Monday 13 October 2008

Will the Global Financial Tsunami Hit Us?

I was so glad to see in today's Star Online that someone, other than me, has noticed that our government has not made any mention of how it is going to handle this worldwide economic meltdown.

As Steve Oh from Kajang puts it succintly in his letter, there is no mention in any of our local newspapers of the steps our government is taking to address this issue. Oh yes, I forgot, a few days ago our Mr. Najib and one analyst said we won't be affected. 

Really? Let's look at some of the "facts" they used.

One, "our economy is domestically driven. Therefore, we're not exposed to world economy." While this is true, don't forget that MORE THAN 40% of our income is derived from exports. These exports are now affected, and there will be a ripple effect at best. 

And, if nothing is done to turn the world around, then the ripple effect might become a tsunami, too, affecting all other businesses which are domestically driven. 

Second, by our Mr. Najib, "our exports are diversified. We export mostly to China, not US, so we are not affected." Hello, Mr. Najib. China's biggest customer is US....and if you can't connect the dots, then I am extremly fearful for our country's financial future.

If our govenment does not stop distracting itself with who should be the next PM and DPM soon, and take an interest in our economy, we might one day wake up to find our country back to poverty status.

At least, Dr M took preemptive measures a decade ago and saved our economy from spiralling downwards.....did any of you remember that our economy recovered faster than our neighours, including Singapore's, due to Dr M's brilliance? I remember that Lee Kuan Yew and others laughed at Dr M's unorthodox measures, but at the end, we had the last laugh.