Many had come out to give their version of the ringgit's tailspin, which had fallen to a low of RM4.80 since the end of February.
The broad consensus is that unless the government commits to a holistic fix to the problem, the investing community is not going to be assured of its resurgence.
The statement from the two economic heavyweights did not assuage investors and men on the street that the worst is over for the ringgit. The problem is deep-rooted, and unless a systematic effort is undertaken by the authorities, the ringgit is likely to go on a tailspin.
Second Finance Minister Amir Hamzah Azizan said that coordination between the finance ministry and Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), as well as joint efforts between GLCs and GLICs, will help increase inflow into the foreign exchange market and strengthen the ringgit's value.
He said the ringgit's current depreciation is largely driven by the strengthening of the US dollar and the uncertainty over China's economic growth, which has also affected other regional currencies.
Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) governor Datuk Abdul Rasheed Ghaffour today said the ringgit is undervalued, adding that, going by the fundamentals, it should be traded higher.
He said that BNM has stepped up its engagements with government-linked investment companies, corporations, and investors to encourage continuous inflows into the foreign exchange market.
Both statements only suggest that the government is only prepared to go as far as fixing the symptoms of the problems rather than the underlying cause of them.
While this might be the first step in strengthening the efforts of the ringgit, it cannot be the be-all and end-all of the problem. A holistic approach is needed to address the systemic problems in the country.
To start with, the government needs to have a "War Room, that will look at problems plaguing the country on a daily basis and tackle them robustly as they appear.
The members of the war room should comprise a group of people outside the government and senior officials from the ministry of finance and Bank Negara Malaysia, in addition to the Minister of Finance and the Bank Negara Governor being in the committee.
Unless the investing community is assured of endemic problems such as the widening fiscal deficit and high debt levels and an assured source of revenue such as the goods and services tax (GST) is reintroduced, the ringgit is likely to head south.
In addition, the government needs to take a serious look at the foreign investment policy and assure Malaysia that it will continue to be an attractive investor destination.
The neighbouring countries have stepped up the game by bolstering the skill sets of their people, and the availability of a critical mass of talented workers has enticed foreign investors into their respective countries.
If Malaysia is to move up the value chain, it needs to liberalise the infusion of foreign talent, which would spur greater foreign-direct investments into the country.
This is imperative, as we do not have a critical mass of talented workers in Malaysia for high-end manufacturing here, and we need to kick-start this through the infusion of foreign talent that would invariably develop local talent.
With the influx of foreign investors coming into the country, we will be able to improve our current account surpluses, which would see an appreciation of the ringgit.
The government needs to seriously ensure that the administrative hassles in getting approvals for foreign investment into the country have to be speedily hastened, as delays and frustrations in getting these approvals would mean that we would lose these FDI's to neigbouring countries.
Lastly, it must be borne in mind that policies are only as good as they are speedily implemented, and towards these, the civil service must play a proactive role in ensuring that policies are speedily implemented.
The government must be committed to fixing the problem holistically rather than merely addressing the symptoms if we are to see the ringgit strengthen.