E4 · cycle-002.e4-mys

Malaysia, scripted, 30 years from 1996

30 simulations of 30 rounds from the 1996 position. Malaysia decides by the scripted method; scripted events: Global funding seizure in year 1, Global funding seizure in year 12, Trade bloc rupture in year 22, Legitimacy rupture in year 24, Severe pandemic in year 24.

Model 0.1.0 · graph 0.2.0 · parameters 0.1.0 · seeds 1–30 · elasticity sampled within each bracket

The same configuration in other cycles: cycle 3.

Every simulation · Compare with another experiment · More experiments like this

Not a forecast
Simulations of a structural model with seed parameter values, to compare methods and test the model. Other nations stay at their 2026 ratings throughout.

Outcome across simulations

The median at 2026, with the 10th to the 90th percentile of the 30 simulations under it.

Capability index
11.88 (−0.34)
From 12.22; 11.88 to 11.89
Rank by index
30
From 27; 30 to 30
Domains at Tier 1
0
From 0; 0 to 0
Tier rank
22
From 22; 21 to 22

Capability index by round

Rank by index, by round

Every objective at the position and at the horizon
Objective199610th percentileMedian90th percentileBetter
Capability indexprimary12.2211.8811.8811.89higher
Rank by index27303030lower
Tier rank22212222lower
Domains at Tier 10000higher
Score sum872.7849.7850.1850.5higher
Goal-weighted score872.7849.7850.1850.5higher
Resilient score872.7850.1 (mean score sum over the simulations)higher

The capability index is the mean of the three dimensions, each the mean of its domains, each the mean of its groups. Tiers are Pareto layers within each domain; the tier rank orders nations by domains held at Tier 1, then Tier 2, and so on. The goal-weighted score is the score sum unless the experiment sets a goal. The primary objective is the one the experiment is judged on; every other objective is reported beside it.

Credits

What each round’s credits went on in the median simulation. Across all simulations, build took 87 per cent, buy took 0 per cent, partner took 13 per cent of the 1,620 credits a simulation spent on actions.

Against history

Started from a reconstructed 1996 position and played along the pathway and shocks Malaysia actually had, then scored against the 2026 ratings. The position is an estimate, so part of any error is the reconstruction's. The calibration summary across all fifty nations is on the cycle's page under Loop.

Index 1996
12.22
reconstructed
Observed 2026
11.48
the Index's rating
Simulated 2026
11.88
11.85 to 11.91
Skill against persistence
−0.37
group error 1.35 against 0.98 if nothing changed
Domain1996ObservedSimulatedBiasDirection
Critical Technology7.347.516.23 6.2–6.3−1.27wrong
Strategic Infrastructure14.0612.9014.48 14.4–14.5+1.58wrong
National Security9.578.438.84 8.8–8.9+0.41right
Human Capital12.3512.1412.99 13.0–13.0+0.85wrong
Information & Influence12.4210.8910.88 10.8–10.90.00right
Governance & Integrity11.8811.2112.28 12.3–12.3+1.07wrong
Financial Strength14.4513.8214.40 14.4–14.4+0.58wrong
Production & Innovation13.1812.4913.05 13.0–13.1+0.56wrong
Trade & Investment14.7813.9613.77 13.7–13.8−0.19right

The history it was played under: shocks and events

  • 1997 · S02 × 0.9 The Asian financial crisis triggered capital flight, sharp ringgit depreciation and banking distress, forcing Malaysia's capital controls and bank restructuring.
  • 2008 · S02 × 0.7 The global financial crisis hit Malaysia through collapsing exports and capital outflows, prompting fiscal stimulus and monetary easing.
  • 2018 · S01 × 0.5 US-China trade tensions disrupted supply chains and created uncertainty, though Malaysia also attracted diverted electronics investment.
  • 2020 · S05 × 0.6 The Sheraton Move collapsed the elected Pakatan Harapan government and produced a disputed change of government, but institutions continued to function.
  • 2020 · S10 × 0.8 COVID-19 forced prolonged movement control orders, border closures and a sharp recession, straining public health and fiscal capacity.

The pathway: what it prioritised, period by period

  • 1997–2001 · build · 5% each Malaysia imposed capital controls, fixed the ringgit and consolidated banks through Danaharta and Danamodal to stabilise the economy after the Asian financial crisis. (Financial Stability & Crisis Management, Monetary & Currency Capability, Fiscal Capacity & Public Finance, Regulatory Governance & Strategic Controls, Financial Infrastructure)
  • 2002–2006 · partner · 2% each Recovery policy concentrated on electronics manufacturing, port and road expansion, and export promotion to restore growth and jobs. (Industrial & Sectoral Base, Advanced Manufacturing, Technology Adoption & Diffusion, Trade Facilitation & Logistics, Export Capability & Sophistication)
  • 2007–2011 · build · 2% each The Government Transformation Programme and economic corridors improved public delivery, integrity and investment while deepening Islamic finance. (Government Effectiveness & Public Administration, Public Integrity & Anti-Corruption, Investment Attraction & Projection, Transport Infrastructure, Financial System Depth & Access)
  • 2012–2016 · build · 2% each The Economic Transformation Programme, National Education Blueprint and MRT construction aimed to lift productivity, entrepreneurship and human capital. (Economic Output & Productivity, Business Dynamism & Entrepreneurship, Innovation & Commercialisation, Advanced Education, Transport Infrastructure)
  • 2017–2021 · build · 2% each Industry4WRD, 5G and digital economy initiatives were pursued alongside COVID-19 health and economic responses. (Digital & AI Competence, Communications & Digital Infrastructure, Semiconductors & Advanced Computing, Health System Capability, National Resilience & Crisis Management)
  • 2022–2026 · build · 2% each Malaysia Madani and the National Energy Transition Roadmap prioritised clean energy, institutional integrity and post-pandemic resilience. (Energy Technologies, Energy Infrastructure, Public Integrity & Anti-Corruption, Population Health, Digital & AI Competence)

Reconstruction notes (deepseek-v4-pro): The 1996 baseline is reconstructed from national accounts, trade and sectoral data, but service-sector and governance scores are more uncertain because of data opacity. Event magnitudes are approximate and mapped to library categories; Malaysia's exposure to shocks varied with global and domestic conditions. The policy periods simplify overlapping national plans and actual spending shares were not consistent across all listed priorities.

Report

Written from the simulation record by the loop's narrator. Every figure names the query it came from, in square brackets.

Batch cycle-002. Model 0.1.0, graph 0.2.0, parameters 0.1.0. 30 simulations, seeds 1 to 30; probes on 10. Every figure is a distribution over simulations of a structural model with seed parameter values; it shows what the model implies under these settings, not what will happen. Other nations are frozen at their 2026 ratings. No reconstructed historical data is used in this experiment.

Headline

Malaysia played 30 rounds from 1996 under the scripted method, with scripted events, 30 times. Its capability index moved from 12.22 to a median of 11.88 (−0.34), with 90 per cent of simulations between 11.87 and 11.89 [experiment_objectives].

Starting position

In 1996 the nation ranks 27 on the index against the frozen field, holds 0 of nine domains at Tier 1 and has a tier rank of 22. Its base income is 429 credits a year, calibrated so that its 2026 position is affordable with headroom for investment.

What was decided

A simulation spent a median of 1,620 credits on moves. The five groups that took most were Regulatory Governance & Strategic Controls (build, 105 credits, 6.5 per cent); Financial Infrastructure (build, 105 credits, 6.5 per cent); Financial Stability & Crisis Management (build, 105 credits, 6.5 per cent); Fiscal Capacity & Public Finance (build, 105 credits, 6.5 per cent); Monetary & Currency Capability (build, 105 credits, 6.5 per cent) [experiment_decisions_by_group]. By mode: build 87 per cent, partner 13 per cent [experiment_decisions_by_group]. Concentration of spending (HHI) had a median of 0.044, and the most repeated action appeared in 33 per cent of rounds.

The leading domain by period: rounds 1 to 5, Financial Strength; rounds 6 to 10, Trade & Investment; rounds 11 to 15, Governance & Integrity; rounds 16 to 20, Production & Innovation; rounds 21 to 25, Human Capital; rounds 26 to 30, Human Capital [experiment_spend_by_period].

What the world did

A median simulation saw 5 shocks and 0 upside events. The most damaging per firing were S10 (30 firings in 30 simulations, −30.4 points each); S01 (30 firings in 30 simulations, −19.3 points each); S02 (60 firings in 30 simulations, −16.7 points each) [experiment_shocks].

The groups that lost most to shocks, per simulation: Fiscal Capacity & Public Finance −2.69; Labour & Employment −2.62; Investment Attraction & Projection −2.55; Monetary & Currency Capability −2.50 [experiment_shock_damage_by_group].

The edges that carried most change through the graph, per simulation: Economic Output & Productivity to Fiscal Capacity & Public Finance (+0.04 points); Fiscal Capacity & Public Finance to Social Infrastructure (+0.08 points); Fiscal Capacity & Public Finance to Force Generation & Mobilisation (+0.06 points) [experiment_propagation_by_edge].

Where it ended

At 2026 the median rank is 30 (5th to 95th percentile 30 to 30), the median count of Tier 1 domains 0 (0 to 0) and the median tier rank 22; the resilient score, the mean score sum over simulations, is 850 [experiment_objectives].

Why

Without shocks the index ends +1.615 higher on average, so the shocks cost about 1.615 index points [experiment_probe_attribution].

Holding instead of following this method changes the index by −1.359: that is the method's worth against doing nothing [experiment_probe_attribution].

Removing any single one of the five largest actions changes the index by between −0.043 and −0.006, for example 1997 build Financial Stability & Crisis Management (21 credits) [experiment_probe_attribution]. The largest actions by credits come late, when income is highest, and are rarely the most valuable.

Removing the largest shock of a simulation raises the index by +0.479 on average [experiment_probe_attribution].

The replay probe reproduces the simulations exactly (index change 0.000000), so the attributions are clean [experiment_probe_attribution].

Surprises

tier_jump (warn): largest gain in one domain within five years: 5 tiers (30 simulations above 2).

retired_words (warn): e4-mys/report.md: 'simulations' 1 time(s), first near line 38; use 'simulations'.

The simulation furthest from the median (seed 10) ends +0.01 from it, with 5 shocks and 0 upside events [experiment_outlier_simulations].

Comparison

This is the baseline (hold) experiment, or there is none for this nation in the batch.

Against history: from a reconstructed index of 12.22 the model ends at 11.88, where the 2026 ratings put it at 11.48. Group scores miss by 1.35 points on average, against 0.98 for assuming nothing changed (skill −0.37); the change in each domain has the right sign in 33 per cent of domains. Furthest below history: critical technology (−1.27); furthest above: strategic infrastructure (+1.58) [experiment_against_history]. The starting position is reconstructed, so part of the error is the reconstruction's.

What each decision and shock was worth

Counterfactual probes on the first 10 seeds: the same simulations with one thing changed, paired seed by seed. A removed decision or shock is taken out and the other decisions replayed unchanged, so the difference is that item's worth.

ProbeIndexScore sumTier 1For example
Hold instead of the method−1.359−94.70.00
No shocks+1.615+111.9+3.00
Replay of the recorded actions (must change nothing)0.0000.00.00
Without the 1st largest decision−0.017−1.00.001997 build Financial Stability & Crisis Management (21 credits)
Without the 2nd largest decision−0.017−0.90.001997 build Monetary & Currency Capability (21 credits)
Without the 3rd largest decision−0.043−2.90.001997 build Fiscal Capacity & Public Finance (21 credits)
Without the 4th largest decision−0.018−1.30.001997 build Regulatory Governance & Strategic Controls (21 credits)
Without the 5th largest decision−0.006−0.50.001997 build Financial Infrastructure (21 credits)
Without the 1st largest shock+0.479+33.8+1.002020 S10 (-30.4 points)
Without the 2nd largest shock+0.418+28.2+0.101997 S02 (-19.8 points)
Without the 3rd largest shock+0.322+22.6+1.002018 S01 (-19.3 points)

Simulations

Three simulations told round by round, each on its own page: the one nearest the median index at the horizon, and those nearest the 10th and the 90th percentile. Every one of the 30 is listed with its outcome on the simulations page.

All 30 simulations

Events

How often each shock and upside event began across the simulations. Shocks come from the ten downside scenarios and upside events from the ten upside ones, at their yearly likelihood.

Event
Kind
Simulations
Mean round
Points
Trade bloc rupture S01Shock100 per cent22.0−19.3
Global funding seizure S02Shock100 per cent6.5−16.7
Legitimacy rupture S05Shock100 per cent24.0−12.4
Severe pandemic S10Shock100 per cent24.0−30.4

Groups across simulations

Every capability group: its position, and its median and spread at the horizon across the simulations, with what the method spent on it.

73 of 73 groups

Capability group
Domain
1996
2026
Change
Levels invested
Credits
Digital & AI CompetenceHuman Capital9.8516.23 16.19 to 16.26+6.386.9488
Regulatory Governance & Strategic ControlsGovernance & Integrity12.9116.63 16.62 to 16.63+3.724.54105
Financial InfrastructureStrategic Infrastructure15.6419.16 19.09 to 19.21+3.524.76105
Public Integrity & Anti-CorruptionGovernance & Integrity10.4012.89 12.87 to 12.92+2.493.4287
Transport InfrastructureStrategic Infrastructure14.7217.09 17.08 to 17.10+2.373.0188
Advanced EducationHuman Capital12.9014.99 14.98 to 15.00+2.092.7344
Financial Stability & Crisis ManagementFinancial Strength14.5516.31 16.25 to 16.37+1.763.96105
Communications & Digital InfrastructureStrategic Infrastructure15.1216.61 16.54 to 16.68+1.492.0644
Monetary & Currency CapabilityFinancial Strength14.8216.30 16.28 to 16.34+1.483.93105
Technology Adoption & DiffusionProduction & Innovation13.4014.76 14.72 to 14.79+1.362.7244
Business Dynamism & EntrepreneurshipProduction & Innovation12.2613.45 13.39 to 13.48+1.192.4244
National Resilience & Crisis ManagementGovernance & Integrity13.1314.14 14.12 to 14.16+1.012.0344
Trade Facilitation & LogisticsTrade & Investment15.6716.42 16.34 to 16.52+0.752.6544
Export Capability & SophisticationTrade & Investment14.0414.77 14.74 to 14.79+0.732.9744
Energy TechnologiesCritical Technology7.428.13 8.12 to 8.14+0.712.0544
Health System CapabilityHuman Capital13.4714.14 14.12 to 14.18+0.671.8744
Fiscal Capacity & Public FinanceFinancial Strength15.0915.57 15.54 to 15.60+0.483.04105
Energy InfrastructureStrategic Infrastructure13.4213.88 13.81 to 13.97+0.461.1444
Advanced ManufacturingStrategic Infrastructure15.3115.77 15.73 to 15.83+0.461.5144
Government Effectiveness & Public AdministrationGovernance & Integrity14.6915.11 15.08 to 15.14+0.421.6844
Innovation & CommercialisationProduction & Innovation11.7012.08 12.06 to 12.11+0.381.9044
Population HealthHuman Capital13.0313.38 13.37 to 13.39+0.351.3644
Economic Output & ProductivityProduction & Innovation13.1513.42 13.40 to 13.45+0.272.2944
Semiconductors & Advanced ComputingCritical Technology8.428.58 8.56 to 8.61+0.161.6644
Industrial & Sectoral BaseProduction & Innovation15.0215.07 15.06 to 15.09+0.051.8144
Nuclear DeterrenceNational Security0.000.00 0.00 to 0.000.000.000
Financial System Depth & AccessFinancial Strength15.4215.07 15.02 to 15.09−0.351.7744
Investment Attraction & ProjectionTrade & Investment15.5615.20 15.17 to 15.23−0.362.1744
Research Talent & Knowledge CreationHuman Capital10.4710.02 9.95 to 10.07−0.450.000
Joint Command, Projection & SustainmentNational Security12.0011.40 11.38 to 11.43−0.600.000
Resource InfrastructureStrategic Infrastructure15.4814.80 14.76 to 14.84−0.680.000
Water, Sanitation & Waste InfrastructureStrategic Infrastructure13.1112.41 12.40 to 12.43−0.700.000
Technical & Vocational SkillsHuman Capital12.4411.74 11.73 to 11.74−0.700.000
Maritime PowerNational Security12.8212.10 12.08 to 12.11−0.720.000
Lifelong Learning & ReskillingHuman Capital10.7710.02 10.00 to 10.04−0.750.000
Cyber & Electromagnetic OperationsNational Security10.499.73 9.68 to 9.78−0.760.000
Intelligence & AssessmentNational Security12.0811.31 11.27 to 11.36−0.770.000
Early Childhood DevelopmentHuman Capital14.0013.21 13.19 to 13.24−0.790.000
Force Generation & MobilisationNational Security12.4611.67 11.66 to 11.68−0.790.000
Air PowerNational Security9.979.17 9.15 to 9.19−0.800.000
Land PowerNational Security12.0011.19 11.15 to 11.22−0.810.000
Space, Aerospace & Defence InfrastructureStrategic Infrastructure9.869.00 8.95 to 9.04−0.860.000
Agriculture & Food InfrastructureStrategic Infrastructure14.1213.20 13.18 to 13.24−0.920.000
Social InfrastructureStrategic Infrastructure13.8112.88 12.85 to 12.90−0.930.000
Strategic Strike & Missile DefenceNational Security7.496.53 6.44 to 6.60−0.960.000
Foundational EducationHuman Capital14.1913.19 13.17 to 13.22−1.000.000
Space OperationsNational Security6.375.30 5.22 to 5.37−1.070.000
Justice System & Fundamental RightsGovernance & Integrity10.419.31 9.29 to 9.33−1.100.000
Transparency, Oversight & AccountabilityGovernance & Integrity10.309.20 9.19 to 9.22−1.100.000
Internal Security & OrderGovernance & Integrity13.0211.91 11.87 to 11.94−1.110.000
Political Institutions & Civic ParticipationGovernance & Integrity10.159.04 9.02 to 9.06−1.110.000
Culture, Language & Education DiplomacyInformation & Influence12.9411.74 11.66 to 11.81−1.200.000
Artificial IntelligenceCritical Technology8.367.11 7.09 to 7.12−1.250.000
Connectivity, Cyber & Trust TechnologiesCritical Technology8.737.47 7.46 to 7.48−1.260.000
Diaspora & Global CommunitiesInformation & Influence13.4412.15 12.14 to 12.17−1.290.000
Development Cooperation & Global AssistanceInformation & Influence10.108.75 8.75 to 8.76−1.350.000
Quantum TechnologiesCritical Technology5.243.86 3.85 to 3.87−1.380.000
Robotics & Autonomous SystemsCritical Technology6.775.37 5.35 to 5.41−1.400.000
Space TechnologiesCritical Technology3.532.12 2.12 to 2.13−1.410.000
Structural Transformation & ComplexityProduction & Innovation13.6712.17 12.15 to 12.18−1.500.000
Alliances & Security CooperationInformation & Influence12.6811.17 11.14 to 11.22−1.510.000
Sensing, Timing & NavigationCritical Technology6.955.41 5.33 to 5.47−1.540.000
Advanced Materials & ManufacturingCritical Technology9.377.77 7.76 to 7.78−1.600.000
Sovereign Capital & External Financial PowerFinancial Strength12.7611.10 11.08 to 11.12−1.660.000
Diplomatic Statecraft & Global NetworksInformation & Influence12.9111.23 11.21 to 11.26−1.680.000
Digital & Services TradeTrade & Investment13.0611.37 11.32 to 11.40−1.690.000
Financial Regulation & IntegrityFinancial Strength14.0812.07 12.01 to 12.15−2.010.000
Global Value Chain PositionTrade & Investment16.0913.99 13.97 to 14.04−2.100.000
Biotechnology & Health TechnologiesCritical Technology8.606.48 6.46 to 6.49−2.120.000
Information Environment & Strategic CommunicationInformation & Influence12.4210.25 10.22 to 10.29−2.170.000
Trade Policy & Market AccessTrade & Investment15.0912.92 12.81 to 12.98−2.170.000
Economic Leverage & DependenceTrade & Investment13.9611.73 11.68 to 11.80−2.230.000
Labour & EmploymentProduction & Innovation13.0510.42 10.41 to 10.43−2.630.000

Checks

The automated checks run on this experiment before anything was written about it. A warning is a candidate finding for the improvement loop.

  • passcredits_conservedlargest gap between credits in and credits accounted for: 4.5e-13
  • passscores_in_boundsscores range 0.000 to 20.000
  • passno_nans0 missing values in the trajectory and objectives
  • passprobe_replay_reproducesthe recorded moves played back reproduce the simulation to within 0.0e+00 points (10 simulations)
  • passledger_balancesthe edge ledger sums to the propagated change to within 9.8e-07 points
  • passmove_without_shocklargest one-year move in a group with no shock landing: 1.00 points; 0% of simulations have one above 3
  • warntier_jumplargest gain in one domain within five years: 5 tiers (30 simulations above 2)
  • passall_tier1_from_outside_top10starting rank 27; 0 simulations reach Tier 1 in all nine domains
  • passsaturation_high0% of simulations end with a group at 20 that did not start there (median 0 groups)
  • passsaturation_low0% of simulations end with a group at 0 that did not start there (median 0 groups)
  • passspend_concentrationmedian concentration of spending across groups (HHI) 0.044; most funded group hard.strategic_infrastructure.financial_infrastructure
  • passsame_actionthe most repeated move (group and mode) appears in a median 33% of rounds

Settings and versions

Experiment cycle-002.e4-mys. Every simulation records the model, graph and parameter versions, the scenario, the method and its seed, so it can be reproduced exactly.

Nation
Malaysia (MYS)
Position
A reconstructed 1996 position, aligned to the Index's scale
Method
Scripted. Actions fixed in advance by the experiment: for a backcast, the nation's historical pathway.
Scenario
Scripted events: Global funding seizure in year 1, Global funding seizure in year 12, Trade bloc rupture in year 22, Legitimacy rupture in year 24, Severe pandemic in year 24
Objective
Capability index, the primary objective the experiment is judged on; every other objective is reported beside it
Horizon
30 rounds, 1996 to 2026
Simulations
30 seeds, 1 to 30. Every method in the batch faces the same draws for the same seed.
Graph elasticities
Drawn for each simulation, uniformly within each edge’s bracket
Income
Base credits 429.1 a round, moving with the economic groups
Versions
Model 0.1.0, Capability Dependency Graph 0.2.0, parameters 0.1.0
Batch
Backcast 1996-2026 (cycle-002), cycle 2 of the improvement loop
Runtime
4.3 seconds in all; 1028 microseconds a round
Not a forecast
Every figure is a distribution over the simulations of a structural model, reported to compare methods and test the model. None is a prediction of what a nation will do or become.
Structural parameters
Costs, decay, vulnerability and credits are structural seed values with low or medium confidence, set by domain with single-group exceptions. Five groups have no defensible value in a single-nation model and are flagged in the parameter tables.
Other nations are frozen
One nation is simulated at a time. Every other nation stays at its 2026 rating, so rank and tiers are measured against a still field; where the simulated nation rises past others their own tiers are not re-sorted.
Starting depth and mode are defaults
The position is the National Capability Index ratings. How institutionalised each capability is, and how much was built, bought or partnered, have no data behind them yet and start from structural defaults.
Credits are calibrated, not measured
Each nation’s income is set so that its position is affordable with headroom that rises with its fiscal capacity. It is not yet fiscal capacity as a share of GDP.