New fuel price by tomorrow

The Cabinet will decide on fuel prices tomorrow. "We will see tomorrow," said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi when asked if there would be a Hari Raya present for the people.

He was speaking after chairing an Economic Council meeting at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre today.

The Prime Minister said the EC was taking steps to strengthen the economy.

The services sector, which represents 45 per cent of the economy, would be liberalised and the Ministry of International Trade and Industry would be tasked with presenting a paper at the next council meeting.

The key targets were areas with surplus funds such as the Middle East, China, Korea, Japan and India, where the government hoped to draw investment and trade from, although the council noted that intra-Asean trade had grown to 26 per cent of Malaysia's total trade, reducing its dependency on the US which contributed 18 per cent of trade.

He called on the private sector members of the council to provide papers and suggestions for discussion as the Economic Planning Unit (EPU) would make available all its statistics for them to study.

He rejected the possibility of a stimulus package, saying the US government had responded to its economic crisis in the same way Malaysia had during its 1998 crisis, where government bailouts had been met by criticisms of intervening with a free market.

The EC was formed by the government on Aug 5, replacing the Cabinet Committee on Anti-Inflation.

It assists the government in updating and coordinating policies and procedures to spur economic growth and overcome uncertainties.

It also serves as an advisory body to tackle inflationary issues and a weak global economy that had dire consequences on the country.

It is chaired by Abdullah, with Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak as deputy chairman, and comprises ministers and representatives of the public and private sectors. It held its first meeting on Aug 11.