KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Najib Razak said the ringgit used to be Asia's best currency in 2017 and its impressive performance had continued up until the 14th General Election (GE14).
After GE14, the ringgit made a u-turn and continued its plunge until now.
In his latest Facebook post, Najib uploaded two screenshots - one of a report quoting Umno Supreme Council member Datuk Dr Mohd Puad Zarkashi telling Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli to stop blaming the downfall of the currency on the 1MDB scandal, and another of a Bloomberg report which says 'The Ringgit is easily Asia's strongest currency' from 2017.
The former prime minister said the value of the ringgit had been dropping since after GE14.
"The easiest way is to blame someone else (for the depreciating ringgit) when the ringgit was Asia's best currency in 2017 and this performance continues until 2017.
"After GE14, the ringgit took a u-turn and plunged until today," he said.
After experiencing four consecutive years of depreciation, the ringgit appreciated by 10.4 per cent against the US dollar in 2017, its strongest performance in seven years.
The ringgit ended the 2017 year at RM4.0620 against the US dollar.
The Najib-led government had suffered a crushing defeat during GE14 in 2018.