1MDB not sole reason for currency depreciation: Malaysia deputy finance minister

KUALA LUMPUR: The 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) controversy should not be perceived as the sole reason for Malaysia's currency depreciation.

Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Johari Abdul Ghani said that external factors were also at play in causing the ringgit to fall in value.

"First, the investor sentiments rose in anticipation on short term investments in the United States, while the second factor is the slump in regional economy.

"Thirdly, Malaysia is a crude oil exporter, so when the prices of crude oil dropped, our revenue fell from RM64bil to RM43bil, and is expected to continue falling by RM3.1bil next year," he said in response to a question by Shamsul Iskandar Mohd Akin (PKR - Bukit Katil) in the Dewan Rakyat on Wednesday.

However, Johari observed that the fourth factor was probably the most important - negative sentiments among investors on the current state of affairs in Malaysia.

"I believe countries like Russia, New Zealand, Australia and Brazil had also suffered currency depreciation, but they don't have a 1MDB controversy to deal with.

"We cannot relate 1MDB to the ringgit's fall, but there are external factors outside the powers of the government and the country," he said.

On Shamsul Iskandar's question on whether the investigations into 1MDB will continue, Johari said there were no attempts to stop it.