Kuala Lampur, Sept. 6 -- Malaysia should not congratulate itself too quickly. But neither should it ignore something that has become increasingly apparent during the prolonged global energy crisis: the country has so far handled the fuel shock relatively well.

The contrast with parts of Asean is becoming increasingly significant.

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's economic adviser, Nurhisham Hussein, said Malaysia's fuel supply remains stable despite tightening global supplies. Petronas is confident that sufficient supplies can be secured through the end of the year.

More importantly, Malaysia has avoided the kind of severe physical shortages that an international energy crisis could easily have produced.

That is no small achievement.

Bu...