Earlier today, Pakatan Harapan (PH) chairman Anwar Ibrahim was appointed to become the 10th Prime Minister of Malaysia. The appointment also immediately made MYR strengthen even further the USD. At the same time, the stocks of Malaysian companies also jump.

According to the currency conversion, MYR/USD exchange rate stood at 4.4910, up to about 1.8%. This is Ringgit's best showing since 2015 as well as making this currency the top performer in Asia and also gained 1.2 percent against the Singapore Dollar.

Meanwhile, Malaysian assets also experienced a significant increase, such as stocks Genting Malaysia, Sports Toto, and Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia which underwent the biggest jumps in more than two years after the bid to form the government.

Datu Seri Anwar was appointed by the Malaysian King, Sultan Abdullah Ahmad Shah, to become prime minister. Duties and responsibilities are not only in the political sector. But the prime minister is also expected to be able to boost the economic landscape.

Malaysia's King Names Anwar Ibrahim As PM, What Are His Duties and Responsibilities to the Malaysian Economy?

Mr. Khoon Goh, head of Asia research at ANZ, said: "We know for certain that Anwar will be the 10th prime minister and lead the coalition of Pakatan Harapan and Barisan Nasional in the policy and Cabinet sectors."

"Investors will be looking for who will become finance minister because this position will describe a new subject that changes budget tables by the prestigious government. So this will affect the Malaysian economy and the value of the Malaysian Ringgit.

Apart from that, the prime minister recently touched on the issue of inflation and slow growth in Malaysia. He said that he would immediately settle this issue by starting to discuss the budget for the next year, and in the next five years, Anwar promised a good economy.

Ringgit did experience positive results after the appointment of Anwar Ibrahim as Malaysia's new prime minister. But what is highlighted now is that Anwar Ibrahim's task is challenging to deal with economic problems.

Furthermore, in the three-decade political journey, Anwar is undergoing, the corruption he carries out is politically motivated. Many headlines said Anwar faced a slowing economy and a divided country after a tight election.

Anwar, 75, also recently received positive results regarding Malaysia's inflation. In the era before he took control of Malaysia's economy, inflation jumped 4.4%, and many experts believe that Anwar should have been able to keep that increase accelerating.

Religion-Inflected Politics Issues Will Disturb Malaysia's Economy; Bank Negara is Sure There Will Not Be a Recession

Meanwhile, the food index rose by 6.9%, and it was recorded that it was the most significant contributor to the increase. However, what is becoming a problem now is that many say that because of Anwar, the effects of religion will carry over to politics.

Indeed Pakatan Harapan is multi-racial, and Anwar Ibrahim is a reformist. But this does not rule out the possibility that conservative regional parties will use their power as opposition by moving the politics towards religion, which is just as painful.

So related to this position, Malay politics is asked to stay in the part of the Malay majority. Regarding downside risk, the Malaysian stock market index is starting to become unstable. However, BNM said that Malaysia is safe from the effects of a recession in 2023.

"For 2023, we do some challenges to growth, especially in the external front sector with slow global growth. However, we are not expecting a recession," said Bank Negara Malaysia's governor, Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus, to the Malay Mail a few days ago.

The good news is that Malaysia will not experience a recession in 2023. Coupled with the news that the Ringgit appreciates against the USD after Anwar Ibrahim was appointed as the 10th prime minister of Malaysia. However, this will invite the issue of religion to politics.