Nordin Sopiee’s two years, Naisbitt’s 18 months and Lee Kuan Yew’s two to three years for economic recovery


Speech (4)
- Penang DAP Economic Crisis Ceramah
by Lim Kit Siang

(Penang, Friday): Two months ago, an important member of the NEAC, Tan Sri Nordin Sopiee wrote an article in a local publication, The Edge, under the title "Time to wake up, rebuild and fight back", starting with the sentence "The current economic turmoil reminds us of the virtue of humility and the vice of arrogance".

He wrote:

He continued:

What frightens me is that looking at the composition of the NEAC, there are members who belong to the category of those who are "still asleep" and have not woken up!

In the past seven months of the national economic crisis, we have not done all the wrong things, but we have not done many right things either. The verdict is still out whether the painfully tough times ahead for Malaysia is going to be two years or four years - and this is why it is shocking that the people are being told that there could be economic recovery in six months to a year.

In this connection, it will do Malaysians good to listen to the views of experts and the experienced, whether he be futurist author John Naisbitt who said in Kota Kinabalu on Monday that he expected a recovery in Malaysia in 18 months or Singapore Senior Minister, Lee Kuan Yew, who said in Bangkok two days ago that " East Asia can recover from its current economic crisis in two to three years if the governments and people are united in implementing the hard painful measures needed". Speaking at the National Defence College of Thailand, titled "How and when will East Asia recover", Lee highlighted two key inter-related factors that caused the crisis that has gripped East Asia.

He said:

Lee noted that while private companies were the main borrowers, governments were to blame for failing to check excessive borrowing. Indeed, they abetted the process by adopting policies which created a euphoric environment.

He said:

On what can be done, Lee said:

The question is how long it will take, and whether governments can do anything to speed up the process. While governments have little direct control over market reactions, they can restore confidence by addressing market concerns – in particular, external debt, the soundness of the financial and corporate sectors, and money supply and interest rates.

Warning that pain was unavoidable, he added:

I have openly disagreed with what Lee had said about law and order in Johore or his exposition of Asian Values to justify the suppression of democratic freedoms and human rights but what he said about the Asian economic crisis contains a lot of wisdom which deserves our serious attention.

(23/1/98)


*Lim Kit Siang - Malaysian Parliamentary Opposition Leader, Democratic Action Party Secretary-General & Member of Parliament for Tanjong