[Mahathir mengatakan ekonomi Malaysia tidak menuju kemelesetan tetapi MIER tidak berpendapat sedemikian pula. Siapakah yang lebih pakar dan lebih bercakap mengikut fakta? Atau dengan kata lain - siapa yang banyak berauta???
- Editor]

http://sg.biz.yahoo.com/010717/15/19cz0.html

Tuesday July 17, 10:50 AM

Malaysia/Confidence -2: Hard Times Expected Ahead

KUALA LUMPUR (Dow Jones)-- Malaysian business and consumer confidence slumped in the second quarter to levels not seen since the Asian financial crisis, a report issued by the Malaysian Institute of Economic Research showed Tuesday.

"The latest reading clearly shows deteriorating business conditions, a harbinger of further economic weakness in the coming months," the private think-tank said in a survey of business conditions that is part of its second-quarter economic report.

The think-tank's Business Conditions Index stood at 44 points in the second quarter ended June 30, a 2.4-point fall from the previous quarter and a much sharper drop from 64.3 points in the same quarter last year.

"Overall the latest reading ... leaves no doubt that the economy, which carries recessionary tendencies, is clearly losing considerable momentum," the institute said.

Second-quarter business and consumer confidence levels were lower than those registered by the think-tank at the end of 1997, but were still a little higher than the lowest levels set in 1998, MIER figures indicated.

(MORE) Dow Jones Newswires 17-07-01

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Hard Times Expected Ahead

According to the companies surveyed, corporate sales, domestic and export orders, and expected sales orders all fell, dragging down the index, MIER said. Most electronic companies reported lower production and most manufacturers reported higher inventory levels, it added.

"Not surprisingly, the percentage of respondents reporting declines in export orders outpaced those reporting increases, as the slowdown in the global economy takes a bigger bite on the economy," the report said, adding that it also expects lower plant and equipment investment in the coming months.

The MIER survey of consumer sentiment indicated a similar cloudy outlook, with the Consumer Sentiments Index at 96.2 points at end-June, down from 105.7 points at end-March and down 24.8 points from the second quarter of 2000.

The think-tank said Malaysians are worried about job prospects and their ability to earn more in the near future. Despite the pessimism, however, the report said the proportion of consumers planning to buy homes, computers and cars hasn't declined sharply yet.

Detailing its gloomy outlook, MIER said, "The government will have an excruciatingly difficult task ahead to prevent the economy, which is only firing with one cylinder (government spending), from heading towards the basement."

-By Tara Patel, Dow Jones Newswires;

http://sg.biz.yahoo.com/010717/3/19cvt.html

Tuesday July 17, 9:12 AM

MIER cuts Malaysia 2001 growth estimate to 2.2 pct

KUALA LUMPUR, July 17 (Reuters) - The Malaysian Institute of Economic Research on Tuesday lowered its national economic growth forecast for 2001 to 2.2 percent, down from an earlier estimate of four percent.

But it expected the economy to achieve a stronger 5.0 percent plus growth in 2002, the independent think-tank said in its latest quarterly report.

"Based on global and domestic economic trends, Malaysia GDP growth this year is likely to be around 2.2 percent. The performance of the Malaysian economy in the second half of the year may remain just as sluggish if not worsen," MIER said.

"We project the 2002 GDP growth to exceed five percent, in tandem with the expected rebound in the global economy and the upturn in the electronics sector," it said.