Bismillahi Rahmani Rahim
Assalamualaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh
Salam Sejahtera.
I am pleased to have been invited say a few words at the launch of this book by Tan Sri Dr Lin See Yan. Tan Sri Dr Lin embodies many excellent qualities but among them, and one that I would especially like to emphasise today, is the fact that he is a literate Malaysian. Malaysia today has many highly capable and qualified people. They have, like Tan Sri Lin, earned degrees from the world’s best universities. Some, again like him, have operated at the highest levels in their respective fields, and won international recognition and acclaim for their achievements. But few are truly literate, in the sense that they are intellectually driven to gain meaning from a critical reflection of events around them, and then to pen – or in this day and age, type – their thoughts in the written word. Tan Sri Lin is one such person.
- As I have stated in the Forward to the book, not only is Tan Sri Lin one of Malaysia’s most outstanding economists, he has also cared enough to share with us his understanding and insights into the important developments of our time, both at home and abroad. In doing so, he supplies us not just with information but with the context to understand them. Coming at a time when many are obsessed with textbooks and how-to manuals, experiential or ‘lived-in and lived-through’ knowledge is a tremendously scarce resource. For this, we owe Tan Sri Lin a debt of gratitude. It is my deepest wish that many accomplished Malaysians will follow his lead and share generously their knowledge with present and future generations. Let their written words be the collective legacy for the country.
- The task of the writer is often a lonely one. It is not a skill that comes naturally to many of us and the many essays, term papers and theses that we were made to write in institutions of higher learning do not seem to make the task any easier. Once we no longer have the need to do so, we stop, never to take it up again. The true writer, however, in seeking to make sense of the world around him or her, is willing to pull long hours to think through issues with clarity and seek to share them with others. Much research is involved and, inevitably, there is information overload and dissonance. Yet, the writer ploughs through these difficulties, driven by an inner inquisitiveness and hunger to understand and to express that understanding.
- The articles that Tan Sri Dr Lin has written over the past seven years and which are compiled in this book are the product of this restlessness of mind. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading his reflections and these, in turn, have helped to spur my own thinking. I think there can be no greater tribute for a writer than to say that his or her writings have sparked others to think deeply about the issues raised. I encourage all Malaysians who care deeply and passionately about this country and the world to read and reflect on what has been written in this book. They will be richly rewarded.
- It is with the greatest pleasure that I now launch the book “The Global Economy in Turbulent Times” by Tan Sri Dr. Lin See Yan.