I AM sure many people are affected by the current financial crisis, either directly or indirectly.

Those who invested in stocks and unit trusts will be severely hit, and some may even need to declare bankruptcy if their investments were bought using collateral issued by banks.

They will need to sell off their shares in these bad times to respond to banks' margin calls.

Those who invested in foreign- currency fixed deposits will also see their value depreciate, especially those which are denominated in Australian dollars.

The only consolation is that they need not liquidate their accounts unless they need the cash for an emergency.

Over time, I am sure the currency will appreciate.

There is a rush worldwide to dump stocks in favour of cash. Those hoarding cash in banks also want to withdraw their funds, for fear that banks will collapse.

Having experienced several financial crises in my lifetime, this is the worst I have seen so far.

Everything is red on stock-monitoring screens, and people liquidate their investments even when they have incurred losses of more than 60 per cent on their portfolio.

I fear that the selling will continue for a week or two before sanity returns to the market.

We may see a looming global recession that is unprecedented in scale and nature.

In the worst-case scenario, we have to brace ourselves for widespread retrenchments and rising unemployment.

What will the Government do if this situation comes to pass?

Will they introduce food stamps or unemployment benefits for a limited period until things get better?

Under the current circumstances, it is better to be prepared for the worst instead of being caught off-guard.

The scale of the crisis might be too much for many to handle without some form of government intervention.

Mr Gilbert Goh Keow Wah

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