Government needs to implement concrete economic policy to strengthen the ringgit

SHAH ALAM - The government needs to formulate and implement a more concrete economic policy to mitigate the impact of the weakening ringgit on the lives of the people in the country.

MCA vice-president Datuk Lawrence Low Ah Keong said a clear and realistic policy direction could revitalise economic activities to strengthen the value of the ringgit.

He said increasing export rates and creating policies that aligned with the current situation could build a resilient market.

"The government should provide a reliable mechanism for domestic businesses to manage foreign exchange risks and provide greater currency flexibility to attract foreign investments.

"Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim needs to have a comprehensive plan to ensure the stability of the ringgit and in the meantime improve its position as a regional economic leader.

"This direction and development plan must be recognised by foreign investors, or else the government will fall into difficulty and not bring real benefits to the people," he said in a statement, today.

The local currency recorded a weak performance as of 9am on Tuesday, with the ringgit depreciating to 4.787/7930 against the US dollar from 4.785/7890 at Monday's close.

The last time the ringgit hit its lowest level was in 1998 when the Asian financial crisis affected regional currencies, reaching RM4.885 per US dollar.

Commenting further, Low said the depreciation of the ringgit has directly affected the lives of the people and impacted business operations because the introduced tax policies did not help boost the market and foreign investments.

Low, who is also MCA Economic and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) Affairs Task Force chairman said the Cabinet ministers seemed to have failed to effectively stem the outflow of foreign investments from the stock market.

"Throughout last year, in facing any economic challenges, the government responded with excuses and analyses or overly optimistic confidence discussions or predictions.

"What the people want is not empty assurances but a firm policy to solve these urgent problems," he said.