“I urge the public to seek the truth and to avoid spreading baseless information”, said Musa.
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The country has seen a 9.0 percent plunge in its stock market this year.
He said Zahid, who was appointed to his post to replace Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin in a Cabinet reshuffle late July, must prove his capabilities to bring back credibility and trustworthiness to the government.
Although the prime minister did not provide details, it is safe to assume that some of these overseas investments were made by state-owned oil and gas company Petronas, and companies that have grown under state investment fund Khazanah Nasional.
Malaysia pegged the ringgit at 3.80 to the USA dollar and imposed capital curbs in September 1998 during the Asian financial crisis.
The premier said the government would re-activate ValueCap – a firm established in 2002 to support stocks that are below market value – with a fund injection of 20 billion ringgit ($4.64 billion). “The Chinese markets are a clear example of what happens when “stability funding” is used to try and shore up equity”.
He also announced that the factory sector would be exempted from import dutires until the economy recovers, but did not specify which sectors would be affected. “It is expected that some 900 manufacturers will enjoy annual operating cost savings of between 100,000 ringgit and 500,000 ringgit”.
The Malaysian government is spending 20bn ringgit ($4.6bn; £3bn) on boosting shares and is cutting taxes for manufacturers.
“In future, the visa process would be further eased to tourists from major visiting countries, with the introduction of an e-visa system”, he added.
“As such, the government will reactivate ValueCap with funds of 20-billion ringgit”, he told reporters at the prime minister’s office.
“However, Malaysia is not the only country whose currency has depreciated, other nations that are rich in natural resources are also facing the same situation”, he said.
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Malaysia’s economy has been hard-hit by a slump in commodity prices and a slowdown in China, its biggest trading partner.
