KUALA LUMPUR: Federal Territories Minister Khalid Samad has admitted being involved with the Harapan Coin cryptocurrency project and said he would soon make a suggestion to Bank Negara Malaysia and Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad on the coin.
He said digital currency is the future and he was involved in it even before the general election.
Former prime minister Najib Razak had asked Khalid to clear the air on the Harapan Coin project and questioned the purpose of the coin.
Lembah Pantai MP Fahmi Fadzil had also objected to the project.
“The founder of Alibaba Group, Jack Ma, has also said it (coin) is the future in terms of technology.
“What is there to be surprised?” Khalid said after launching a housing project in Kerinchi here last night.
“When we manage and use it well, there would be value to it. People would buy (the coin) and the value would go up when it is used for government matters and other purposes.”
Prior to this, Khalid was reported as saying a monitoring body should be created to ensure the coin project is not manipulated by individuals.
On Feb 27, Bank Negara had released an Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Financing of Terrorism Policy for Digital Currencies.
This came after it consulted various parties, including representatives of existing digital currency exchanges, industry associations, law firms, financial institutions, academia as well as interested individuals on the issues and risks involved in using digital coins.