By IAN McINTYRE
Act more decisively and respond faster to the ongoing global financial meltdown, said former Finance Minister Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah.Words alone are inadequate to calm the market place jitters. Corrective action and a hastened effort to reduce political uncertainty must be put in place now, Tengku Razaleigh said in a statement.
“The meltdown will change the global financial landscape forever,” he predicted.
Emergency action by governments of the major economies appear only to be slowing down the breakdown of the global financial system, he said.
“This is a financial emergency of the highest order. The global economy faces catastrophe,” the Kelantan prince said.
As a former Finance Minister, he urged the Federal Government to take this crisis most seriously as trillions in savings and investments have been wiped out around the world.
Yet the Government is only issuing statements that the country is able to weather the ill effects without announcing in a transparent fashion what action plans are in store, he said.
“Foreign direct investments and portfolio investments into Malaysia could dry up as global capital adjusts its priorities.”
Among the measures, Tengku Razaleigh is proposing to stabilise the local bourse, including temporarily suspending trade in the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange while exploring joint action with authorities around the world to bring about stability to the marketplace.
source: Act now on world financial crisis: RazaleighMalaysia Star, Malaysia
