Across the causeway, Singapore has unofficially slipped into recession*. In fact the Singapore government has revised its 2008 growth forecast to around 3 per cent from a previous estimate of 4 to 5 per cent.
According to Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong :
“Asian countries cannot avoid the impact of weakening U.S., European and Japanese economies,” Lee said
“We must prepare for a rough ride at least over the next year, and quite possibly longer.”
“The crisis in the financial system will dampen consumption and investment in the developed countries and affect growth all over the world,” he said.
Meanwhile on our side, the Malaysian government future Premier and current DPM Datuk Seri Najib goes on record to state the following:
The country’s economy is stable despite the financial meltdown affecting many parts of the world.
“Our inflation rate is much lower than in neighbouring countries,” said Najib
Now as an economics graduate and DPM of Malaysia with some (supposed) experience under his belt, in Najib, we have sure expected more that we probably should have. Instead of a clear cut account from the DPM, what we are being told instead is the usual cock-and-bull from the government in regards to the finicial security of our economy.
If you were me right now, you’d be worried too!
* A recession is often defined as two consecutive quarters of economic contractions.
