Oleh/By		:	DATO' SERI DR. MAHATHIR BIN MOHAMAD 
Tempat/Venue 	: 	RADIO AND TELEVISION MALAYSIA (RTM) 
Tarikh/Date 	: 	31/12/92 
Tajuk/Title  	: 	NEW YEAR MESSAGE 



 
    Praise be to Allah The Almighty for with His Blessings,
we  are  able  once again to celebrate the New Year in peace
and harmony.  In a world  where  war,  conflict  and  famine
continue to persist, the peace and stability that  we  enjoy
are indeed a great blessing which  we  should  value.  While
economies  the world over have deteriorated, we on the other
hand continue to prosper and flourish. Hence,  we  ought  to
be grateful  with  our  performance  and  the  situation  we
experience in the whole of 1992 which  was  willed  by  God,
and by  virtue of  our  multi   racial  people's  moderation
and relentless efforts.
2.   The country's stability is  the  result  of  the  close
cooperation  among  all  the races who  have  always  worked
with great determination to ensure  that  harmony and  unity
among the races are safeguarded.  The key to the unity  that
we are so proud of is the spirit of tolerance and the mutual
respect we have for one another.  With such unity and  close
cooperation  among the races, we have  successfully  created
a nation  which  is  stable  politically,  economically  and
socially.  It  is this stability  that  has  enabled  us  to
successfully attract foreign investments, one of the factors
which have contributed toward our high economic growth.
3.   For  the  past  five  consecutive  years,  Malaysia has
achieved a tremendous rate of economic growth.    This  high
growth  rate  has enabled the country to continue to provide
various facilities for  the  comfort  of  the  people.   The
people  now  have  a higher standard of living.   Malaysians
not only have access  to  the  basic  necessities  but  also
enjoy  other facilities that are  only  found  in  developed
countries.  Higher incomes  have  invariably  increased  the
purchasing power of Malaysians.  In addition we have  health
and education facilities which are the best among developing         coun-
tries.  These are among the benefits we enjoy as a result of
a high economic growth.
4.   If in the past many people predicted that Malaysia with
its multi racial population and with its need to  distribute
wealth among the races, will face a downturn and instability
,today it is clear that all these predictions are inaccurate
. On the contrary, the country has proven  that  our  social
engineering process of restructuring society not  only  does
not jeopardise economic growth but has also  enable  a  high
growth achieved during peace and stability. This success has
made many countries to regard  Malaysia  as  an  example  of
development in a democratic and pluralistic society.
5.   While  we can be proud of our economic achievements, we
should  also  be  cautious   because  we  may  not  be  able
to  sustain  this  high  economic   growth.     After   five
consecutive years of rapid growth the country's  economy  is
expected to undergo a process  of  consolidation.   Although
there are early signs indicating that a recovery is  in  the
making, especially in Japan and the  U.S.A., most  economies        of
the
industrialised  countries  are  still  ailing.   The  latest
developments in the GATT negotiations, the  EC,  and  NAFTA,
while  presenting new opportunities, are expected to pose an
even greater challenge  to  Malaysia's  economy.  Hence,  we
anticipate that Malaysia's economy  will  grow  by  about  8
percent compared with 8.5 percent this year.  Although  this
is an encouraging rate, we can no longer  take  for  granted
that the economic growth will always be high.
6.   Thus,  the  government  needs the cooperation of all to
ensure that  the  country's  economy  is  still  capable  of
registering this required rate of growth.  This is important
as our development is dependent  on a healthy and continuous
economic expansion.  The responsibility of ensuring that the
country's  economy  continue  to  expand  is  not  the  sole
responsibility of the government.  It is also the  task  and
responsibility of all Malaysians.
7.   Malaysians can play their role by being thrifty and not
be  lavish  in  their  spending  in  our   efforts  to  curb
inflation.  They should also increase their savings so  that
it could  be used for more productive investment.  A  strong
local savings is a basis needed to ensure  that  investments
in the country are increased.  Hence, reduction of excessive
consumption to curb  inflation  and  encourage  savings  are
imperative.
8.   Likewise,  the  workers  can  contribute  by increasing
their productivity,   efficiency and not  make  unreasonable
demands  for  pay  increases.    Any  wage  increase must be
commensurated with increases in productivity. Wage increases
not accompanied by higher productivity will only  result  in
Malaysian products being uncompetitive.  When this  happens,
the  losers  are  the  workers  themselves  apart  from  the
employers and the country.
9.   Exporters  for  their  part should be more aggresive in
making  the  necessary  adjustments  by   seizing   whatever
opportunities  available resulting from the changes  in  the
international economic and political scenario.  They  should
also be  bold  enough  to  penetrate new markets and not  to
limit only to the traditional ones in the  efforts to  widen
the markets  for our goods.  In this context, the government
has initiated efforts to improve relations with countries in
the South. It is now up to Malaysian companies to take these
opportunities.
10.  We  have  enough  resources  to be a developed country.
Apart from our vast natural resources,  we  also  have  very
capable human resources.  But the resources  alone  are  not
sufficient.  To be successful, we  also  need to  change our
attitude  and  to  be more disciplined.  Negative attitudes,
which  can  impede  our  excellent   performance,   must  be
discarded.  On the other hand, we must instill  good  values
such as hardwork and integrity. We must also adhere strongly
to discipline, for high discipline is  among  the  important
factors which can enable the country to develop and prosper.
11.  I  am  confident  that if all parties play their roles,
carry out their responsiblities effectively and strive hard,
our country will be able to face the challenges in 1993  and
the years ahead.  We have  in  the  past  years  proven  our
ability to weather all kinds of  challenges.   There  is  no
reason why we cannot overcome the challenges in 1993.
12.  As I have reiterated, the nation's political  stability
is  crucial  to  our development efforts.  Without political
stability, we will not be able to achieve a developed nation
status which  we  envisioned.    Hence,  it  is  hoped  that
Malaysians  will  maintain the existing harmony and unity so
that the country will continue to progress and prosper.   We
should learn from the experiences of several countries faced
with  racial conflicts.  Such racial conflicts not only have
made life  more  difficult  for  their  citizens  but  prove
impossible to contain once they occur.  Thus, let strengthen
our determination  to maintain the unity and racial  harmony
that we now enjoy.  In fact our multi-racial, multi-cultural
and  multi-religious  country   can  be  made  a  source  of
great strength to enable the country to greater  heights  of
success.
13.  Finally,  I  wish  all  Malaysians a Happy New Year and
hope 1993 will bring greater success and prosperity  to  all
of us.