The Bagan MP said the US$6.5 billion bonds issued in 2012 and 2013 are due in 2022 and 2023 respectively, lamenting the timing as the ringgit is at its weakest against the US dollar in 24 years.

“At RM3.35 to the US dollar when the bonds were issued, the principal amount of US$6.5 billion would come up to about RM21.8 billion.

“At the current exchange rate of RM4.54 to the US dollar, the principal amount due for the US$6.5 billion bonds would be RM29.5 billion. That is RM7.7 billion more,” he said in a statement.

Lim said the cumulative interest for the bonds would have amounted to just over RM1 billion a year and RM10.5 billion in the past decade. A weaker ringgit this year means that the annual interest cost is around RM1.5 billion instead of RM1 billion.

He also questioned the continued silence from Umno leaders and Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob on these huge billion ringgit losses due to the depreciating ringgit.

Lim said the ringgit had also dipped to a historic low of RM3.26 against the Singapore dollar recently while the Indonesian rupiah has appreciated by more than 4% against the ringgit this year.

He called for the government to adopt structural economic reforms immediately to arrest the ringgit’s rapid decline, or there could be adverse repercussions on inflation to businesses, cost of living, and government debt denominated in US dollars.