YOURSAY | ‘We all know why. The whole world knows why. Ask MO1.’

Why is the ringgit suffering worse than its regional peers?

Takung: Thank you for this KiniGuide which highlighted some of the factors that could have affected the value of the ringgit.

While the article mentions how big our short-term external debt is against our international reserves, it stops at that. So much so that some may say this has nothing to do with Umno.

The question to ask is, how did we end up with such a huge debt if not because the BN government has done a terrible job in managing the Malaysian economy.

So, scandals aside, whether our PM is MO1 (Malaysian Official 1) or not, our PM cum FM (finance minister) deserves a big ‘F’.

Legit: At the end of the day, it all boils down to the leadership of the country. If the leaders know how to manage the economy well in the face of the various global and domestic challenges, then the value of the currency will be sustained.

This is what is happening in countries such as Singapore, which has no resources and no luxury of land. They put the most talented and brightest in the right places to manage the country.

In the kleptocracy-land called Malaysia, we have an allegedly corrupt PM and a very inept coterie of ministers and government leaders who are allegedly only interested in lining their own pockets. These are the worst kind of leaders any country can afford to have.

Then we have third-rate people put in charge of ministries, agencies and GLCs (government-linked companies). People are promoted based on race, religion and their boot-licking abilities, not on their merits.

So, barring the factors stated in this KiniGuide, it is common sense what is required to keep the value of the currency strong.

Demi Rakyat: With PM Najib Razak still around, nobody has any confidence in Malaysia. Remember he is the minister who allegedly took billions of ringgit from the rakyat and then blatantly lied about it.

No wonder, the ringgit has become the weakest in the region.

Tony Soprano: A clear piece, although it ignores another big factor: political upheavals. It's apparently not true about Malaysia, but it is about some other countries' currencies:

As soon as Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte started bragging about murdering drug users as well as dealers and calling the US president "son of a whore", etc, the peso went from 46 to 50 to the US dollar and has settled at about 49.50.

With the Brexit vote, the pound sterling went from US$1.45 to the present US$1.22. The euro was at US$1.40 at Brexit vote and is now at US$1.05.

Drngsc: We all know why. The whole world knows why. Ask MO1.

This may be one of the few instances where the needs of one outweigh the needs of the whole country.

Treasurer-general: Economy is fine, weighed down by perception

Ferdtan: Treasurer-general Mohd Irwan Serigar Abdullah, you say the economy is good, with growth at 4.5 to 5 percent.

Have you heard of the saying “Give an economist a result you want, and he'll find the numbers to justify it"?

Perception comes from the ground, the common people; that is the real measure of the state of our economy - not someone in an air-conditioned room, churning out unrealistic numbers.

Telestai!: The ringgit weighed down by perception? Come on Irwan, we are not dumb. The world economy is roiling in the aftermath of Brexit and Donald Trump's election victory in the US.

Capital is flowing back to the US and the US will be gradually raising interest rates. The world order is changing and where do you think the Malaysian economy would be? Not a very nice place.

The ringgit will slide further to possibly RM5 to the US dollar and the country's foreign reserves will fall further.

Expect 2017 to be plagued by weak domestic and overseas demand, a property market that is nearing meltdown, burgeoning national debt and do not forget your overstretched household borrowings.

You'll thank your lucky stars if the Malaysian economy doesn't tank.

Anonymous 29051438068738: Perception needs to be corrected? And you don't know how, Irwan? How about resorting to verifiable facts rather than patented lies?

How about starting with declassifying the auditor-general's report on 1MDB, revealing the secret discussions among the cabal that preceded the sacking of attorney-general Abdul Gani Patail and maybe, setting up an independent tribunal of internationally renowned jurists to unearth everything about 1MDB, your role in it and the elaborate cover-up that followed?

Put simply, how about telling the truth which even your detractors aka "interested parties" will laud?

Anonymous_3f94: And how about releasing the Public Accounts Committee report and the 1MDB accounts so that the 'negative perception' that Irwan waxes about can be dispelled?

If these reports cannot be released for public viewing, we can only assume that the economy is in even worse shape than even those with negative perceptions assume, and that Irwan is trying to pull wool over the public's eyes.

Anonymous #21828131: Irwan, you said you were not a fortune teller but then you went on to predict that the ringgit will strengthen in the coming months.

Please go back eight months ago and try to recall what you said. You said we would be cruising to recovery by this time.

Hang Babeuf: Treasurer-general: "Economy is fine, weighed down by perception."

Me: Nation is doing fine, just weighed down by stupid officials, official stupidity.

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