Domestic demand is expected to become a major driver of growth as the private sector benefits from the strong macroeconomic fundamentals, healthy balance sheet position and a resilient financial system. Both fiscal and monetary policies are aimed at providing an enabling environment for sustainable growth. Monetary policy will remain supportive of growth, while attention will continue to be focused on ensuring that the private sector, in particular SMEs, have access to financing. In addition, the Central Bank is now in the process of formulating a new financial sector blueprint to chart the development of the Malaysian financial sector over the next decade so that the financial sector will reinforce transition of the Malaysian economy into a high value-added and high income economy. BIS Review 43/2010  3  As the Malaysian economy is gathering strength, the focus of policy has also shifted towards laying the foundations for the economy into a high value-added, high income economy. In this regard, the Government has recently announced the New Economic Model, which is intended to accelerate Malaysia’s development into a high income economy by 2020. The broad thrust of the strategies is to re-energise the private sector to drive growth. This involves providing an enabling environment in which high productivity, competitiveness and innovation can take place. As part of these initiatives, further liberalisation of the economy and the privatisation of selected Government-owned corporations are undertaken. This is also accompanied by the Government Transformation Program to enhance the public sector’s efficiency.
Zeti Akhtar Aziz: Strengthening of regional integration in Asia Speech by Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz, Governor of the Central Bank of Malaysia, at the KoreaMalaysia Business Forum, Kuala Lumpur, 8 April 2010. *  *  *  It is my great pleasure to be here this afternoon to speak at the “Korea-Malaysia Business Forum”, in conjunction with the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Korea and Malaysia. The global economy is now on the path of recovery after the worst financial crisis in decades. This recovery is however uneven. Several of the advanced economies are still being confronted with unresolved crisis-related issues, in addition to structural factors that will constrain their growth performance in the years to come. Emerging economies, in particular Asia, is leading the global recovery. The region is fast becoming the anchor of growth and stability in the world economy. New growth dynamics are already at work to reinforce the strength of Asia over the next decade. Increased intra-regional economic and financial integration and other structural factors are supporting this trend. While this trend will intensify, the future global environment is going to be fundamentally different. Asia will be confronted with new challenges in this changed environment. Asia, therefore, needs to be well positioned to effectively manage these fundamental new global trends to ensure sustainability of our economic advancement. The business community and policymakers need to rise to the new challenges and build on our existing relationships.