KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 25 — As markets across Asia were hit by what one English daily dubbed “The Great Fall of China”, the Sultan of Johor today urged the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition to immediately tackle Malaysia’s unstable political and economic situation after the ringgit continued its downward slide for the umpteenth straight day.

Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar said he was “aware and sensitive” to his subjects’ concerns, issuing a reminder to lawmakers to take up their responsibilities to the public.

“Though as a sovereign ruler, I cannot interfere in political matters, but as a ruler I am responsible for the well-being and prosperity of my state and subjects.

“Therefore, I urge the ruling government to deal with the problems we are facing now, among which is the deteriorating value of the ringgit,” the state ruler said in his speech in Johor in conjunction with the Special Forces Regiment’s 50th anniversary.

Excerpts of his speech was posted on the Facebook page of the Johor Southern Tigers football team.

“I would also like to remind representatives elected by the people to shoulder public responsibilities entrusted to them, and to set aside personal interests,” Sultan Ibrahim added.

The Johor ruler also said problems must be handled immediately, cautioning against attempts to hide information from discerning Malaysians.

“The rakyat today are a generation of smart and learned people who can dissect information they receive, so please do not take them as fools by feeding them rosy news and information to hide what is really going on,” Sultan Ibrahim said.

Yesterday, the ringgit fell to a record low when it went beyond the 3 per Singapore dollar mark for the first time in its trading history.

Today, local news site The Star reported that the ringgit fell further into uncharted territory against the Singapore dollar, slumping to a low of 3.0303 to the dollar at 8.12am before recovering to trade at 3.0194 at 8.45am.

Last Friday, the Permaisuri of Johor Raja Zarith Sofiah Idris Shah similarly showed concern over how Malaysian students abroad were coping with the ringgit’s plunge against several major currencies worldwide, including the US dollar and the pound sterling, further expressing her desire to help Malaysians students in the UK.

Since last year, the ringgit has lost over a fifth of its value against the US dollar, trading this morning below 4.26 to the greenback and below the RM3.80 peg that was imposed during the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis.

Although the sharp drop was not unique as it was similarly observed in other commodities-driven countries including Indonesia and Australia, Malaysia faces political instability amid controversy over state owned firm 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak announced last week that Malaysia’s strong economic fundamentals negated the need for currency or capital controls amid the ringgit’s plunge in value and an ongoing foreign investment flight.

He added that the country’s gross domestic product grew nearly 5 per cent in the previous quarter, which he credited to the diversification of the country’s economy via the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax as well as the reduced reliance on oil and gas revenue.

Today, Najib, who is also finance minister, announced that a special committee will be formed to look into producing solutions to help sustain Malaysia’s economic growth momentum amid “uncertain and challenging times” for the country.