You are here

Malaysian PM elaborates on currency market rigging, resents dictation by U.S.

Section: Daily Dispatches

Dr. M. Moots Currency Backed by Gold

From the Malaysian National News Agency
via Free Malaysia Today, Petaling Jaya, Malaysia
Thursday, May 30, 2019

https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2019/05/30/dr-m-moots-...

TOKYO -- Prime Minister Dr. Mahathir Mohamad says Malaysia is proposing a new currency based on gold, as this would be more stable than the current currency trading, which is manipulative.

He said the precious metal could be used to evaluate import and export activities among the East Asian countries.

... Dispatch continues below ...


ADVERTISEMENT

USAGold: Coins and bullion since 1973


USAGold, well known for its Internet site, USAGold.com, offers contemporary bullion coins and bullion-related historic gold coins for delivery to private investors in the United States, Europe, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. It is one of the oldest and most respected names in the gold industry, with thousands of clients and an approach to investment that emphasizes guidance and individual needs over high-pressure sales tactics. The firm's zero-complaint record at the Better Business Bureau makes it an ideal match for the conservative, long-term investor looking for a reliable contact in the gold business.

Please call 1-800-869-5115x100 and ask for the trading desk, or visit:

http://www.USAGold.com

USAGold: Great prices, quick delivery -- all the time.



"We can make settlements" using the new currency using gold, the prime minister said. "That currency must relate to the local currency as to the exchange rate, and that is something that can be related to the performance of that country.

"That way we know how much we owe and 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 (Nikkei Conference) here today.

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

He said the new currency could also be extended to countries outside the East Asian region.

Currently, he said, the global market is tied to the U.S. dollar, which gives room for the currency to be manipulated.

"Just because that one country is affected, there is infection to the other countries. Malaysia was very stable way back in 1997 ... but because of the problems that occurred in Thailand" during the Asian financial crisis, "they said we must peg the Malaysian currency also.

"What happened? The currency traders sold the Malaysian currency down and the value of Malaysian currency depreciated.

"It is not even the money that they have. They never had any Malaysian currency but nevertheless they were able to sell huge quantities of Malaysian currency, and when it is depressed, of course they can buy and sell it at a higher price when it comes up," he added.

"Currency trading is not something that is healthy because it is not about the (economic) performance of countries but about manipulation.

"Anything that you have in oversupply, we will lose value. Anything that is short of supply will increase in value, so they sell huge quantities of money they don't have, and because the amount is so big, there is depression of the value."

Mahathir said that if countries are downgraded or upgraded, it should be done by an uncommitted international forum, not a country.

Here, he hit out at the United States for "labeling" other countries.

"The United States is fond of labeling that country as no good, this country as no good, and telling countries about ways to conduct their business.

"You are not democratic. That is not for any single power to decide. If you want to live in a united world, a stable world, we must resort to sustainability through agreement between all nations that have a stake in that problem."

Asked if the Japanese yen or Chinese yuan could be used as the common currency in Asia, Mahathir replied: "If we try to promote our own currency, there will be conflict. But if we have a common currency for East Asia, a common trading currency that is not used in each country but for the purpose of settlement trade only, then there will be stability.

"But trying to promote the yen or the yuan, that is not the way to go."

* * *

Help keep GATA going:

GATA is a civil rights and educational organization based in the United States and tax-exempt under the U.S. Internal Revenue Code. Its e-mail dispatches are free, and you can subscribe at:

http://www.gata.org

To contribute to GATA, please visit:

http://www.gata.org/node/16