IN the face of what appears by now to be a deliberate attempt by Malaysia's detractors and the Western media to put a damper on its national economic recovery efforts, the right way to deal with such negativism and cynicism is to totally repudiate it by giving the facts.

This has been the line taken by the National Economic Action Council since its inception and Malaysians are heartened that by not allowing these disruptive elements to get away with their biased perceptions, it is clearly working in the country's favour.

This week's prompt rejection of Nobel Prize winner Prof Merton Miller's view that Malaysia's selective capital controls is a failure and harmful to the country is apt. Former Bank Negara Deputy Governor Tan Sri Dr Lin See Yan, in his lengthy reply giving 11 reasons to prove that the 1990 Nobel Laureate for Economics was dead wrong, succinctly sums up the real situation. Indeed, the Nobel laureate has no business "to pontificate from his ivory tower with hearsay and bias about real life in Malaysia, ignoring the facts and rising groundswell of positive sentiments about the future". Obviously, he is not in touch with the realities or misinformed about the country.

But as far as Malaysians are concerned, seeing is believing. The nation's leaders and officials cannot hope to convince the people that the economy has bottomed out and is on the road to recovery if it is not for real. There is no doubt that Malaysia has made good use of the breathing space since the imposition of controls last September. It has indeed come a long way in the past seven months.

The macroeconomic situation has improved. Most indicators point to a positive second quarter this year with the latest May industrial production up 5.4 per cent year-on-year, the best so far. In the last 18 months, exports registered a stronger growth than imports. External reserves have been rising and now stands at almost seven months of retained imports in the face of falling external debt.

Evidence of a Malaysian economy that is getting back on its feet is everywhere. Better retail trade figures and the increasing crowds at shopping malls, supermarkets, restaurants and eateries as well as entertainment centres are clear signs. The local bourse's record transactions, soaring to a high of 1.635 billion units worth RM3.08 billion on Monday speaks volumes of local confidence in the recovering economy.

Market capitalisation rose from a low of RM181.5 billion in early September last year to RM557 billion as at July 7, a 202 per cent jump. Domestic investors have played an important role in the recovery of the market.

The serious effort towards reviving the economy and reforming for sustainable growth is recognised, leading to a significant turnaround in the stand of many international investment research houses and rating agencies despite the initial cynicism about the country's unconventional approach.

That prudence is the order of the day in the management of the economy is reflected by the oft-repeated statement that the Government has no plan to revise the one per cent growth forecast for this year. In the wake of the Merrill Lynch's 4.9 per cent growth prediction, by far the most bullish of recent forecasts, First Finance Minister Tun Daim Zainuddin remains cautious.

The most crucial thing, as Daim says, is for Malaysians to be more bullish about the country's economic recovery rather than outsiders; and to strengthen the recovery process.