In a Facebook post on Thursday (Feb 8), Datuk Seri Najib Razak criticized the declining ringgit with a chart showing the currency’s performance compared to the US dollar. His post had a sarcastic caption “Najib turun ringgit naik?” (Najib goes down, the ringgit goes up?).
He mentioned the slogan “Najib turun, ringgit naik,” and stated that the ringgit has declined by 24.1% or 90 sen against the US dollar since his loss in the 14th General Election (GE14). He claimed that the ringgit was strengthening before GE14, but its course changed once he stepped down.
Najib also pointed out that the ringgit has not recovered to pre-GE14 levels in the past six years. He highlighted the ringgit’s historical record low against the Singapore dollar and opened lower against the US dollar on Thursday.
He added that the ringgit has also traded lower against major currencies including the British pound, euro, Indonesian rupiah, and Philippines peso, to the misery of Malaysians.
It is worth noting that Najib is currently serving a six-year prison sentence after the Pardons Board decided to commute his sentence from 12 years to six and reduced his fine from RM210mil to RM50mil on Feb 2.
He was originally sentenced to 12 years in prison and a RM210mil fine after being found guilty of abuse of power, criminal breach of trust and money laundering in relation to RM42mil that had been syphoned from SRC International, a former 1MBD subsidiary in August 2022.
