Pegging the ringgit will tie us to US interest rates, says economist

Free Malaysia Today

Firdausi Suffian says the peg to the US dollar will cost Malaysia its independence over monetary policy such as setting interest rates.   Read More:  https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2023/11/04/pegging-the-ringgit-will-tie-us-to-us-interest-rates-says-economist/   Free Malaysia Today is an independent, bi-lingual news portal with a focus on Malaysian current affairs.    Subscribe to our channel - http://bit.ly/2Qo08ry   ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Check us out at https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com Follow FMT on Facebook: http://bit.ly/2Rn6xEV Follow FMT on Dailymotion: https://bit.ly/2WGITHM Follow FMT on Twitter: http://bit.ly/2OCwH8a  Follow FMT on Instagram: https://bit.ly/2OKJbc6 Follow FMT on TikTok : https://bit.ly/3cpbWKK Follow FMT Telegram - https://bit.ly/2VUfOrv Follow FMT LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/3B1e8lN Follow FMT Lifestyle on Instagram: https://bit.ly/39dBDbe ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Download FMT News App: Google Play – http://bit.ly/2YSuV46 App Store – https://apple.co/2HNH7gZ Huawei AppGallery - https://bit.ly/2D2OpNP  #FMTNews #PeggingRinggit #UnitedStates #InterestRates #FirdausiSuffian #CarmeloFerlito #dollar #DrMahathirMohamad

Transcript

00:00 Malaysia would lose its independence over monetary policy if the ringgit was pegged

00:06 to the US dollar, as recently suggested by Dr Mahathir Mohamad, says an economist.

00:12 University Technology Mara's senior lecturer Ferdowsi Sufian said a dollar peg would mean

00:17 that interest rates would be tied to those in the United States.

00:21 So if the central bank wants to reduce interest rates to stimulate the economy, it will not

00:27 be as easy as possible to do so because they will be constrained by currency being pegged.

00:32 And the US is currently tightening their monetary policy due to concern over overheating economy,

00:40 which means the interest rate will be high.

00:43 He said a peg to the US dollar was a temporary solution to the falling value of the ringgit

00:47 on foreign exchange markets, as Malaysia experienced at the height of the Asian financial crisis

00:53 in 1998.

00:55 Carmelo Ferlito of the Centre for Market Education said that pegging the ringgit was unwise as

01:00 Malaysia is not experiencing a financial crisis, adding that the dollar remains the preferred

01:05 reserve currency in delicate moments like the present one.

01:09 Ferdowsi and Ferlito both said the best way for the government to strengthen the ringgit

01:13 is by setting up clear and consistent pro-market policies that encourage both domestic and

01:19 foreign investors to invest in the country.

01:21 (upbeat music)

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