MALAYSIAN ECONOMY COULD REBOUND WITHIN SIX MONTHS

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 10 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian economy could rebound from the current slowdown within the next three to six months with the support of the government and sound policies.

The head of department, professor of economics, of the London School of
Economics and Political Science, Professor Danny Quah said Deputy Prime Minister
Najib Tun Razak had the ability to take Malaysia into the next stage of its
economic development.

"The government should not be too obssesed with budget deficits. It is
important to develop policies that can increase the country's competitiveness in
order to sustain economic growth and momentum ,"Quah said during a dinner talk
of the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) Alumni Association
of Malaysia Friday.

Quah delivered a talk titled, Malaysia's response to the global
economic crisis - what's being done right and what's wrong.

Inspite of the gloomy global economy outlook, Quah gave a strong
message of assurance.

"Dont' panic. The world has not come to an end yet. Asia is not expected
to enter into a drastic slowdown although there is to be expected some
contagion spillover effects of the financial crisis in the United States," Quah
said.

He advocated an expansion of fiscal and a losening of monetary policies in
order to boost economic growth during this slowdown.

He said China and India, will still be the growth stories of the global
economy as the United States grapples with a high budget deficit.

"South East Asia has also shown remarkable growth after the Asian financial
crisis," Quah said.

Asia, he said, would play a bigger role in the global economy.

"While Asia has been able to retain a high savings rate, US consumers have
been spending aggressively, living on credit cards and high borrowings,," he
highlighted.