(Petaling Jaya, Saturday): In his TV3 Malaysia Hari Ini interview on January 9, the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamad urged Malaysians to sell their properties in countries where currencies are higher than the ringgit and keep the funds in local banks to increase the country's foreign reserves.
On Monday, speaking in Langkawi, Mahathir called on Malaysians to convert their valuables like jewellery and property into cash and deposit them in local banks.
He said: "Excess items such as gold ornaments and fancy decorative household items which are necessities can be traded into cash and deposited as savings in banks as such acts can directly help towards a speedy economic recovery for the country."
Malaysians are reminded of a recent report of a Malaysian banker and his wife being robbed of over RM10 million worth of valuables just outside their London home.
Yesterday, Mahathir urged women to encourage their husbands to sell their assets abroad and bring the money home to invest in the country.
Addressing various womens� organisations at a dialogue themed Women and the Current Economic Situation at the National Institute of Public Administration in Bukit Kiara, Kuala Lumpur, Mahathir called on women to demonstrate their patriotism and be more proactive in helping the country achieve speedy economic recovery.
DAP supports the proposal that Malaysians sell their foreign properties and valuables and invest the money in Malaysia. We propose an an all-party meeting to launch a national campaign with political leaders in government and opposition setting the example to sell overseas properties and convert valuables into cash to deposit them in local banks.
All political leaders should also close their foreign bank accounts and bring back the proceeds to place them in the local banks.
The all-party national campaign should next approach the richest 500 Malaysians to ask them to give support to the movement for Malaysians to sell their foreign properties and valuables, as well as to close all their foreign bank accounts, and to put all the proceeds in the local banks to help the country effect a speedy economic recovery.
I am sure the total figure that could be converted into cash and put in the local banks in this manner would be quite colossal and should run into tens if not hundreds of billions of ringgit!
(24/1/98)