KOTA KINABALU: Gaya Member of Parliament Datuk Yong Teck Lee welcomed measures in Budget 2001 to strengthen the country's recovering economy and its financial system.

On the currency peg introduced in 1998 to protect the Ringgit against currency speculators, Yong welcomed the proposal to "assess the effectiveness of the Ringgit peg with respect to its costs and benefits to the nation".

"A review of the peg will have to take place some time," Yong said. "The value of the Ringgit is bound to appreciate as Malaysia's trade and current accounts surpluses continue to increase." Yong also supported the move to abolish, after one year, the levy on portfolio profits. "This  (abolition) is good because it will draw in more foreign funds in the medium and long-term."

Yong also noted the Budget's proposal to review policies governing the participation of institutional funds, such as Employee Provident Fund (EPF) in the equity market.

He said the many variances of investing EPF's money in the equity market has aroused concern among its contributors who feared the loss of the person funds. "The move to review such policies showed that the Government is listening to the people, and is responding to the contributors' sentiment." Yong said.