SECOND STIMULUS PACKAGE TO BE STRONGER-M'SIAN DPM

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 6 (Bernama) -- The Government is working on the details of
the second stimulus package which will be much bigger and more profound and will
be announced soon, said Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak.

"We will not hesitate to take drastic, and even radical measures, if
necessary," said Najib, who is also the Finance Minister.

"In protecting the economy and assisting the people, we are not adverse to
seeing a higher budget deficit. The priority is to cushion the impact on the
rakyat," he said in his keynote address at "The Edge-Lipper-StarMine Awards 2009
here Thursday night.

The Government is doing everything possible to reduce the burden on rakyat
and the business community, he stressed.

According to reports, the second stimulus package will be announced this
month or in March. The first stimulus package of RM7 billion was announced in
November last year.

Najib said in addition to the fiscal stimulus, monetary policy measures have
been also announced including lowering the Overnight Policy Rate(OPR) by 75
basis points to 2.5 percent last month, and the reduction of Statutory Reserves
Requirement (SRR) by 150 basis points to 2.0 percent effective Feb 1, he said.

There has been additional boost to the small and medium enterprises as well
with the RM2 billion SME Assistance Scheme that has already been announced.

Najib also hoped that banks would not stop lending.

Looking at the investment climate, Najib said the current turmoil in the
global capital market was a reminder to everyone that investing was not without
its risks.

It is important therefore, that retail and professional investors be
vigilant and be fully armed with the relevant information before making that
crucial investment decision.

Portfolio managers must always keep abreast of developments in the fund
management industry, he said.

Najib said they must be armed with analysis and critical information as the
Malaysian market strived to be internationally competitive.

The ongoing global dwonturn has not spared anyone and the Malaysian capital
market has not been spared by the dramatic falls experienced by capital markets
all over the world.

But with the regulatory framework that is currently in place the local
market is not adversely exposed to the many issues and scandals affecting some
of the major developed markets, he added.

He said Malaysian companies in general are better positioned than those in
other parts of the world as their balance sheets are strong and the country's
banking system sound.

"We have learned from the 1997-1998 crisis and have put in place various
check and balances," he said.

Although Bursa Malaysia Securities' market capitalisation has fallen by
about 40 percent between December 2007 and December 2008, the net asset value of
unit trust funds under management has fallen only 20.66 percent from RM169.4
billion to RM134.4 billion, he pointed out.

At the same time, the unit trust industry registered an increase in the
number of funds available to investors to 557 from 495 funds, he said.

The number of unitholders' account for the period increased to 13.05
million from 12.27 million, and monthly net sale in 2008 averaged RM1.7 billion
per month.

This was attributed among others to prudent investment practices coupled
with diversification of investment in various asset classes, companies and
across different countries which have mitigated a sharper fall in value.
(US$1=RM3.61)
-- BERNAMA