The ringgit’s depreciating value and other financial woes point to a need for a full-time finance minister who can focus on turning the situation around, according to Bachok MP Mohd Syahir Che Sulaiman.
The Finance Ministry is currently being held by Anwar Ibrahim, who is also the prime minister.
Syahir said that while Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) has taken the necessary measures such as raising the overnight policy rate (OPR) earlier this month, Malaysians are left waiting for a strategy from the prime minister, finance minister or the Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli to address the issue.
He added that more efforts should be put to explain to the people the challenges that Malaysia faces, as the costs of goods and raw materials rise due to the increased costs of importing them.
“Instead, the prime minister who is also the finance minister appears to be having difficulties paying attention to the finance ministry, given the heavy workload of being the prime minister.
“The role and attention of a finance minister are very important during this critical period, especially to complement measures taken by BNM that control monetary policy.
“This is part of our concern since the cabinet was formed, when the prime minister also holds the finance ministry portfolio,” he said in a statement last night.
Syahir - who is a PAS representative in the Parliamentary Special Select Committee on Finance and Economy - also pointed out that the ringgit’s value is faltering not just against the US dollar, but also currencies like the Singapore dollar, Thai baht and Indonesian rupiah.
This is even though the ringgit’s depreciation is mainly driven by the ongoing impasse in the US Congress over the country’s debt ceiling.
“The question is, perhaps there are internal factors causing the ringgit to become weaker compared to currencies of neighbouring countries,” he said.
Previously, BNM attributed the cause of the ringgit’s depreciation against the US dollar to global economic uncertainties, such as the debt ceiling issue in the US and stress on both the US and European banking sectors.
It reminded that the ringgit’s performance against the US dollar or any currency is not indicative of Malaysia’s economic performance, which is expected to continue expanding by four to five percent this year.
Deputy Finance Minister I Ahmad Maslan said the government hopes there will be less pressure on the ringgit once the US debt ceiling issue is resolved soon.
US President Joe Biden had said his administration would try to settle the matter by June 6.
Rafizi, meanwhile, said Malaysia is slower than neighbouring countries in normalising their interest rates after the Covid-19 pandemic subsided. - Mkini
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.