PETALING JAYA: The best formula to overcome the inflation crisis is to peg Ringgit Malaysia (RM) in the market and implement massive subsidies for the people, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad(pix) said.
According to a report by Sinar Harian, Dr Mahathir said the government needed to take the initiative as shown by the United States (US) government during the US financial crisis in 2008 when they spent a massive amount of money to aid their people to cope with the rising cost of living.
“We previously saved our country and others when we set the exchange value at RM3.80 against the US dollar (in the 1998 Asian Financial Crisis). We were not only saved, but all other countries benefited from it.
“But now, we are not taking care of the value of our currency. When we don’t take care of it, some people deliberately devalue the ringgit, and we become poor as our purchasing power decreases.
“If the value of our currency falls, foreign investors will leave Malaysia since they incur a loss with the fall of our currency value. That’s why we’re seeing investors pulling out from the country,” he told Sinar Premium in an exclusive interview recently.
Dr Mahathir was commenting on the implications of the economic crisis and hyperinflation faced by Malaysia and the rest of the world, which led a majority of Malaysians caught in the issue of the rising cost of living.
The Pejuang Chairman added that the government’s move to distribute large-scale subsidies to the people in times of crisis would not harm the government.
“This is due to Malaysia’s considerable treasury savings. We’re not like Sri Lanka where there is not a single penny of savings at all,” he said, adding that the Malaysian government could contribute to the subsidies of the people.
