Economics of progress
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“In general, Malaysian students think economics is a second-tier subject,” he said, adding that most secondary school students pick science stream subjects, but end up going into finance and economics in university.
“We need to change the perception among students’ that economics is boring. I have friends who switched to finance and economics because it gives you a broad overview of the economy.”
To help give economics a better rep among students, Ong and a few friends at the LSE Students Union Malaysia Club (LSESUMC) decided to give the Dragon Den competition a go. TalentCorp had sent a challenge to Malaysian students in 15 top British universities, asking them to come up with a way to give back to Malaysia. The winners would have their idea funded by TalentCorp.
The idea for an economics forum was formed when the committee, headed by Ong, brainstormed at a cafe.
“We suddently saw a van pass by labelled ‘Conference Movers’,” recalled Ong with a grin. “So we thought: ‘Let’s organise a conference where we can leverage on what LSE is famous for – economic policy and finance!’”
It took them seven months of planning after getting their budget from TalentCorps, during which they secured an impressive list of speakers, including Megat Iskandar Shah from Ernst and Young Malaysia, Hansen Chew from Khazanah Nasional and Tunku Al- ‘Abidin Tuanku Muhriz from IDEAS.
The forum, held earlier this month, proved a success.
Despite having experience organising forums (he was the vice president of the LSE Emerging Markets Forum committee), Ong said the ELF team had been worried about the reception, given how Malaysian students generally perceive economics.
They need not have worried, though, as around 200 students showed up for the forum.
“The students’ feedback revealed the speakers were very engaging,” he said with pride. “In fact, we would have preferred to give each section more time and spread it out over two days, but it was our first time. We hope to make it an annual event now.”
Ang Hui Min, 19, was one of the many ELF participants who enjoyed the event. “I’m going to Oxford to study mathematics, but forums like this help me learn more about my second love – economics,” she said.
As for Ong’s dreams of helping the nation, now that he’s taken one small step towards that dream, what does the big picture look like for Kaelan Ong?
“I’ve realised there’s a huge inequality in Malaysia – we have the ultra rich and the ultra poor,” he said earnestly. “Certain policies should be amended. As economists, we are supposed to allocate resources fairly. If I have the chance, that is what I would change.”