FULL IMPACT OF DOWNTURN COMING, SAYS M'SIAN MINISTER

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 15 (Bernama) -- It will only be a matter of time before
Malaysia experiences the full impact of the global economic downturn, given the
close integration of the global economies, Minister of International Trade and
Industry Muhyiddin Yassin said Thursday.

"The point I want to emphasise is that we do have a realistic appreciation
of what is happening around us, and the reduction in the official growth
forecast for this year from 5.4 percent to 3.5 percent reflects this sober
assessment," he said.

Muhyiddin said the government was adopting a cautious approach as it entered
2009 and should waste no time to put in place a number of additional measures to
support and enhance the resilience of the nation's economy.

"These (measures) are designed to achieve two strategic objectives. First,
to ensure Malaysian companies retain their competitiveness, that is, their
skills, marketing networks and supply chains.

"Second, we want to make sure that they will be ready to capitalise on
opportunity when the global economy eventually recovers," he said at the Asian
Strategy & Leadership Institute's 11th Malaysian Strategic Outlook Conference
2009 here.

The minister said as of November last year, although there were some
evidence of slowing economic activities, "there was no reason for the government
to hit the panic button".

But this, he said, was not to suggest that the government had adopted an
overly rosy perspective about prospects for the future.

Muhyiddin also said that the Ministry of International Trade and Industry
(MITI) had issued 14 manufacturing licences in the last quarter of 2008, since
it announced that manufacturing licences would be issued automatically except
where public interest dictates otherwise.

"An online portal has been developed to enable prospective investors to
apply for and obtain business licences. Import duties on a wide range of raw
materials and intermediate goods have also been lifted. This will reduce the
cost of production of many manufacturers and help them stay competitive," he
said.

The government, he added, was also paying a "great deal of attention" to the
training and upgrading of workers' skills with the Human Resource Development
Fund being a strategic component of this exercise.

Muhyiddin said the government has already put in place various measures to
cushion the impact of the global economic downturn and support Malaysian
companies and entrepreneurs.

"MITI is intensifying its overseas investment promotion activities this year
and would work closely with the private sector to ensure that these initiatives
are being pursued in a purposeful and effective manner.

"The full impact of the global economic crisis has yet to reach us and we
have to be prepared for more difficult times ahead," he said.
-- BERNAMA