I

refer to the press articles on the preliminary International Monetary Fund (IMF) Staff Report on the Malaysian Economy which was released on Feb 5. This report followed intense IMF annual consultations held between Jan. 11 and 22 in Kuala Lumpur and Kuching.

The IMF report was politically too correct but nevertheless revealing. IMF Mission chairman Alex Mourmouras in his press release subtly suggested that the Malaysian economy faced multiple shocks including '€œpolitical developments and capital outflows'€. These factors reveal that in addition to external problems, there are also serious internal issues that are within our powers to control and overcome.

The IMF, like the World Bank, is a highly competent international institution. And like the World Bank too, it also suffers from the challenges of wanting to tell the whole truth to reveal the real issues and problems facing member countries like Malaysia.

It'€™s a difficult assignment and as a result, their important messages are often not pointed enough! Hence, they often don'€™t get through to the recipients and policymakers effectively enough to encourage stronger economic policy responses.

We have to read the IMF reports between the lines to ascertain what messages they truly want to convey to us.

The latest IMF report left the following messages for us to ponder and follow up in our policy reviews, practices and action plans.

Tan Sri Ramon Navaratnam
The Star/ANN/Selangor, Malaysia