Malaysia will 'never' again peg ringgit against US dollar: Najib

[KUALA LUMPUR] Prime Minister Najib Razak on Tuesday said Malaysia will not peg the ringgit currency against the US dollar, and that the government will focus on lowering the deficit.

"We have made it very clear that we would never repeat the measure (pegging ringgit to the dollar), trusting that while there may be short term fluctuations, in the longer term the level of the ringgit would reflect the strength of the Malaysian economy," Mr Najib said at a conference in Kuala Lumpur.

He also it was essential for Malaysia to keep the fiscal deficit down, and to keep government debt below a self-imposed level of 55 per cent of gross domestic product.

REUTERS