It is time for the opposition to accept the fact that Malaysia is doing well and that the government policies are working, said Communications and Multimedia Minister Salleh Said Keruak.

He said the opposition kept repeating the lies about Malaysia going bankrupt, despite international reports having proved it was not true.

"Too often, the issue of Malaysia’s economic progress is being politicised, and the people are being told the opposite of what's really happening,” he said on his blog.

Salleh said the international community, however, recognised Malaysia’s achievements and could see that the country was heading in the right direction.

He noted that 43 World Trade Organisation members had commended Malaysia for its impressive economic achievement, prudent trade and economic policies.

It was reported that during their participation at the recent 7th Trade Policy Review of Malaysia that took place in Switzerland, WTO also commended Malaysia for actively pursuing trade openness through unilateral reforms, regional and bilateral trade arrangements and multilateral rule-making.

"The members also recognised that Malaysia’s successful diversification of its economy and economic reforms had contributed to continued growth despite external challenges," Salleh said.

The minister said economic reforms were not easy and could never be done on a short-term basis.

"It requires resilience and, sometimes, unpopular policies to achieve the long-term objectives, especially when trying to undo the damage caused in the past," he added.

- Bernama