malaysiakini on Malaysia's ECONOMIC PROSPECTS....

Six months ago, no one would have predicted that important companies like Lehman Brothers(now defunct) and CitiBank would have been so adversely impacted by the sub-prime problems that has seen roughly 40% of value wiped out from equity markets.
Even today, CitiBank is negotiating with the authorities for more support.
So most Malaysians may be puzzled by the repeated pronouncements from Bank Negara that Malaysia will be only slightly affected as described in this malaysiakini article that Malaysia to escape recession: Bank Negara.
We know that Malaysia is a major exporter of goods like oil, palm oil and manufactured goods especially in electronic components and electrical goods. We know that oil and palm oil prices are depressed and in Penang they predict that Unemployment rates to soar after March.
If thousands are laid off, how can consumer demand be strong? Some folks may not even have enough to feed their families.
Unfortunatey in our Parliament we still have MPs who behave in an uncouth fashion instead of asking our Finance Minister some important questions.