Don't turn ringgit decline into political punching bag - Anwar

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim wants an end to political attacks over the declining ringgit.

He said the government is currently making efforts to improve the situation and ensure that the currency rebounds.

“We are looking for ways to fix this, and don’t turn it (ringgit decline) into a political punching bag,” he told reporters in Putrajaya today.

The ringgit has been hovering around the RM4.77 to RM4.78 mark compared to the US dollar in the past few days of trading.

This led to criticism from various quarters, including the opposition, on the government’s handling of the economy.

Previously, in 2017, Anwar - then the de facto opposition leader - had also criticised the government led by Najib Abdul Razak at the time over the declining ringgit.

Anwar had said in a statement from prison that the weak ringgit was directly connected to the negative perception in the management of the country’s economy.

The ringgit at the time was hovering between RM4.44 to RM4.45 against the US dollar.

The current ringgit slide brings it close to its performance during the 1998 Asian Financial Crisis.

Different factors

However, Anwar said yesterday that the current situation should not be compared to 1998, as the factors for the ringgit’s decline were different.

This is because investors are still pumping money into the country, while inflation and unemployment are declining.

He also reiterated that the government is not relying on the dollar for trade, with business with China, for example, using the renminbi or ringgit.

Bank Negara governor Abdul Rasheed Ghaffour has similarly said that the ringgit’s level does not reflect the positive prospects of the economy going forward.

He said the recent performance of the ringgit, similar to other regional currencies, has been influenced by external factors such as changing US interest rate expectations.