Malaysia is following in the footsteps of BRICS in a mission to uproot the hegemony of the US dollar. The Prime Minister of Malaysia Anwar Ibrahim confirmed on Tuesday that the country is advancing to eliminate the dependency on the US dollar for global trade. Ibrahim revealed that Malaysia is aggressively pursuing de-dollarization efforts and will be pushing their local currency Ringgit for global transactions.
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The leader said that the country will start taking its first steps to end reliance on the US dollar. The PM acknowledged that the country cannot entirely stop transacting in the US dollar but will aggressively push the Ringgit forward.
“To entirely stop the reliance on the US dollar will be difficult. But Malaysia will be more active and aggressive in the use of Ringgit,” said the Prime Minister in the Parliament.
Ibrahim explained that Malaysia has close trade agreements with Indonesia, Thailand, and China and will begin using the Ringgit with the three trading partners. He told the Parliament that the new strategy includes increasing the usage of Malaysia’s Ringgit with BRICS member China and reducing transacting in the US dollar.
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The Prime Minister was answering questions from lawmakers on the steps his government was taking to ensure the Ringgit’s stability. The Parliament session addressed Ringgit’s historical lows against the US dollar as it dipped 7.6% against the USD this year.
Inspired by BRICS, Malaysia is following similar ideas to ensure the decline of the US dollar. The Ringgit could stabilize if the country pushes it forward in the international markets for trade deals worth billions. Malaysia is now experiencing structural reforms and could eventually reduce the US dollar usage over time.
“Malaysia would implement structural reforms that can attract investments and boost the economy, which would bolster the local currency,” Ibrahim summed it up.
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The BRICS alliance is inspiring many developing countries to ditch the US dollar and put their local currencies to work. Read here to know how many sectors in the US will be affected if BRICS completely stops using the dollar.