We are honoured today to have the presence of Tan Sri Mohamed Hashim, Dato’ Dr. Zainal Abidin and Hajjah Siti Jameah, siblings of Governor Ismail Ali, as well as Mr. Ahmad Kamal, Governor Ismail Ali’s son. I am also honoured to welcome back to the Bank those who have worked alongside Governor Ismail Ali. Equally important, we are grateful to have with us the international central banking community, who are travelling to Bali for the IMF and World Bank Group Annual Meetings and have taken time from your busy schedules for this occasion. This indeed underscores the appreciation towards central bank cooperation built on trust and friendship. This book is to honour Governor Ismail Ali as a nation builder; a titan of the Malaysian economic and financial sector. He was an unassuming man but he powered the wheels of the nation – and each turn on the wheel left a mark on history. We have spoken to more than twenty individuals who were close to Governor Ismail Ali and dedicated hundreds of pages to his life. But, it is certain that we have yet to do justice in capturing the breadth and depth of his persona. Governor Ismail Ali had a far-reaching impact, not only on the country’s economic and financial landscape, but also on the personal and professional lives of many. As we were completing this book, we discovered there are others who carried untold stories of him, from here and abroad, each with another brushstroke to add to the portrait of his vision.
The monetary policy debate Allow me to say a few words in conclusion regarding the recent, lively debate on monetary policy. This is because I have received many questions on this subject in recent weeks. However, it is not always easy to get a subtle message across when the media debate is so intense. I therefore decided at an early stage of the discussion to take up this question in greater depth here at the Economics association, a suitable forum for a penetrating and relatively non-media discussion. Before I try to explain my views on some elements of the discussion, I cannot resist pointing out that I found the tone of the discussion somewhat surprising. Sweden has come through the recent economic slowdown better than many other countries. Personally, I also felt much greater concern over economic developments and monetary policy at the end of spring and beginning of summer 2003 than I have done in recent months. The reason is simple. At the end of last spring, the inflation rate was still high. Although we believed it would fall, there was a clear risk that it could become entrenched. Meanwhile, there was considerable uncertainty over international economic activity; would there be a turnaround and if so, when? This could mean we are forced to make difficult judgements. For instance, we might be forced to raise the interest rate even if economic activity weakened. Now the situation is fundamentally much better, with declining inflationary pressure combined with increasing growth. Nevertheless, the debate is much tougher.