Malaysia rules out peg

Malaysia rules out peg

SINGAPORE (AFP): Malaysia is not looking at a peg for its currency but the idea can be explored by other countries, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said in an interview published here Saturday.

He reiterated that Malaysia was not planning to seek International Monetary Fund (IMF) aid as its neighbors Thailand and Indonesia have done.

Indonesia is planning to introduce a currency board system to manage a peg for its battered currency, the rupiah, despite warnings that it may not have enough foreign reserves and the monetary discipline to sustain it.

Asked whether Malaysia thought a currency board was a solution for other countries in the region, Mahathir said: "We don't think it's a solution for Malaysia. We can't say for other countries."

"As far as we can see, that's one of the ideas that can be examined. Whether it will resolve the problem or not, I wouldn't be able to say," he told Singapore's Straits Times and Business Times.