ID :
24889
Thu, 10/16/2008 - 18:02
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/24889
The shortlink copeid
CALL ON ASIAN GOVTS TO WORK ON CUSHIONING ECONOMIC SLOWDOWN IMPACT
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 16 (Bernama) -- Asian nations with bigger fiscal surpluses must now work on cushioning the impact of the global economic slowdown on their economies to avoid related social fallout.
This could be done by improving the economic welfare of their citizens and
provide employment opportunities to ensure all received benefit from the
economic growth, said International Trade and Industry Minister Muhyiddin
Yassin.
"We must maintain and improve our competitiveness in technology, human
capital and sustainable economic growth that has allowed the Asian economies to
flourish in the last two decades," he said in his keynote address at the
Regional Eisenhower Fellowships Conference here Thursday.
According to him, the full potential of the enormous domestic markets of
Asia has not fully been tapped.
Against a backdrop of minimal social security nets, Asia's emerging
middle-class with its high savings rate held significant promise for financial
planning, Muhyiddin said.
The countries that recorded the highest household savings include Singapore
(33 percent of household income), Indonesia (28 percent), India (22 percent) and
China (16 percent), he said.
In addition, Muhyiddin proposed more investments in infrastructure as these
were necessary to sustain the high economic growth currently enjoyed by the
region.
"The rapid urbanisation in Asia will create a massive need for
infrastructure. It is thus in the interest of the nations within Asia to
strengthen their connections to spread the benefits of growth," he said.
Muhyiddin said a booming Asia should not be regarded as a threat but as a
means towards greater prosperity for the global population.
"If the region is economically stable and progressive, the same shall be
the case of the rest of the world," he said.
Even though the economic power that was shifting to Asia would inevitably
lead to these nations desiring a greater say in how the world was run, it should
not be something that the West should fear, Muhyiddin said.
"However, these gradual transformations must be seen as contribution to the
cause of human dignity and freedom in its own context," he said.
This could be done by improving the economic welfare of their citizens and
provide employment opportunities to ensure all received benefit from the
economic growth, said International Trade and Industry Minister Muhyiddin
Yassin.
"We must maintain and improve our competitiveness in technology, human
capital and sustainable economic growth that has allowed the Asian economies to
flourish in the last two decades," he said in his keynote address at the
Regional Eisenhower Fellowships Conference here Thursday.
According to him, the full potential of the enormous domestic markets of
Asia has not fully been tapped.
Against a backdrop of minimal social security nets, Asia's emerging
middle-class with its high savings rate held significant promise for financial
planning, Muhyiddin said.
The countries that recorded the highest household savings include Singapore
(33 percent of household income), Indonesia (28 percent), India (22 percent) and
China (16 percent), he said.
In addition, Muhyiddin proposed more investments in infrastructure as these
were necessary to sustain the high economic growth currently enjoyed by the
region.
"The rapid urbanisation in Asia will create a massive need for
infrastructure. It is thus in the interest of the nations within Asia to
strengthen their connections to spread the benefits of growth," he said.
Muhyiddin said a booming Asia should not be regarded as a threat but as a
means towards greater prosperity for the global population.
"If the region is economically stable and progressive, the same shall be
the case of the rest of the world," he said.
Even though the economic power that was shifting to Asia would inevitably
lead to these nations desiring a greater say in how the world was run, it should
not be something that the West should fear, Muhyiddin said.
"However, these gradual transformations must be seen as contribution to the
cause of human dignity and freedom in its own context," he said.
