Dr M: Invest more in poor Muslim countries
KUALA LUMPUR: Rich Muslim countries should invest more in less well-off Muslim nations so that prosperity and progress can be shared among them, said Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
The Malaysian prime minister said it is felt that Muslim countries have so far not invested enough in other Muslim countries that needed their investment.
“Those countries, which are poor, should be able to accept foreign investment especially of course if they come from Muslim countries,” he told a press conference at the conclusion of the Kuala Lumpur Summit (KL Summit) 2019 today.
Mahathir underscored that Muslim countries are not rejecting investment from non-Muslim countries.
“But we feel that Muslim countries so far have not invested enough in other Muslim nations needing their investments,” said Mahathir who is the KL Summit chairman.
“So, we hope that as a result of this conference, many more Muslim countries which are rich enough will invest in the poorer countries,” he said.
Mahathir said Malaysia also welcomes investment from other Muslim countries, for example, in the production of defence and equipment.
“We also need inflow of money to perhaps invest in property, finance and many other areas where those who have the capital can invest,” he said.
On another matter, Mahathir said Muslim countries will need to have a detailed study on the proposed gold dinar as a currency for trading.
He noted that the instability of the US dollar is among the reasons behind calls for gold dinar to be used.
“Today, we are hampered by the use of one currency for international trade, the US dollar…but the US dollar is not stable. Sometimes it gets stronger and sometimes it is weaker but gold has got a certain value for all countries in the world.
“We can call our currencies by whatever names, but they must relate to the value of gold in your countries. If you know the value of gold in your country and the value of gold in that trading partner, then we know how much gold is worth dealing the trade and then we can call that gold dinar as a standard,” Mahathir explained.
Bernama
