I am bemused by Will's letter 'Definition of recession' ( Sept 3). Is recession determined by a growth figure alone? If so, how do you define growth?

Malaysia is now facing economic, social and moral problems. All these need local solutions but local solutions do not mean trivial solutions but radical changes in the way we do things.

Instead we are a nation who have become argumentative, a nation obsessed with the stock market and the exchange rate.

We can discuss all we want, but the fact still remains that we are now more dependent on the West then we were during colonial times. The fact that we can't even feed ourselves and have to import food says it all. The crime rate is on the rise, moral decay is setting in and no amount of discussion is going to make it go away.

All this is not only the responsibility of the government, but us, the civil society, we are also to be blamed. The government will always play with figures if that is what we want ... positive growth forever, although we live in a finite world, where there are limits.