Bank Negara governor to address questions on ringgit's slide, says PM

PETALING JAYA: Any questions on the ringgit’s performance will be addressed by Bank Negara governor Datuk Abdul Rasheed Abdul Ghaffour, says Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

Anwar, who was also the Finance Minister, said Abdul Rasheed had promised to explain the matter.

"On the ringgit, the governor (Abdul Rasheed) is here. He has promised to answer," he was quoted as saying by Sinar Harian.

Anwar reportedly said this briefly to reporters after officiating the 15th International Conference on Islamic Economics and Finance (ICIEF) on Tuesday (Feb 20).

Malaysia's ringgit reached a 26-year low as emerging Asian currencies weakened against the dollar on Tuesday, while the Chinese yuan slid after China cut its benchmark mortgage rate by more than expected, but found support from state bank buying.

The ringgit weakened as much as 0.2% to its lowest level since January 1998. The South Korean won and the Taiwanese dollar inched 0.2% and 0.3% lower, respectively.