KUALA LUMPUR, June 9 — The ringgit remains among the best-performing currencies in the region this year, supported by strong investment inflows and Malaysia’s economic fundamentals despite heightened global uncertainties, said Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan.

He said the local currency continued to record positive gains against the US dollar year-to-date and had also performed favourably against several regional currencies.

“Ringgit is still among the top-performing currencies in the region. Year-to-date, it is still positive growth against the dollar.

“More importantly for the ringgit is not just its performance against the dollar. It is about how it positions itself against other currencies in the world. We are much better than a lot of other countries around the world,” said Amir Hamzah during a session titled “Balancing Fiscal Focus with External Risks” at Invest Malaysia 2026 here today.

Amir Hamzah said the strength of the ringgit was underpinned by continued investor confidence in Malaysia’s economy, reflected in strong foreign direct investment (FDI) and domestic direct investment (DDI) activities.

“We have reached the highest level of approved investments coming in. The Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) issued the first quarter numbers yesterday, and we are on track to deliver them.

“The FDI engine is working very well in attracting and providing support for the ringgit going forward,” he said.

Amir Hamzah noted that domestic investments had also remained robust, with DDI slightly exceeding FDI in terms of total investments in the country.

“Actually, DDI is slightly bigger than FDI. So, effectively, people like you, investors in the country, also doubled up on growth because they found segments that they want to grow,” he said.

Amir Hamzah said investments were increasingly aligned with the government’s priorities in high-growth sectors, including semiconductors, data centres and artificial intelligence (AI), helping to strengthen demand for the local currency.

“So long as we have these engines running along the way, the underlying economy still provides demand support for the ringgit,” he said.

While acknowledging that external developments could continue to create volatility in currency markets, Amir Hamzah emphasised that Malaysia’s focus remained on strengthening economic fundamentals.

“Will there be volatility? Yes, of course, there will be volatility. But the more important thing for us to focus on is to make sure the fundamentals of the economy still work in the right form, which is what we are doing at this point,” he said. — Bernama