Malaysia will maintain the ringgit currency's peg to the dollar at the current rate, Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad said today.

He was replying to a question at a news conference during a visit to Kedah on whether he would review the peg before his planned retirement in October next year, the official Bernama news agency reported.

Mahathir, who was due to begin an official visit to Thailand later today, said there had been pressure in the past to lower the rate, which was set during the Asian financial crisis in 1998.

"If we listen to such advice, then it is going to be like a yo-yo when the currency moves up and down every now and then," he said.

With the peg, local traders and businesses had been able to conduct their business transactions smoothly while Malaysia's exports had not been affected, he said.

"This is because we don't fiddle with the ringgit."

The Malaysian currency is currently pegged at RM3.8 to the US dollar.

Mahathir, who is also finance minister, said in reply to another question that he had given "some thought" to appointing a "second" finance minister.

He has named his deputy, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to succeed him as prime minister when he retires in 16 months time.