A Barisan Nasional backbencher has defended the depreciation of the ringgit, saying it benefitted rural folk.

Rompin MP Datuk Hasan Arifin said rural residents depended on commodity prices, which has seen a drop in value.

“Alhamdulillah, due to the depreciation of the ringgit against the US dollars this has benefitted rural people very much.

“The ringgit should be left alone, let it perform based on market and current economic conditions,” he told Rafizi Ramli (PKR - Pandan) during the debate on Budget 2016.

Hasan, who is also the newly minted Public Accounts Committee chairman, did not elaborate further.

Commodity prices such as palm oil has bounced from a low of RM1,867 a tonne on August 26 to RM2,293 a tonne today at 2.06pm on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives exchange, possibly due to lower production from Indonesia as a result of the El-Nino effect.

Besides Indonesia, Malaysia is one of the world's biggest producers of palm oil.

Hasan's statement comes at a time when Malaysians are grappling with economic uncertainty and a high cost of living.

Despite assurances from Putrajaya that Malaysia's fundamentals are strong, concerns have been mounting over the economy as the ringgit, Asia's worst performing currency in the past year, slid beyond the RM4 mark against the US dollar.

Various factors have been attributed to this, one of them is the scandal linked to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and the RM2.6 billion “donation” from an unknown Middle Easterner to his personal accounts. – October 27, 2015.
- See more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysi...h.IBgIlDsf.dpuf

This post has been edited by cranx: Oct 27 2015, 04:08 PM