To the layman and low-income people, their main concern in life is how much they could stretch the ringgit or rather what they can put on the dining table.

They do not understand what are capital controls and fundamentals nor why should the government need to peg the ringgit to the US dollar at a time when the economy in Asia is not good, or rather especially when it was RM4.134 to US$1 on Aug 20, 2015.

But they, the rakyat, know the value of the ringgit has depreciated against stronger currencies like the US dollar, the yuan and the Singapore dollar. Yes, they know that they are into bad times and so need to tighten their belts again (I mean after the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax or GST on April 1, 2015) as life has to go on, no matter what.

Like it or not, this time around most currencies in Asia, the baht, rupees, dongs and even the won have weakened but the ringgit’s performance is the worst in Asia this year. However, the Singapore dollar remains strong.

Oh yes! Malaysians were already paying RM2.97 to buy S$1 on Friday, Aug 21, 2015. And it will be RM3 to S$1 before the end of August.

Well, it is surprising for Nazir Abdul Razak from CIMB to tell TV reporters on Thursday Aug 20, 2015 that Malaysia’s fundamentals are still strong and that there is no need to have capital controls at this point in time. And, he also said the ringgit is undervalued. How could it be?

If that is the case then other nations too will disagree with the currencies fixtures.

The rakyat have been told umpteen times each time by different ministers that the country’s fundamentals are strong and it is okay. What is okay when the ringgit continues to fall against most currencies?

By the way, it is no point to keep harping on the same line; come clear by showing in dollars and cents not just talking. We need proof.

And, one way out is to strengthen the ringgit, to chase up the currency of our nearest neighbour, Singapore, to see when the government could bring the value back at par, when both currencies were 1:1 during early 1965.

Cash is king, mah!

Now, the rakyat will only look at the value of the Ringgit as the only benchmark to measure Malaysia’s success, let alone economy and performances.

Hello, ministers, it is time you all stop harping any longer on fundamentals and capital controls or kept counting on tourists arrivals.

Apparently, tourists are heading to other nations that are safer. It is because bad news had travelled fast and widely that it is risky for strangers and tourists to walk alone on the street in Malaysia because of snatch thefts and pickpockets. Also there were a few isolated reports that valuables like gold chains, watches and money have been stolen when tourists were out of their hotel rooms.

Furthermore, since the tragic air disasters of MH370 and MH17, as well as one from AirAsia Indonesia, statistics had shown a dramatic drop in tourists arrivals in Malaysia.

So how could Nazri Aziz tell the TV reporter from Channel News Asia on Sunday Aug 23, 2015 that more tourists will visit Malaysia taking advantage of the cheaper ringgit?

There you go! The rakyat have had enough of these excuses and please remember the rakyat are not fools all the time.

LAU BING is a community activist and writer in Subang Jaya.