Who is unsettling the Malaysian economy?

Should Dr Mahathir Mohamad be quiet and stop harassing PM Abdullah Ahmad Badawi as his outbursts are actually endangering our economy?

William Pessek Jr., writing in the International Herald Tribune, surely thinks so.

This is what he says:

“…Mahathir's rebukes of the prime minister are unsettling Malaysia's markets, too… Record oil prices are weighing on Malaysia's $131 billion economy, slamming consumer and business confidence. Add to that a slowing U.S. economy and concern about the nation's ability to compete with Asia's upstarts. Malaysia could be too affluent to outperform China; too underdeveloped to join the ranks of Japan or South Korea. It also has a public relations weakness.

That became clear in interviews with investors in the United States and Europe over the last couple of months. There was, of course, huge interest in China and India. Yet in cities like London, New York and Stockholm, I found great interest in economies such as Thailand and Taiwan. In Chicago, Paris and Lisbon, folks wanted to talk about Korea, Singapore and Vietnam. In Brussels, San Francisco and Washington, it was Indonesia and Japan.

Oddly, Malaysia didn't come up unless I mentioned it first. Given its rich resources, technology industries and unique status as a moderate, predominantly Muslim nation, you'd think Malaysia would be a bigger blip on investors' radar screens. It's not, and politics bear some of the blame.”

Maybe then, for the good of the country, Mahathir should just keep a lid on his criticisms. On the other hand, maybe Abdullah too should be seen doing something actively to spur the growth of Malaysia.