GOLD would be a more stable common currency for East Asian countries, according to Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, as opposed to current currency trading, which he believes is “manipulative”.

Speaking at a conference in Tokyo, the prime minister said by using the precious metal, it could be used to evaluate imports and exports of these countries.

“We can make settlement using that (new) currency,” he said.

“That currency must relate to the local currency, ie the exchange rate, and thus related to the performance of that country.

“That way we know how much we owe, how much we have to pay in the special currency of East Asia,” he said during a dialogue session at the 25th International Conference on The Future of Asia in Tokyo, today.

Dr Mahathir arrived in Tokyo last night for a three-day working visit.

The prime minister said the new currency could also be extended to other countries outside the East Asian region.

He said the global market was tied to the US dollar, opening up currencies to manipulation.

“Once one country is affected, other countries will also follow suit. Malaysia was stable way back in 1997… but because of problems occurring in Thailand, they said we must peg the Malaysian currency as well.

“What happened? Currency traders sold our currency and its value depreciated,” he said, adding traders were able to sell huge quantities of Ringgit Malaysia and, when it was depressed, they could buy and sell it at a higher price when it increased in value.

“This currency trading is not healthy because it is about manipulation, not the (economic) performance of country.

Dr M said that if countries were to be downgraded or upgraded in terms of economic performance, the assessment should be by an international non-partisan forum, and not by any one country.

“The US is fond of labelling other countries as no good and telling them how to conduct their business.

“This is not democratic. It is not for any single power to decide,” he said.

“If you want to live in a united world, stable world, we must have sustainability through agreement between all nations with a stake in that problem”. – Bernama, May 30, 2019.