The government has the “brains” and the “know-how” to overcome the recent spate of price hikes in the country and turn it around in the nearest future, Rural and Regional Development Minister Shafie Apdal said today.

Speaking while delivering his new year’s message for all the Giatmara centres across the country at a hotel in Kuala Lumpur today, he urged the people, especially civil servants, not to buy into claims that the country is heading for bankruptcy and the current crop of leaders would not be able to overcome this problem.

“We have managed the 1997 financial crisis, we came out of that which was much worse than what is happening now. Won’t we be able to solve something like this?” he asked.

He admitted that the price hikes are the cause for much concern among people, but insisted that the government is able to manage the situation.

“I won’t deny (the effects), we don’t have denial syndrome here, but we are managing it,” he said.

Shafie said that the current price hikes is caused by an economic situation that is not exclusive to Malaysia alone, but affects many other countries across the world.

"Our economy is still healthy enough. It's not as though we have run out of money," he said.

Shafie also said that even though the government could turn around the price hike situation, especially in the states of Selangor and Penang, the people "would still end up voting for the opposition."

"We are confident, we will turn this around, in Selangor and also in Penang. We can do it. But when elections come, people still vote for the opposition," he remarked.