M'SIA WILL NOT BE IN RECESSION NEXT YEAR

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 6 (Bernama) -- Malaysia will not be in recession next
year, particularly as the government's stimulus plan implemented starts to show
results by the first quarter, Second Finance Minister Nor Mohamed Yakcop
said Saturday.

"At this point of time, there is no possibility from our calculations that
we will enter recession in 2009. Our calculations are based on the actual
economic scenario now and also based on what we are going to do," he said after
launching Yayasan Ekonomi Sejagat here.

He was commenting on whether there is a possibility of Malaysia entering
recession next year following further negative new reports from the United
States with the most recent being large-scale retrenchment exercises.

Nor Mohamed said when the government first announced measures to
cushion
the impact from the global uncertainties, the idea was to implement these
measures quickly so that the impact will be evident in the next few
months.

"We want to make sure that most of the measures are implemented by the
first quarter. Then, it will have an effect on the economy," he
said.

Asked whether the government's private financing initiatives (PFIs) were
slow in terms of implementation, the minister said: "Whether normal funded
projects or PFIs, if they are viable, we will implement them quickly."

On employment, Nor Mohamed said government from time to time ensured that
there was continuous credit flow to spur economic activities, thus providing job
opportunities.

Despite some minor retrenchments in some states, he said the country's
economy is still sound, with net performing loans at 2.4 percent and ample
liquidity in terms of savings rate.

"It will be a challenging phase for us in the next 18 to 20 months. We will
not only survive but emerge as a more prosperous nation," he added.

-- BERNAMA