Najib Razak focused on economic growth
Keeping Malaysia’s economy growing continues to be the focus of Najib Razak:
Malaysia is open to taking additional measures to boost the economy, Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak said on Tuesday, days after the government waived import duties on raw materials and unfinished goods.
Najib, who is also Malaysia’s finance minister, said he was reasonably confident that the country would meet its economic growth targets for 2008 and 2009.
‘We are very open to additional measures that can be taken from time to time. Obviously we are watching and monitoring the situation very very carefully,’ he told reporters.
Razak seems to recognize that gradual liberalization is the best strategy for keeping Malaysia growing in these uncertain economic times:
In an effort to revive the stock market, which has fallen almost 40 percent this year, Najib said last week he would relax ownership rules that reserve 30 percent of companies for ethnic Malays.
However, he said on Tuesday a final decision has yet to be made.
‘There is no announcement in that regard. We are open. As I said it has to be a pace of liberalisation that we are comfortable with,’ he said.
‘There is a need for us to be competitive globally. There is need for us to examine how we can overcome the current financial crisis. Gradual liberalisation is something that we will consider.’
Earlier this month, Najib, who will become prime minister in March, shifted almost $2 billion in spending to infrastructure and tax cuts from savings in fuel subsidies.
The United State is an important trading partner with Malaysia and efforts to increase investment and spur economic growth would benefit both countries. These efforts might also lead to progress in the stalled trade talks.
