NEW ECONOMIC MODEL VITAL, SAYS MIDF GROUP MD

By Tengku Noor Shamsiah Tengku Abdullah

KUALA LUMPUR, April 4 (Bernama) -- It is vital for Malaysians to work together
to ensure the success of the New Economic Model (NEM), Malaysian Industrial
Development Finance Bhd Group Managing Director Mohd Najib Abdullah said.

He said Prime Minister Najib Razak had set the ball rolling to turn
Malaysia, a trading nation and an open economy, into a developed and
high-income country while being receptive towards the demands of the global economy.


"We need to continue the process. We need to ensure the success of the New
Economic Model," he told Bernama here.

Najib the sixth prime minister, succeeded Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on April 3,
2009. He unveiled the first part of NEM on March 30.

MIDF's Najib said the prime minister had set out methodically the
transformation plan to resolve the many challenges faced by the country.

"To be fair, the environment was unsympathetic to him when he took over as the
prime minister, with the economic indicators going south.

"Nevertheless, the two stimulus packages have cushioned the severity of the
impact from the global economic crisis.

"As he goes about improving the country’s economy, the prime minister has slowly
but surely made the necessary changes to the infrastructure of the economy," he
said.

Among the efforts were to narrow the inequality gap, widen the social safety
net, improve the financial efficiency of the public sector, reinvigorate the
capital market and elevate Malaysia's economic standing in the eyes of the
world.
-- BERNAMA