The country's wavering political stability, impacted by the 1MDB fiasco, is one of the factors that caused the ringgit to fall against the US dollar.

In stating this, the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) demanded that those responsible put things right in matters related to political stability to enable the business environment to move on.

"I feel one of the causes for the ringgit to slump (against the US dollar) is definitely political... what is happening with the political (situation) now," FMM vice-president Abdul Aziz Raja Muda Musa said today.

"You can't deny that sometimes economic activity can be affected by political stability or political situations," ABdul Aziz said.

"We look forward to political stability so that we can do business better. We look forward for this thing to be stabilised and that a solution will come forth soon.

"So then, we all can move on with our lives," Abdul Aziz said at a press conference.

He was asked whether the industry was satisfied with the pace of the the government in settling the 1MDB issue.

To a question on the federation's advice to overcome problems related to political factors, he replied, "If there is an area that needs to be put right, so put it right.

"Otherwise, it is very difficult for us to do business.

"FMM always stands for doing things right. We are always for transparency, good governance, and this is no secret," Abdul Aziz said.

The FMM statement comes in the wake of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak ( photo ) being blamed for excessive political play over the recent decline in the ringgit's value following the 1MDB affair and its fallout.

The ringgit fell by about 20 percent in the past 12 months, sinking to a 17-year low at RM 4.28 against the US dollar today.

However, Abdul Aziz refused to answer if the Bersih 4 rally would have an impact on business or whether the call to remove the prime minister was equivalent to a threat to national security and the economy, which may be felt among the manufacturers.

On regulating the Internet

Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Minister Abdul Rahman Dahlan has urged the Bersih 4 rally to be postponed, warning that it will have an adverse impact on the economy in an already challenging economic environment.

On a separate matter, FMM chief executive officer Yeoh Oon Tean said Putrajaya may find itself caught in a difficulty to beat the modern technology in order to regulate the Internet.

"In FMM, we don't have an official stand (on Internet censorship). But I think it is hard to regulate Internet today because there are many ways the people can access information, and go around no matter what barrier you put up," said Yeoh.

"So, even if the government wants to regulate, it will find this quite challenging," he said.

Earlier this month, newly-minted Communications and Multimedia Minister Salleh Said Keruak said Malaysia would follow international standards in regulating the Internet .

On Aug 8, Salleh said in this regard, the revision of related laws would include a study on what was considered to be the norm in advanced countries that uphold freedom of speech.

Salleh has instructed the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to meet Facebook, Google and Twitter "to seek their cooperation to stem the increasing tide of false information and rumours from spreading via their social media applications".

Najib has said the government needs to regulate the Internet to stop online insults and false news from spreading and to make sure no one falls victim to this.

What Najib wanted to do, Rahman explained, was to regulate the Internet based on best practices, which would be based how the developed nations monitor the Internet.

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