Let us make 2009 a great year for MALAYSIA

Everyday we are bombarded by news about United States companies laying off staffs, US motor industries falling apart - seeking government bail out, airlines industry will be facing an inevitable cumulative loss of about 12 billions in total. Recession is setting in, bad news for electronic industry, demands falling, export reducing....bla bla bla...NOW, this is bad. Or rather they sound bad.
Let us ask ourselves, what else is new? We have heard so much of it since 1997 and we can gone through it as well. We made it.
See, the point I am trying to get at is - let us NOT talk ourselves into a recession. STOP it. WE will go into a recession if we believe that we are heading towards one. I am not being unrealistic and I am not living in a denial state too. I am saying that we can do something about it - rather than just talking about all these bad news and HOPING that things will get better -because it will not. Things will only get better when we ACT ON it.
There is a saying that if you tell a lie long enough - it will become true.
If you believe you are in the worst of economic situation, chances is you already are in it - your mind leads you in.
I believe that there are so many things we can do to get our economy going, we have projects to complete, education system to straighten, palm oil industry, medical tourism, hospitality industry, our electronic plants, our MSC flagships, the new super corridors, our agricultural and agro-cultural industries, etc. etc.
We should FOCUS on all our strengths and find opportunities - while the rest of the world are morning. I believe that in all chaos - there lies enormous opportunities - we just need to seek and not just hope to receive.

Most importantly, we must not succumb to misery and join the "herd decision" of surrendering to asymmetry information that says that we are going into a crash landing.

We know MALAYSIA well enough to let other countries predicting our 2009 or charting our path in 2009.
WE should take the course that we strongly believe is right for our country and create our own 2009 and work relentlessly to make 2009 a great year for all of us in MALAYSIA.

Believing in ourselves is the greatest strength we possess. After all We are MALAYSIA.

Have a Happy New Year -2009

Cheers, Fariz