Regaining Control: Malaysian Economic Policy during COVID and Beyond is a collection of essays that address the impact of recent events, particularly the COVID-19 pandemic, on Malaysia’s economic policies and the way forward. The essays were previously published in various print and online publications. The pandemic presented a significant challenge to Malaysia, which was not immune to the global economic turmoil caused by COVID-19. The resulting movement control order had a particularly adverse impact on the livelihoods of the B40 and M40 categories. Despite the crisis, social unrest was avoided due to competent management. The pandemic had a severe impact on Malaysia’s economy, as expected. Globalisation was disrupted, causing shortages of essential supplies, breakdowns in supply chains, and an oversupply of vaccines in developed countries compared to developing ones. The pandemic exposed the worst aspects of capitalism, including a trend towards nationalistic frameworks in several developed countries. *** “Covid-19 was a global pandemic. All countries, and nearly all localities, were affected. And yet infection rates, death rates, and impact on societies varied widely. What accounts for this variance? The Malaysian story is told by Shankaran Nambiar, one of the country’s leading economists. We already know that in the United States, Covid-19 responses became highly politicised. The China story seems equally political, but driven from the top down. The Malaysian story is not quite as divisive, but is not pretty either. Here it is, with all its warts and slippery successes.” – Peter Timmer, Thomas D Cabot Professor of Development Studies (Emeritus), Harvard University