Depok - Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand which are rich in natural resources should be able to overcome poverty if they improve supervision and strengthen cooperation and coordination among themselves, former Malaysian deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim said.
If they could recover just 10 percent of the US$10 billion in financial losses they suffered every year by illegal logging, they would have enough to overcome poverty, Anwar said after giving a general lecture at the campus of the University of Indonesia in Depok, West Java, on Friday.
Therefore, the governments should continue building a strong and serious commitment to eradicate poverty, he said.
The global crisis currently gripping the world could be a starting point for the three governments to do something better in the future, he said.
According to Ibrahim, the world was currently facing a worse economic crisis than in 1998 as its impact would affect the world economy over the next two years.
"Therefore, the countries in the Southeast Asian region should deal with this problem by taking into account its long term impact on their economies," he said.
The governments should be able to adopt appropriate policies to face the crisis. "This economic crisis is more severe than the one in 1997-98 as its impact is affecting not only the financial system but also the economic system," he said.
In addition, the governments needed as soon as possible to build up their countries` economic strength on the basis of existing capabilities by withdrawing all the funds they had invested in foreign countries like Saudi Arabia and others.
The governments, he further said, should take into account the factor of competitiveness by focussing on the training of micro credit businesses. There should be balance in meeting the credit needs of conglomerates and of small people.
"Don`t give greater attention to business tycoons. Small businessmen should be equally treated to enable them to become strong. The more so, because the people feel ignored following the emergence of unstable political conditions," he said.
There was also a need to empower the people based on the existing economic, political, scientific and cultural capabilities.
Source:
http://www.antaranews.com (December 5, 2008)
