Kuala Lampur, Aug. 6 -- For decades, we have been conditioned to cheer whenever GDP figures are announced. A 5 per cent growth here, a 4.5 per cent expansion there - the headlines trumpet progress, and policymakers pat themselves on the back. But ask any Malaysian if they feel that prosperity. The answer is often a resigned sigh about the rising cost of living, the potholes that seldom get fixed fast. This is the fundamental failure of GDP. It counts the cost of rebuilding after a flood as economic gain. It celebrates the sale of bottled water while ignoring the polluted rivers that made it necessary. It is, as economist Simon Kuznets famously warned, a measure of activity, not well-being.

So, if we were to grade Malaysia not on its outp...