Mahathir's reply that the currency peg should be maintained shows just how his approach is always politically and economically simplistic. The truth is that if the situation arises when the currency peg is forced to change, it would be even more costly.

For every situation where currency peg has worked, there are countless examples where it didn't.

Worst, it's been proven time and again that even when the currency peg worked, it could not work for very long. The latest example include Hong Kong which is now under major deflationary pressure and untenable budget deficit.

The truth is Malaysia has been lucky. For a number of things that have not gone our way, we have some things that have gone our way but to rely on luck as a long term policy is just idiotic or irresponsible at best.