LETTER | Don’t succumb to populist narratives on the ringgit

LETTER | Ringgit’s recent depreciation has become a focal point in discussions.

The heightened interest in Malaysia’s economic outlook indeed is a good thing but, unfortunately, this topic has been heavily politicised by those who seek to gain political mileage.

There are claims that the recent depreciation reflects economic mismanagement. However, to what extent is this true?

Amid the cacophony of criticism, it is crucial to evaluate the economic situation holistically before jumping to conclusions. What’s clear is that it is not all doom and gloom.

Most, if not all of the analysts expect the recent depreciation to be temporary and it is in fact, not unique to us alone. We are indeed living in challenging times and countries around the world are faced with unprecedented challenges, not just us.

What is more important than assigning blame is to have productive discussions on economic fundamentals and reforms.

The government has announced structural reforms that will improve our economy’s competitiveness in the long term. These reforms require time to implement, and caving into ploys to destroy the reforms would be unwise.

The economy is like a huge tanker ship, it takes time for it to turn to a new heading.

If we keep changing the captain and therefore the direction, we would end up in a stationary ballet in the middle of the ocean. Malaysia has seen many leadership changes and many more “langkah” in the past five years. That’s not healthy.

I think it is high time for us to heed our former king’s call for stability and allow structural reforms to be implemented. We must not succumb to populist narratives that seek to derail our economy’s stability.

I am reminded of the story of Brutus, who freed Rome from a tyrant yet he was shunned after Marc Anthony’s eulogy deceived the people of Rome and turned the crowd against Brutus. Let us not fall into the same ploy.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.