Malaysia no longer believes it is necessary to depend on the U.S. dollar, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said during an address to the nation’s parliament.
Following last week’s state visit to China, the Malaysian prime minister revealed that Beijing is open to deliberations with Kuala Lumpur to establish an Asian Monetary Fund.
“When I had a meeting with President Xi Jinping, he immediately said, ‘I refer to Anwar’s proposal on the Asian Monetary Fund,’ and he welcomed discussions,” Anwar told lawmakers on Tuesday. “There is no reason for Malaysia to continue depending on the dollar.”
The concept of an Asian Monetary Fund (AMF) was first proposed in 1997 by the Japanese government during the regional financial crisis. The objective would be that Asian countries fund the organization and ensure ample liquidity levels to weather economic storm clouds. However, the group was never formed due to U.S. and Chinese opposition….