1/6/09 PUSHING OUR ECONOMY AHEAD.....

In my various previous articles, I did touched on the way we should figure out our economic development. One of it is to shift our forex base from Dollar to Golden Dinar. Secondly is to move our domestic purchasing power through the development of our domestic and oversea niche market especially in the food-based industry.

(2) As of today scenarios, only the Japanese, Chinese, and Arab are holding great real cash. The American had declared themselves as 'almost bankrupt' while the EU are struggling badly to lift themselves out of the deep pit.

(3) The whole World Financial System had now defied the IMF Theory on Financial and Capital Movement from Low Interest to the High Interest State. The Osmosis of Capital movement seem to be no more valid.

(4) Singapore, during the 1997 Asian Regional Financial Crisis had learnt a painful lesson by adopting such theory. Singapore increased the interest rate (both for depositor and lending) with the intend to pool the ASEAN monies into the Singapore Banks and thus to lend those manies back to ASEAN and the rest of the world. Tons of ASEAN currencies shiped over to Singapore and making the affected ASEAN nations into the worst state. But, the Singapore (IMF) dream, doesn't materialize. Nobody was interested to borrow, and Singapore had to pay high interest return (as promised) to the depositors. The Singapore greed to tape wealth from the suffering of the neighboring States hit them back!

(5) The same goes to Malaysia when Bank Negara (definitely by the intruction of the then Minister of Finance and probably with the approval of the Cabinet) raised the interest rate to double digits and cutting the NPL to half. Here the intend is to keep the Ringgit in the Country, but forgetting to calculate what will happen to the rest of the economies.

(6) As such, I greatly appreciate for the Government to regulate our financial cost to the minimum. We should never be thinking that, in order to attract depositors, we must increase the return to investment through giving handsome interest return. I believe, we have not challenge our brain hard enough to break this, I would say, this Classical Financial Thinking. For the Muslim World, we have not even thinking hard enough to explore on the Islamic Financial System, where riba is considered a hinderance to the State economic and business growth.

(7) Again, I would like to repeat here, why is it the Islamic Banking System now is charging higher financial cost to the borrowers. Can't we not think of other ways to manage the business risks?

(8) In fact, the Grameen Bank in Pakistan, and the Amanah Ikthiar Malaysia (AIM) had shown us the way. Just that probably, we are looking at these two system are only dealing with the small guys, therefore, they are not worth to be deeply studied. I have a strong believe, they worth to look at as the Model that we should expand.

(9) Both the Grameen Bank and AIM do not charge high interest among the borrowers. They have a very Comprehensive Management System in how to deal with the borrowers, such that the risk of default payment is very low, if exist, scientifically (statistically) could be write-off (less than 5%).

(10) Can we not start thinking, and really make Malaysia as the Global Banking
Center of Excellence. We can, what needed is for us to take a brave step with greater determintation. Let expand from both the Grameen Bank and AIM business risks management strategies and develop from there.

(11) Najib, let work on this. Let do less politicking, but think and work more for the good state of the nation. By the way, just to remind you, the real purpose of POLITIC is to ensure the good state of the nation. So let focus on the end, rather the mean (politic). The mean (politic) has so far doesn't give you the best result. Thus let restrategise.