KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian government urges all parties to work together and take a whole-of-nation approach to strengthen the value of the ringgit, says the finance ministry.
It said on the Parliament website on Monday (March 18) that all Malaysians are encouraged to adopt a “Malaysia First” attitude in their daily lives.
“This includes buying domestic goods, as well as investing in the domestic capital market. More tourism campaigns in the country also need to be introduced and improved,” it said.
The ministry was replying to Mr Mohd Syahir Che Sulaiman (Perikatan Nasional-Bachok) who wanted to know the concrete steps taken within the framework of the Madani Economy to increase the resilience and competitiveness of the value of the ringgit.
Last month, the Malaysian ringgit fell to its lowest levels in 26 years since the Asian Financial Crisis of the late 1990s.
The finance ministry said that various concrete measures have been and are being taken by the government and Bank Negara Malaysia to deal with the fall in the value of the ringgit, including ensuring that the domestic foreign exchange market remains orderly while monitoring the conversion of export proceeds into ringgit by exporting companies.
The ministry also said that the government and Bank Negara also took integrated and coordinated actions to bring in the flow of funds to the foreign exchange market; and control overseas investments by private companies, including encouraging them to prioritise domestic investment and delaying new overseas investment.
It added that the impact of the depreciation of the ringgit is higher on imported goods, including food which includes meat and dairy, fish and seafood, fruits and vegetables.
“However, moderated global commodity prices have, to some extent, curbed the effect of the ringgit’s devaluation on inflation,” it said in a reply to Mr Abdul Latiff Bin Abdul Rahman (Perikatan Nasional-Kuala Krai) who asked about the government’s efforts to holistically deal with the issue of the fall of the ringgit and the impact on import transactions that cause the price of goods to increase for consumers.
According to the ministry, the government is also planning measures to implement more effective subsidies and targeted income assistance, especially to help the affected groups ensure fiscal strengthening can be achieved through more productive spending.
Source: CNA
