PUTRAJAYA: The government will form a central body aimed at making decisions on issues involving the economy, Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said today.
He said the body would have similar functions as the National Economic Action Council, which was formed on Jan 7, 1998, for the purpose of identifying the basic economic problems and appropriate policies to respond to them.
“But, it will have a different name. It will look into all economic matters and make decisions on them as fast as possible,” Dr Mahathir told reporters after chairing the Pakatan Harapan (PH) presidential council meeting.
Dr Mahathir, who is also PH chairman, said currently there were "too many cooks" dealing with economic and investment matters, which could lead to delays and lack of understanding.
On claims that the ringgit had weakened further especially against the Thai baht under PH government, Dr Mahathir said the local currency had strengthened against the greenback at RM4.10.
“It is not the ringgit that has weakened. It is because of the US dollar has strengthened, causing the ringgit to fall.
“We need to factor in other aspects as well to make accurate conclusions about the country’s economic performance (including about the ringgit).” he said.