Malaysia's finance minister will decide after a briefing on Monday if the ringgit will be re-pegged, to reduce the impact of the weakening US dollar on the currency, a top minister said Sunday.
Second Finance Minister Nor Mohamed Yakcop said the issue will be raised at a briefing with the newly appointed Finance Minister Najib Razak, state Bernama news agency reported.
"Various issues would be presented at the briefing including the economic situation, finance and the challenges faced in Malaysia and in the international arena," Nor Mohamed said, according to Bernama.
Former premier Mahathir Mohamad had called for the ringgit to be re-pegged, saying stabilising the exchange rate could cushion the impact of the global economic slowdown on the country, the Star newspaper quoted him as saying on Sunday.
"We shouldn't float the currency. The country would lose money if the currency is vulnerable to external forces," he said.
Malaysia banned offshore trading of the ringgit and pegged the currency at 3.80 to the US dollar in 1998, during Mahathir's tenure, to restrict currency speculation during the financial crisis which ravaged East Asian economies.
The peg was removed in July 2005 for a managed float against a basket of currencies and the ringgit has appreciated steadily since then.
On Friday, the ringgit closed at 3.4570/4620 against the US dollar. Trade Minister Muhyiddin Yasin backed Mahathir's call, saying some of the pegging mechanisms adopted in 1998 could be revisited to protect the economy.