EPU-STIMULUS PACKAGE

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH EPU ON 7/11/2008

Without the stimulus package, Malaysia's growth is forecast at 2.5 percent but with the recently announced 7 billion ringgit boost, the  country could achieve 3.5 percent growth in 2009.
 
Economic Planning Unit Director General Tan Sri Sulaiman Mahbob said Malaysia could not escape the effects of the global financial crisis and that the government was watching the situation closely and would be taking the necessary measures if the situation got worst.
At this point of time I think we are watching it very very closely easily daily how the world economy unfold. And we have the economic council that meets monthly to discuss measures to be undertaken.
Super: Tan Sri Sulaiman Mahbob \ Economic Planning Unit, Director General

He said Malaysia was taking precautions to face the challenges posed in 2009 by concentrating more on domestic sources of growth such as private consumption, investment and business competitiveness, to boost the Malaysian economy.
 
Among others, the government was working on promoting the production sector to make sure that Malaysia's export would be more diversified to various countries.
 
He said Malaysia should be looking at more of its exports to the Asean market as well as China and India.
 
Sulaiman told BERNAMA TV this recently, commenting on the impact of the stimulus package to the economy and its outlook. 
 
On the difference between the current crisis and  the 1997/98 Asian financial crisis, he said the sources of the crises were different and therefore, Malaysia had to respond differently, according to the sources and the cause of the crisis.

We have been affected, also in the past during 1986 crisis when we had drop all the commodity prices and we have also crisis 97-98 what was referred East Asian Financial Contagion when economy drop almost 8 percent in 1998.
Super: Tan Sri Sulaiman Mahbob \ Economic Planning Unit, Director General

He said Malaysia's economy was an open economy and therefore, would be able to enhance the standard of living, per capita income, due to being a world market.
 
However, when the world market shrank, Malaysia would equally be affected.