M.Krishnamoorthy
A media coach, adjunct professor and author
Wong Chen, a PKR MP, has warned that the country's economy will suffer if the ringgit rises above RM5 against the US dollar.
Wong Chen, the MP for Subang, said the crony capitalism mainly causes the decline of the Ringgit for decades has reached its tipping point. Apart from reforming our system to fight crony capitalism and return the confidence of the middle class, he proposed some concrete ideas to strengthen the Ringgit.
He added that although the fall in the ringgit's value is not the Government's fault today, the government needs to be prepared to take appropriate measures.
Wong, an outspoken, progressive and reformist, said in a 12-minute speech short-term solutions for the Government to act on immediately to prop up the Ringgit. View the video of his speech in Parliament last week.
The solutions Wong Chen proposed are:
- Instruct all GLICs and GLCs to be on standby to bring home money, equities and assets from abroad.
- We must defend the Ringgit and not let the RM5 per US Dollar psychological mark be breached.
- If we cross the RM5 level, there will be an unimaginable economic spiral of which consequence will be severe.
- The Government needs to quickly encourage the acceptance of high net-worth resident investors.
- We need to provide a platform for them to invest and migrate to Malaysia. This means clear immigration rules, with no corruption in the system. Roll out the red carpet and facilitate their residency and investments in Malaysia.
- In my interactions with many high-net-worth individuals from the Asia Pacific region, from Japan, Korea, China, Taiwan and Hong Kong, they are far more interested in migrating to Malaysia than to Singapore, Thailand or Vietnam.
- Singapore is just too expensive, and Thailand and Vietnam lack an excellent comprehension of the English language.
- Malaysia has good food, weather, peaceful life, cheap golfing, and better infrastructure than Thailand and Vietnam.
Wong Chen added: “Even though Malaysian politics can be turbulent, high net-worth individuals are not voters and do not interfere in domestic politics. They are here to spend and invest. What they are asking for is a corrupt-free government that can implement clear and efficient immigration rules.”
The other solution, he said: “The solution is the realm of behavioural economics of politics, incentives, nudge, and societal re-engineering. How do you stop the exit of capital outflow that weakens the Ringgit? The answer is comprehensive Reformasi.
He concluded by supporting the King’s speech, hoping all Members of Parliament could engage and give feedback on the contents of his speech.
Freelance Writer M. Krishnamoorthy (www.imkrishna.net) is a media coach, adjunct professor and undercover journalist. He has freelanced with Bernama, NST, The Star, and Malaysiakini. He also freelances as a fixer/coordinator for CNN, BBC, German and Australian Television networks and the New York Times. As an undercover journalist, he has highlighted society's concerns.
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