Luciferan's Blog

Office of Anwar Ibrahim
Merchants Square
Petaling Jaya Selangor, 47401

” Malaysia was hit by the global recession and 2009 was a difficult year for many of us. More jobs were lost and more people were left unemployed than at any time in our nation’s history.

There are some indications that the economic situation is improving in 2010 but I released a statement today urging people not to be misled by a few statistics. To say that the “the worst is over” is not only premature but irresponsible.

For 10 years the government has spent more money than it has made. In fact increasing government expenditure has been the defining element of Malaysia’s economic policy during this period. The natural outcome of its approach is to register some small amount of growth. But our continued reliance on an outdated strategy is taking us down the road of economic serfdom. And the government’s failure to adopt creative economic policies to make us competitive in a global economy has left Malaysia lagging behind our neighbors in the region.

It is also true that corruption remains rampant and massive government projects are often unnecessary, cost too much, and benefit only a few people. We cannot afford to keep losing billions every year.

The private sector has not benefited from the increase in spending. Small and medium sized businesses were more vibrant and active 20 years ago than they are today. This means that the economic policies of the BN are still not creating enough jobs and opportunities for the vast majority of Malaysians”.

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The second political tsunami since March 2008 begins with a win in Hulu Selangor for Pakatan Rakyat.