Anwar weighs in on the weak ringgit

Anwar Ibrahim and the government may share common ground in believing that the economy is suffering from negative perception, but the PKR de facto leader said it was Putrajaya that brought about this situation.

Anwar noted that the weak ringgit is directly connected to the negative perception in the management of the country’s economy.

“It is also well known that the primary reason for these negative perceptions are the massive borrowings by the BN government under Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s watch coupled with its complete inability to deal with the 1MDB scandal,” he said in a statement.

The jailed leader’s statement was released through his party this evening.

Anwar said the government needed to stop being in denial about the state of the economy.

“The majority of the people are heavily burdened by increasing prices of necessities.

“The recent hike in petrol prices by 20 sen will only exacerbate this further.

“The weak ringgit which is directly connected to negative perceptions of the management of the economy is further worsening prices of goods for the rakyat,” he said.

Last Wednesday, the ringgit slid to RM4.50 against the US dollar, the lowest since the Asian financial crisis in 1998. It had since recovered slightly to RM4.46 against the greenback.

In the note from prison, Anwar also expressed his condolences to the family of the late Sarawak chief minister Adenan Satem and the people of Sarawak.

“I have known Adenan for a long while. He was always decent in his dealings with me and never abusive or personal in the manner that others in BN and Umno have been.

“Whilst elected as a PBB/BN chief minister of Sarawak, and a Muslim and bumiputra, he remained committed to an inclusive vision of politics for Sarawak which embraced the aspirations of the Dayak, Chinese and other communities.

“Sarawak will miss his leadership. May God bless his soul in the fullest,” he said.

Adenan, who had been suffering from a heart condition, passed away on Wednesday.

Anwar is presently serving a five-year jail sentence for sodomy, a charge he claimed was politically motivated.

He had been serving his sentence in Sungai Buloh prison since February 2015.

He could be released as early as next year if he is deemed to have been of good behaviour.- Mkini