Kuala Lampur, March 7 -- The persistent decline of the ringgit brings it perilously close to reaching a historic low, with the combined factors of Malaysia's weakening exports and the strength of the US dollar potentially propelling the currency beyond that threshold. The Malaysian ringgit has depreciated by almost 4 per cent since the beginning of the year. There exists a looming possibility that the ringgit could plummet to a new record low of US$5, fuelled by the sluggish recovery of exports compared to other Asian economies and the likelihood of lacklustre economic growth.

The local currency briefly slipped past 4.8 against the dollar recently, the weakest level since January 1998, the height of the crisis that roiled Asian financial...