Lesson from Asian Financial Crisis 10 Years Later [1/4]

oleh Anwar Ibrahim

Sure enough, on the morning of July 2, 1997 a heavy clap of thunder reverberated across the financial markets of East Asia, shook us out of our slumber and signaled the start of a financial crisis unparalleled since the Great Depression. From Thailand, the turmoil spread to the Philippines, Indonesia, then Malaysia and Singapore. The other Asian countries followed suit, then Russia and Latin America. GDPs tumbled and unemployment rose to 18 million at the end of 1998. The speed of the contagion was totally unexpected, but can anyone of us deny that the writing was already on the wall? Ten years later, the question remains: have we learnt anything? [lagi]