Ku Li calls for exchange controls to save ‘free-falling’ ringgit
Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, once a finance minister, said Malaysia was too reliant on imports.
PETALING JAYA: Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah has called for exchange controls to be presented in the 2023 budget, to stop the ringgit from its “free fall” on foreign exchange markets.
Tengku Razaleigh, a former finance minister, said swift measures were needed, as there was a risk of the ringgit becoming devalued to the point that people would need a rickshaw to carry their money.
He said foreign exchange controls for the ringgit should be presented in the 2023 budget to deal with the cost of living.
Tengku Razaleigh, who is known as Ku Li, had predicted in May that the ringgit would fall in value to RM5.50 against the US dollar by the end of the year. The ringgit closed at RM4.54 on Friday, the lowest level in decades.
Stating that the country’s foreign exchange rate was currently in “free fall”, he wondered how low the ringgit would go. “Will it be like currency in the Japanese era, where you would need a rickshaw to bring money to the market?” he said, according to Astro Awani.
Tengku Razaleigh also criticised the reliance on imports. He said in the early days of independence, commerce and industry minister Khir Johari had an import-substitution policy. “We tried to make all the things we could, to stop importing and fight the increasing price of goods abroad,” he said.
PETALING JAYA: Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah has called for exchange controls to be presented in the 2023 budget, to stop the ringgit from its “free fall” on foreign exchange markets.
Tengku Razaleigh, a former finance minister, said swift measures were needed, as there was a risk of the ringgit becoming devalued to the point that people would need a rickshaw to carry their money.
He said foreign exchange controls for the ringgit should be presented in the 2023 budget to deal with the cost of living.
Tengku Razaleigh, who is known as Ku Li, had predicted in May that the ringgit would fall in value to RM5.50 against the US dollar by the end of the year. The ringgit closed at RM4.54 on Friday, the lowest level in decades.
Stating that the country’s foreign exchange rate was currently in “free fall”, he wondered how low the ringgit would go. “Will it be like currency in the Japanese era, where you would need a rickshaw to bring money to the market?” he said, according to Astro Awani.
Tengku Razaleigh also criticised the reliance on imports. He said in the early days of independence, commerce and industry minister Khir Johari had an import-substitution policy. “We tried to make all the things we could, to stop importing and fight the increasing price of goods abroad,” he said.
No comments:
Post a Comment