Covid-19 pandemic worse than 1997 financial crisis, Mahathir warns

KUALA LUMPUR: Mahathir Mohamad, the former premier who steered Malaysia’s recovery from the 1997 Asian financial crisis, expects the current coronavirus pandemic to hit the global economy even harder.

"This is worse than the financial crisis,” he said in a Bloomberg Television interview with Haslinda Amin. "This is really a terrible blow to the economies of the whole world.”

Mahathir joins other world leaders in warning that the virus impact may be worse than past periods of upheaval. European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde this month warned the economic fallout could be similar to the 2008 global financial crisis, while Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said it might be worse.