KUALA LUMPUR: Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak today took a swipe at Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli over the latter's remark on the position of the ringgit in the country following the current economic development.
In a Facebook post today, Najib also compared the value of the ringgit before the 14th General Election (GE14) with today's value, which saw an 80 sen difference.
"He (Rafizi) said we should not compare. Why didn't he say that previously?" he said.
Previously, an online portal reported that Rafizi had said the ringgit's strength during Najib's administration could not be compared with the current economic situation.
Rafizi reportedly said the comparison should not occur as the nation, at the time, was involved in the 1Malaysian Development Bhd (1MDB) scandal that had affected the international community's confidence towards the government.
In a separate post, Najib also explained that Malaysia was not the only nation that had its currency dropped about 15 to 18 per cent, but other countries too when the United States' (US) economy strengthened.
"This includes the Indonesian rupiah, Thailand baht, Singapore dollar, and Philippines peso, which had a five to 10 per cent drop rate.
"All of this was contributed by the strengthening US economy and interest rate that increased for the first time since 2006."
Following this, he added that a special economy committee was formed in 2015, and monitoring, as well as thorough execution, was implemented by the government, including government-linked companies.
"What's more important is that (the government) needs to utilise two-way diplomatic relationship and close ties with foreign countries to raise the investment and trade with us.
"Not just (signing) memorandum of understanding (MoUs), (or) having coffee talks but an investment that can be seen and feel.
"All of this (used) to be arranged, discussed and implemented, and in the words of investors and analyses previously, Malaysia was the preferred investment destination in Asia. But this was all before."
He also highlighted that the ringgit did not strengthen when his government collapsed in 2018, but the people were told otherwise.
"USD1 was equivalent to RM3.90 (during the time), and it was heading to a more robust track. However, the whole nation was told that it would further strengthen if Najib was toppled.
"Not to forget that our international reserve assets also increased from RM320.1 billion (USD87.7 billion) in 2009 to RM431.37 billion (USD108.5 billion) in 2018, but this is only for sharing purposes."