DAP chairman Lim Guan Eng has accused Ismail Sabri Yaakob and his caretaker cabinet of “getting paid for doing nothing” as the ringgit continues to depreciate.

The ringgit’s value dropped 1% to a 24-year low against the US dollar and an all-time low against the Singapore dollar today.

At 9am, the local currency slid to 4.6920/6965 against the greenback from yesterday’s close of 4.6910/6940.

It slid to nearly RM 3.31 against the Singapore dollar.

Lim questioned the caretaker prime minister’s silence over the “sad drop” of the ringgit, saying the government appeared to be paralysed “with nary an assurance given to financial markets to shore up the value of the ringgit”.

This paralysis must stop, Lim said.

“With the weakened ringgit, Malaysians and businesses face a bleak financial future with soaring import costs, higher cost of living, and higher interest expected to be imposed by Bank Negara next month.

“Neither the caretaker prime minister nor a single caretaker cabinet minister has addressed these serious concerns affecting businesses and the rakyat.”

Lim called the government “highly irresponsible”.

He also brought up the government’s failure to  take up DAP’s recommended structural economic reforms during discussions on the national budget.

Lim said the suggested reforms were similar to the September recommendations of the World Bank – that fiscal and structural economic reforms be carried out in education, digitalisation and the investment climate to transform Malaysia into an innovation-based economy that is more productive and competitive. – October 14, 2022.