Facing the Economic Realities

The comments by executive director of the Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF), Samsuddin Bardan that 10,000 Malaysians have lost their jobs since 1 January 2009 due to the global economic slowdown show that the economic situation in Malaysia is not as rosy as pictured. Malaysians should face the reality of the situation and take the necessary steps to face the challenges ahead. There is nothing wrong with Malaysia as the current economic situation is a consequence of the global economic crisis as Malaysia can’t be isolated from the effects. I agree with the call of the MEF to the government to release the second economic stimulus package as soon as possible to keep the hard-hit companies afloat. At the same time, the government should urgently remove any hindrances or red tape that might be a dampener to the setting up of new enterprises. With an expected drop in consumption, now is a good time for the government to pump in funds to develop and upgrade schools, health clinics and other construction projects. This will stimulate economic activities and inject back confidence amongst contractors, retailers and other supply chains.
Despite the fact that the Year of the Ox started off on a pretty pessimistic note – with the MEF comments, the International Labour Organization reporting that up to 51 million jobs worldwide could disappear by year-end and the collapse of the Irish government due to economic worries – all is not lost for Malaysians. My hunch is that as the Year progresses, we will begin to see positive signs. The Malaysian government has already taken urgent steps to address the situation through the economic stimulus packages aimed at various sectors and the US and China governments have undertaken urgent measures to stimulate the economy. The results of these concerted global efforts will soon kick in. I am confident that the current situation would not be as bad as the Deep Depression in which the world took ten years to recover.