'Unbridled greed' blamed for global economic woes

FE Team | Published: March 03, 2009 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00

JAKARTA, March 2 (AFP): Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi blamed "unbridled greed" today for the global financial crisis as business people from the Islamic world gathered for an economic conference.

Badawi called for a new financial system to replace the Wall Street model as he spoke at the opening of the World Islamic Economic Forum (WIEF) in Jakarta alongside Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

"We have inherited a system where people can trade what they do not own and the resulting inflationary pressure in the global market has caused immense damage to the economic well-being of the world's poor," he said in a speech.

"Such is the impact of unbridled greed in the financial system there is no accountability on money lending... The world is beginning to appreciate the need for alternative financial arrangements."

The fifth WIEF since 2004 gathers hundreds of business leaders from across the Muslim world as well senior officials such as Organisation of the Islamic Conference Secretary-General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu.

Organisers say the two-day forum at a luxury hotel in the capital of the world's most populous Muslim country "aspires to change the global perception of the Muslim world from a conflict zone to a lucrative economic region."

It is also aimed at promoting trade and investment opportunities in the Muslim world.

Discussions are set to focus on the US-led financial meltdown, the environment and the future of fossil fuels central to economies in the Middle East, food security and small business development.

"The question before us now is how do we turn this huge adversity into an opportunity for the Muslim world, Badawi said of the chaos that has gripped world financial markets since the middle of last year.

Yudhoyono warned against any trend toward protectionism in the face of the global slump, and called for the completion of the latest round of World Trade Organisation (WTO) talks designed to free up world trade.

WTO members came close to a deal last July in Geneva but talks fell apart amid mutual recriminations between developed and developing countries.

A new trade pact is seen as a way of preventing protectionism by binding countries to rules monitored by the Geneva-based WTO.

"There is no decoupling in trade and investment. We are all part of a worldwide supply trade," Yudhoyono said.