The ringgit, Asia’s worst performer this year with losses exceeding 17% against the dollar, dropped almost 1% yesterday despite the comments.
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He said that besides upholding maqasid syariah, namely protection of religion, life, offspring, intellect and wealth or property, Malaysia also did not deserve to be called a failed state as a study conducted by an independent body showed that Malaysia was top in ‘The Global Islamic Economy Indicator (GIEI 2014-2015) among 70 Muslim countries.
Najib said he had called Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha.
“If Putrajaya can sack the attorney-general, delay the Public Accounts Committee’s (PAC) investigation, dissolve the special task force, harass the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC)…”
The ringgit was at 4.12 to the dollar in yesterday trade, its lowest level since 1998, when Malaysia imposed a peg of 3.8 to the dollar during a regional financial crisis.
“The diversification of our economy has allowed for continued reduction in relying on oil and gas for government revenue”.
The ringgit has dived rapidly in the week since the central bank announced a second-quarter gross domestic product growth of 4.9 per cent – the slowest in two years – and stressed that there would be no controls imposed on money flows. Reports have also claimed that some US$700 million was channelled into Mr Najib’s personal bank accounts through 1MDB-linked entities. 1MDB has denied transferring funds to Najib and an interim government report found nothing suspicious. But Malaysia’s anti-graft agency and Najib’s ca0binet ministers have since admitted he received the money, saying it was from unidentified Middle Eastern “donors”, but provided no other details.
Although monetary policy decisions in the US and China as well as crashing commodity values played their role in the devaluation of the Malaysian currency, analysts noted that drop in the ringgit, the local stock market’s decline, and foreign capital exodus were exacerbated by unease over the “unresolved politics” linked to 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).
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The Prime Minister said the works of Pemudah might appeared to go slightly unsung at times but they were appreciated by both the government and corporate sectors. Mr. Najib “needs to shore up confidence domestically, which might be a tall order”. Bloomberg news reported in July that 3bn in foreign funds have been pulled from the country this year.
