KUALA LUMPUR: The Brazil, Russia, India, and China (BRICs) coalition can help reduce reliance on trading in the US dollar, says Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Johari Abdul.
"This will free us from their (US) actions which affect the dollar's value. I think this aligns with the prime minister's views," he said after a meeting with delegates from the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
The delegation which visited Parliament today was led by Andrew Leung, the Legislative Council president.
"They proposed to increase trade using local currencies and reduce the use of the US dollar. There is no reason why it (trade) should go through the US dollar," said Johari.
In April last year, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said trade negotiations between Malaysia and other countries should use the currencies of both countries rather than the US dollar.
Later that year, Anwar told the Dewan Rakyat that the use of the ringgit in trade with several countries had been encouraging.
He said 25 per cent (RM39.2 billion) of Malaysia's trade with China was done in ringgit and renminbi as of August 2023.