Multilateral institutions lack responses to Asian crisis<\/p>\n
SINGAPORE (AFP): Appropriate policy responses to Asia's
\neconomic woes by multilateral institutions such as the
\nInternational Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Association of
\nSoutheast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have been inadequate, a survey
\namong expatriates in 12 Asian countries revealed.<\/p>\n
\"The IMF has come in for the most flack,\" with the main
\ncriticism \"that it failed to take into account the social impact
\nof its rescue programs and wound up causing undue hardship for
\nthe people of the countries it is trying to help,\" said the
\nindependent think-tank Political and Economic Risk Consultancy in
\na report received over the weekend.<\/p>\n
Expatriates from Malaysia, where the government has been the
\nmost vocal in expressing its views about the role of multilateral
\ninstitutions in the region, gave the IMF a low rating of eight on
\na scale of zero to 10 with 10 being the worst possible score.<\/p>\n
To Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, \"the IMF was
\nworking in the interests of the West, which wanted to bring the
\ncountry to its knees in the guise of economic reform. Following
\nIMF dictates would therefore be tantamount to economic suicide,\"
\nthe report said.<\/p>\n
However the IMF received favorable marks in countries such as
\nSouth Korea and Thailand where its help was most needed, as well
\nas in Hong Kong and Singapore \"where market-oriented policies and
\nmore open financial systems of a type advocated by the Fund have
\nlong been in place and appreciated.\"<\/p>\n
In Indonesia, a multi-billion dollar beneficiary of IMF aid,
\nthe IMF's bargaining power \"is probably set to decline even
\nfurther,\" the report said.<\/p>\n
It noted that foreign aid donors to Indonesia \"have been
\ndealing with a government that is not really in control of the
\ncountry,\" and that detailed letters of intent between the IMF and
\nJakarta \"are often left unfulfilled.\"<\/p>\n
Another financial institution, the Asian Development Bank, was
\nrated on average, a 5.72, only slightly more harshly than the
\nIMF's 5.62 average rating.<\/p>\n
\"That is mainly because it has been more of a follower than a
\nleader in the crisis,\" and reflected the politics of Tokyo, which
\nhas been much less aggressive than Washington in trying to
\ninfluence developments in the region, the report said.<\/p>\n
In the same survey, ASEAN rated an average of 7.04, with
\nexpatriates from Malaysia and the Philippines giving it very poor
\nmarks for its policy responses to the regional economic crisis.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/multilateral-institutions-lack-responses-to-asian-crisis-1447893297",
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