Businesses and policymakers risk making the wrong decisions when research focuses on headline figures without providing the wider context, according to newly appointed Market Research Society Malaysia (MRSM) President See Toh Wai Yu.
Wai Yu, who is also Chief Executive Officer of Central Force International, said the problem facing Malaysia’s research industry was not necessarily inaccurate data, but incomplete information that could conceal important differences between consumer groups and emerging disruptions.
“Research integrity is not only about whether a number is correct,” said Wai Yu. “It is about whether leaders and the public are being shown enough of the story to understand what that number really means.”
He said selective findings could become a strategic risk during periods of economic uncertainty, technological change and shifting public expectations, particularly as disruption does not affect every consumer, community or market segment equally.
A strong overall result, for instance, could mask declining confidence among younger consumers, while national averages could hide affordability pressures in specific communities. Similarly, positive brand sentiment could exist alongside falling purchase intent.
“When people do not always interrogate the data, the responsibility falls on us to ensure we are not giving them only the part of the story we want them to see,” Wai Yu said.
He said the risk was further heightened by the way Malaysians consume information online, citing findings reported by The Star in 2025 based on Department of Statistics Malaysia data that only three in 10 Malaysians verify the reliability of information they encounter online.
“In a fast-changing market, telling half the story is not a harmless omission. It is a decision risk,” Wai Yu said.
Research Must Challenge Assumptions
Wai Yu said research should not merely confirm what organisations already believe but should expose findings that could force them to reconsider their decisions.
“The most useful finding is not always the most flattering one,” he said. “It is the one that changes the decision before the market forces you to.”
He cited a Central Force public opinion study in which Syed Saddiq emerged as the preferred choice for Prime Minister with 29% support. However, further analysis showed that 80% of his support came from respondents aged 18 to 25.
Wai Yu said the headline figure alone could therefore overstate the electoral strength of that support if youth turnout was weak.
A similar gap emerged in a Central Force study on sustainable products, where 91% of Malaysians surveyed said they were open to purchasing sustainable products, but 62.3% were unwilling to pay more than a 10% premium.
Concerns over authenticity, price and availability further indicated that support for sustainable products was conditional on affordability, credibility and convenience.
The examples, he said, demonstrated how a headline finding could be accurate while still encouraging the wrong business decision.
Public Sentiment As Early Warning
Wai Yu also called for public sentiment to be treated as an early indicator of disruption rather than something assessed only after problems appear in traditional performance data.
Changes in trust, affordability concerns, resistance to technology and gaps between policy intentions and people’s lived experiences can emerge before they are reflected in sales figures, participation rates or administrative data, he said.
“Public sentiment should not be treated as a post-mortem,” he said. “It should be treated as a leading indicator.”
For businesses, this could help identify emerging commercial and reputational risks, while policymakers could better understand whether people comprehend an initiative, trust its intended outcomes and can access its benefits before implementation gaps become entrenched.
Wai Yu said public sentiment should complement rather than replace economic and administrative evidence by helping explain where headline indicators may fail to reflect people’s experiences.
MRSM To Push For Greater Transparency
Under Wai Yu’s leadership, MRSM will champion clearer methodologies, balanced reporting and stronger ethical standards across research, business, government, academia and technology.
He also wants the industry to provide greater clarity around the context, limitations and implications of published research findings.
“The goal is not to make research less compelling, but more credible,” said Wai Yu. “Our industry will be judged not by how much data we produce, but by whether we have the integrity to tell the whole story.”
