THIRD ECONOMIC COUNCIL MEETING TO DISCUSS SUSTAINED ECONOMIC GROWTH

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 10 (Bernama) -- The third meeting of the Economic Council
today will focus on ensuring sustained and rapid economic growth and meet
challenges of the bearish global economic outlook, Abdullah Ahmad
Badawi said Monday.

In his opening remarks, the Malaysian prime minister said the council would
discuss the first paper on the state of the country's economy, economic work
programmes and key decisions implemented by the council so far.

The second paper would deliberate on the economic outlook and strategic
packages for high growth and structural changes, he said.

As for the third paper, he said, it would delve into strategies to promote
private sector investment.

"While the policy response announced by Deputy Prime Minister
Najib Razak on Nov 4 is short-term, we believe we should also take the
opportunity to address medium-and long-term structural issues and formulate a
strategic package to ensure rapid growth of the economy," he said as he chaired
the Economic Council meeting.

Abdullah said although Malaysia has strong macro-economic fundamentals and
resilient banking and financial system, it is not completely insulated.

"Malaysia is a very open economy and we expect to experience a slowdown in
growth next year, stemming mainly from softening export demand and lower foreign
direct investment (FDI) inflow," he said.

Hence, the growth forecast has been accordingly trimmed to five percent
for this year and 3.5 for 2009, he said.

Abdullah said China and India which registered double-digit gross domestic
product (GDP) growth recently are also bracing for a slowdown.

He said the affected economies have introduced a wide range of measures,
some unconventional, to prevent the collapse of the financial and banking system
and stimulate economic growth.


The prime minister said massive funds have been injected into the financial
system by the United States and Euro zone economies to eliminate toxic assets,
improve liquidity and restart inter-bank lending.

The latest to jump into the stimulus package bandwagon is China when it
announced a staggering US$586 billion (US$1=RM3.53) and Germany 500 billion Euro
(1 Euro=RM4.54) rescue package.

On Nov 4, Najib, who is also Finance Minister, announced a RM7 billion
stimulus package to reinforce the economy, strengthen national resilience and to
cushion the impact of the global economic turmoil on the donestic economy.

-- BERNAMA