

09/08/2026

Part 2 (Final) of the infographic: One bad idea, three losers - EV drivers, EV manufacturers and EV charge point operators (CPO). This proposal will only slow Malaysia’s EV momentum. Poor judgement by the MITI Minister.

Full article (EN): https://theedgemalaysia.com/node/813423

08/08/2026

Final episode of the series. The proposed levy on EV car manufacturers shows the lack of understanding of our Minister on the EV ecosystems. Malaysians dervees better.

07/08/2026

Syarikat EV tidak membina pengecas yang mencukupi walaupun dapat insentif cukai??!

06/08/2026

An infographic about why it is a bad policy for the government to consider imposing a levy on EV to finance more public charging points. Read more on my latest piece on the Edge: https://theedgemalaysia.com/node/813423

06/08/2026

MITI cadangkan untuk mengenakan levy ke atas EV??!!

05/08/2026

Malaysia needs more EV chargers, but imposing a levy on EVs, as proposed by MITI Minister DS Johari Abdul Ghani, may end up making the problem worse. In my piece for today, I explain why the proposal misdiagnoses the problem.

The RM3.3 billion cited by JAG in forgone tax revenue mainly came from tax exemptions to encourage EV purchases and develop Malaysia’s EV industry. It should not be confused with the separate incentives given to Charge Point Operators (CPOs).

More importantly, taxing EVs could weaken demand of EVs. Fewer EVs on the road means fewer customers for charging stations, making it harder for CPOs to recover their investment and expand the charging network.

A dedicated charging fund could help, especially in rural areas. But EV buyers should not be penalised to finance it when they are already helping to reduce the government’s RON95 subsidy burden and support the energy transition.

Taxing EV adoption to fund EV charging infrastructure simply makes no economic sense! Reels to come in the following days/

Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani announced this week that the government is studying a levy on every electric vehicle (EV) sold, with the proceeds placed in a dedicated fund to finance public chargers.