PUTRAJAYA: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak today said Bank Negara had told him that the ringgit has managed to weather the market reaction to President-elect Donald Trump's recent victory better than some other currencies.
He said the expected increase in interest rates in the US had seen the weakening of some currencies and the ringgit was not spared.
“This morning, I spoke to the Bank Negara Governor, where I saw the (currency) chart. There are other currencies doing worse and better than the ringgit. We are in the middle.
“If we look from the aspect of currency basket, we did not do badly, except against the dollar. This is an external effect that is beyond our control.
“So I hope the rakyat would not be confused by this. What the government will do is to control things within our means and look for investment opportunities, which is why I have gone to Germany, China, Japan; all to bring back investments to Malaysia. These are among the efforts which we can do," he said during TV3’s Soal Jawab programme tonight.
The ringgit today closed at RM4.46 against the greenback.