WHILE MOST businesses and the share markets are having a good rest this weekend, the same cannot be said of the government, specifically the finance authorities, who were caught in a tizzy, thanks to Google.
A false information on the exchange value of the ringgit is apparently continuing to make its rounds among social media users and gossip circles even though the authorities clarified that the data published by Google was wrong.
Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil issued a reminded to the public not to share any information on the exchange rate if they are not sure of it, and certainly not if it is not verified by official sources.
In a post on his Facebook page today (March 16), he referred to the rate of the ringgit against US$1.00 which was inaccurately displayed on Google at an incredible RM4.98.
"Not sure, do not share!” wrote Fahmi, who is the Unity Government's spokesperson, on his social media page.
“The information displayed last night was incorrect. The fact is that the latest rate of the ringgit against the USD is RM4.70," read the post.
It seems that even parliamentarians got befuddled by the false data.
Bersatu's Tasek Gelugor MP Datuk Wan Saiful Wan Jan was taken to task for publicising the supposed plunge in the ringgit's value.
He had reportedly posted on social media a screenshot from Google that stated the ringgit's worth at RM4.98 to the dollar with the caption “A sign of the ringgit strengthening. What?” and the hashtag #salam5ringgit..
DAP's Kepong MP Lim Lip Eng was quick to slam him, demanding that Wan Saiful make a retraction and public apology.
"The seriousness of his action cannot be overstated,” Lim had said.
Indeed, one wonders what could have been the consequences of such error and rhetoric to traders and share markets had the incident occurred during the weekday when businesses had yet to close.
Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) had earlier this morning dismissed the inaccurate data circulating online based on the erroneous dollar-ringgit exchange rate published by Google late yesterday.
In reality, the ringgit was officially quoted at 4.7015 against the dollar at 9am and 4.7045 at 5pm, with an intraday high of 4.7075 in the onshore interbank market for ringgit, as published on BNM's website.
In fact, according the central bank, the ringgit has strengthened 0.76% against the US dollar over the past two weeks (from March 1 to 15, 2024).
BNM was rightfully peeved. It noted that this was the second incident that Google had published an inaccurate dollar-ringgit exchange rate data in 2024.
“BNM had earlier issued a stern warning letter to Google when the first misreporting occurred on February 6, 2024,” it said in a statement.
As this is the second instance of misreporting, BNM said that it will be engaging Google for an explanation of how the inaccurate reporting occurred and the corrective measures taken.
The incident is indeed worrisome given that this is a recurring issue that has afflicted Malaysia and other countries in the past few months.
Members of the public are advised to rely on official data, including from BNM, said the central bank.
“Members of the public should also exercise caution against using, circulating or speculating on unverifiable sources as a reference for the ringgit.
“The exchange rate is a market-sensitive data and any inaccurate reporting and circulation of unverified data can cause serious implications for the financial markets.” – The Vibes, March 16, 2024
