MALAYSIAN PM INVITES PUBLIC TO GIVE IDEAS FOR BUDGET 2010

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 2 (Bernama) -- Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak
has invited the people to give ideas and suggestions for the 2010 Budget which
he will tabled in parliament on Oct 23.

"Encouraged by the many responses and comments I have received previously
via this website, once again I seek your compact suggestions this week on what
measures or incentives may be included in the budget.

"Suggestions should be specific and focus on how we can move to become a
high level income nation and also relate to the six NKRAs (National Key Result
Areas)," Najib said in his blog www.1malaysia.com.my.

The 2010 Budget is Najib's maiden budget since becoming the country's sixth
prime minister on April 3 this year.

On Malaysia's economy, Najib, who is the finance minister, said: "we have
come a long way from our agricultural and commodity-driven years, resulting in
the dynamic upper middle-income economy of today."



Despite having successfully weathered difficulties such as the 1997 Asian
economic crisis and proven to be resilient in the current global financial
crisis, "much work remains before we can call ourselves a fully developed nation
by 2020," Najib said.

He said to achieve the Vision 2020, Malaysia must both become a high income
economy, as defined by the World Bank, and attain a higher human development
index score "reflecting our status as a developed nation."

"We have no option but to transform our economic activities in the right
sub-sectors of our economy to catapult our nation to become a high level income
nation," he said.

He stressed that "transformation must entail leaving our comfort zone behind
once more as we seek to become more competitive."

He said the changes that Malaysia might have to confront included the need
to adapt to external economic demand patterns, integrate further within the
region and adjust the country's domestic structure.

"This exquisite balance is required to ensure that all Malaysians benefit,"
he said, adding that the government must play the role in facilitating private
economic growth through the implementation of further institutional reforms.

-- BERNAMA