Gov’t agrees no-confidence vote, 1MDB affecting ringgit

Deputy Finance Minister agrees with views of BNM Governor that ringgit will rebound once 1MDB issues are put to rest.

KUALA LUMPUR: The vote of no-confidence brought against Prime Minister Najib Razak and the ongoing investigations by foreign authorities on 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) are among the causes for the ringgit’s depreciation, Deputy Finance Minister Johari Abdul Ghani said.

He said this in reply to a question from Shamsul Iskandar Mohd Akin (PKR-Bukit Katil) who asked the Finance Ministry to state its stand on the views of Bank Negara Malaysia Governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz who said that the drop in the ringgit’s value could be overcome, with the economy continuing to expand, once the 1MDB issue was put to rest.

Johari in his response expressed his agreement with Zeti, but added, “The decline (in the ringgit) is due to a number of factors, including investor expectations of a rise in US interest rates.

“The negative sentiment such as the vote of no confidence raised by the opposition in asking the Prime Minister to step down was another factor,” he said at Parliament today.

In September, it was reported that Zeti had stated that the ringgit would recover once 1MDB sorted out its problems for good.