Our foreign exchange reserves hit a high of US$126 billion in Q2 of 2008. By the following quarter, our reserves dropped by 13%, or about US$16 billion.

The net change globally during the same period was zero. Sweden and Iceland had an increase in their foreign reserves of 23% and 44% respectively in that period, among the best numbers on record.

Nine months later, at the end of the first quarter of 2009, our official reserves had fallen by US$38 billion or RM121 billion, an annualised rate of loss of 40% p.a.

From Q2 08 to Q1 09, global foreign exchange reserves dropped by 3%, which means we outperformed the global rate ten-fold. Denmark's reserves grew by 35%, as did Hungary's, while lowly Iceland only managed to add 22% in that same period.

We lost 13% in one quarter and 30% over three quarters, while our neighbour Singapore lost 4% and 6% in the same periods. Thailand lost 3% and gained 10%, Philippines gained 1% and 6%, China's reserves grew by 5% and 8% in that time.

If you have friends in Aruba, congratulate them for a growth of 7% and 44%, while our guys were busy losing our shirts.

Since the low in Q1 2009, global reserves have grown by 19% till Q1 2010. Sri Lanka's reserves have grown 234% in those 12 months, and Sweden added 68%. An 18%, 24% and 31% growth respectively for Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia.

Philippines did 17%, China's grew 27% and India added 11%. Malaysia managed to underperform once again, buy managing less than half the global rate, at 8%.

We remain US$31 billion below our high from 2008, while China's reserves have become US$700 billion higher in the same period. Even Greece's reserves have grown 53%!

Perhaps we cannot expect any better from a country that thinks it’s smarter to spend money sponsoring foreign students in local universities rather than their own citizens. Sooner or later the inmates will end up running the asylum.