KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysians need an explanation for the ringgit’s worst slide in 24 years last week, Kepong MP Lim Lip Eng said, urging the prime minister and finance minister to stop their silence on the matter.
The ringgit’s drop to RM4.50 to the US dollar will raise the price of imported goods and worsen inflation, affecting both middle-income and lower-income groups, the DAP lawmaker said.
Added to that is the hike in the overnight policy rate last Thursday, which will increase the base lending rate and make access to funding harder, Lim said in a statement today.
“Why have both, Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob and Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul gone silent altogether?
“The ringgit is currently at the lowest point for the first time in 24 years, since the Asian financial crisis in 1998. If this is not an economic crisis, then what is?
“After the staggering drop in the exchange rate, the nation cannot afford to be lied to anymore. It is time for the government to be upfront and tell us if we are now in a recession.
“They must also tell the nation how to ride out of the economic storm rather than let our country still run on ‘auto pilot’ mode,” Lim said.
He also urged Putrajaya to have a proactive plan to improve national food security so that the country is not over-dependent on imported food, the price of which is expected to rise further given the weak ringgit.
Lim also said many people in the middle-income (M40) category have also slipped into the low-income (B40) group, especially after the Covid-19 pandemic.
“This is a danger that, if nothing concrete is done, the economic crisis may escalate to a worse situation. Efforts should be made right now to improve the economy instead of going for another general election,” he said. – The Vibes, September 11, 2022
