MALAYSIA'S IDEAS SAYS GOVT MUST BE FIRM IN ECONOMIC LIBERALISATION

KUALA LUMPUR, July 20 (Bernama) -- The government must be committed to
economic liberalisation in order to make Malaysia a developed nation by 2020 and
the New Economic Model (NEM) that has been proposed is a good start.

In a statement, the Institute For Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS)
said among others, privatisating government-linked companies was one of the most
crucial steps to liberalise the economy and must be supported.

"A free market economy is the only way to increase the size of our economic
cake, and to enable the rakyat to enjoy a share of that enlarged cake," it said.

IDEAS said the government must be serious in explaining to the rakyat why
there was a need to liberalise the economy.

Its chief executive, Wan Saiful Wan Jan, said failure to explain would
result in the rakyat rejecting this good move.

He said IDEAS has been working hard to educate the public about the benefits
of a free market economy but the commitment by the government was lacking.

"Such a big effort cannot be left just to one institute alone," he said. --
BERNAMA