The year bears invaded earth

2008 was indeed a year the world turned upside down — all of humankind’s doing — when old battles were renewed and intensified. Coming to the fore were the titanic struggles between socialism and capitalism, race and nationhood, sustainable and extreme exploitations of resources, government and private enterprises.

This was a year of financial meltdown, bailouts, food shortage, record oil prices, civil and political strife, tumbling equity markets, continuing wars and millions more falling into poverty. A year where investments found no safe haven and when cash was literally “king”. Yup, it was certainly a year to forget.

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Not much earlier, global economic activities were already being rocked by inflation, particularly in rising food prices and escalating cost of commodities, including crude oil that hit a record US$147 per barrel in July.

This more than anything else has got to spur humans to have a serious relook at the use of the scarce precious resources. Though highly moralistic for a blockbuster that is as much to entertain, Reeves’ alien character’s message is spot on — humanity has to change and mother earth has to be protected.

Each leaf of currency must be made to work as efficiently and as productively as possible.

Sustainability has got to be the key word in any global economic and financial conference to be held from here onwards.

Renewable energy, anyone? Surely that has to be one of the businesses to be in when the global economy recovers — whenever that may be. Oil at US$200 per barrel and beyond is no longer unthinkable in the foreseeable future.

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The fear now is that the US is facing a “liquidity trap” akin to Japan’s lost decade due to a “balance sheet recession” (Richard Koo’s Balance Sheet Recession: Japan’s struggle with Uncharted Economics, John Wiley, Singapore, 2003).

The hope is for Europe, China and India to ease back to business as usual, as quickly as possible and in the process, relieve emerging economies, including Malaysia, from more suffering and pain.

The year ahead will be full of challenges for incoming prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, not only in tackling the economic downturn, but also in forging a more cohesive and sustainable social structure that in his vision must change.

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