The economics of noise: Who pays the price?

 

 

FOR the past two months, Malaysia has been running an unpriced experiment. Every night, across our cities and towns, we have collectively accepted a simple premise: that the private enjoyment of firecrackers outweighs the public cost imposed on everyone else. It is time to question that premise.

As a researcher, I am used to thinking in terms of trade-offs and unintended consequences. What we are seeing today is a textbook case: a policy intended to formalise a market has instead expanded consumption while leaving many of its costs unaccounted for.

What was once the occasional burst of celebration in recent years, become something closer to a sustained pattern of nightly disruption. This year, from New Year celebrations, leading up to Chinese New Year and into Hari Raya Aidilfitri, the soundscape of my taman has shifted – less festive punctuation, more constant background noise. In many neighbourhoods, I bet, silence is now the exception rather than the norm.

And it is not just the frequency that has changed – it is the intensity. Anyone old enough to remember firecrackers from decades past will recognise the difference immediately. The pops and crackles of earlier years have given way to something far more forceful. Today’s firecrackers detonate with a force that often resembles small explosions. In dense neighbourhoods, the effect is jarring – less like festivity, more like shockwaves echoing through shared space.

 

A growing market

Since the government relaxed restrictions in 2023, firecrackers have returned at scale. The policy intent was to formalise a black market, improve safety and allow controlled cultural expression.

To some extent, it has worked. Licensed vendors have proliferated and access to regulated products has improved. But the outcomes are more complex.

In 2025, Malaysian authorities seized over RM100 million worth of illegal fireworks (PDRM, as cited by Forward Malaysia, 2025). This points to a parallel market operating alongside the legal one.

Legalisation did not eliminate illicit trade. It expanded total consumption while leaving enforcement to catch up.

 

Hidden cost of injury

Malaysia continues to record more than 200 firecracker-related injuries annually, including burns and permanent disability (Suhakam Children’s Commissioner, 2026).

Not all firecrackers are equal. Legal versions are relatively low risk. But the most serious injuries still come from illegal or modified explosives – raising a key question: has legalisation reduced harm or simply increased overall use while the most dangerous segment persists?

There is also a shift in behaviour. Increasingly, it is adults, not children, handling high-powered firecrackers, often seeking louder and more dramatic effects.

From an economic standpoint, this is cost externalisation. The buyer pays for the product, but the consequences are borne by public hospitals, emergency services and families.

 

Sleep is an economic input

Less visible, but more widespread, is sleep disruption.

Sleep is not a lifestyle choice – it is an economic input.

It is one thing to hear distant crackling. It is another to be jolted awake by a sudden detonation – loud enough to trigger a physical reaction before the mind catches up. In that moment, it does not register as celebration, but as an imposition.

The louder the explosion, the further its effects travel. Even as sound weakens with distance, a higher starting intensity means it remains disruptive across entire neighbourhoods. What feels like a moment of celebration for one household becomes a shock to the senses at 10 pm!

Fatigue reduces performance, increases error rates and raises accident risk. Over time, it also contributes to broader health issues. No organisation would accept sustained disruption to its workforce. Yet we tolerate it at a societal level.

 

Cost of enforcement

Enforcement is another hidden cost. Every festive season, police, customs and local authorities are mobilised to monitor sales, conduct raids and respond to complaints. These efforts require manpower and coordination.

This is an opportunity cost. Resources used here are diverted from other priorities.

The challenge is structural. When usage is spread across thousands of households, enforcement becomes diffused and less effective.

 

An externality we ignore

Some costs are not priced at all.

For animals, firecrackers are a stress event. Reports suggest that up to 50% of dogs exhibit fear responses during fireworks – panic, trembling and attempts to flee (as reported by local media such as Scoop).

For pet owners, this means veterinary costs, damage or lost animals. Wildlife faces similar disruption. Sudden, repeated explosions interfere with feeding, nesting, and navigation – particularly for birds and nocturnal species. These are real costs, even if they do not appear in economic data.

 

Culture, context and scale

Firecrackers are part of Malaysian culture. They mark celebration, renewal and joy.

But culture evolves within context.

Malaysia today is more urban and densely populated. What was once dispersed is now concentrated. What was once occasional is now prolonged.

And what we are hearing today is not just more frequent – but fundamentally louder.

We have scaled the activity without scaling the controls.

 

A practical compromise

This is ultimately a question of fairness. At present, benefits are private while costs are shared. How can we make this pro-accountability?

We could return to lower-intensity firecrackers – the kind many Malaysians grew up with. Still festive but not indistinguishable from explosions.

This can be paired with designated hours, zoning and more community-based displays rather than nightly, decentralised use.

These are not restrictions for their own sake. They align private enjoyment with public tolerance.

Malaysia does not lack the ability to celebrate. What we lack is the common sense to manage how we do so in shared spaces. Firecrackers may be part of our culture but the costs they impose are real – and they are not borne by those who choose them.

Until that imbalance is addressed, we are not just celebrating. We are passing the bill to everyone else.

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This article was first published in the StarBiz 7, Issue Mar 28, 2026: Securing the future of pensions

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