The Indonesian Consulate General (KJRI) in Penang, in cooperation with the Bank Indonesia Office in Singapore, promoted the use of the rupiah for transactions in Malaysia to a number of stakeholders in Penang, on Monday, September 11, 2023.
Acting Consul General Kiki Tjahjo Kusprabowo said on Tuesday that Penang recorded 178,132 foreign nationals seeking medical treatment in the region in 2022, and 90 percent of them were Indonesians.
He said the Indonesian representatives in Penang thus welcomed the Local Currency Settlement (LCS) partnership with Malaysia, which he believed would help the two countries’ efforts to enhance mutually beneficial economic cooperation.
Mary Ann, the Executive Director of the Penang Centre of Medical Tourism (PMED), said that from January to July 2023, a total of 53,841 Indonesians received medical treatment in Penang. She also welcomed the initiative to use the rupiah to facilitate payment for health services.
Meanwhile, Bank Indonesia (BI) Assistant Director of the Financial Market Development Department, Puput Kurniati, said that the LCS cooperation between Indonesia and Malaysia commenced in early 2018, with the signing of an MoU between BI, Malaysia, and Thailand.
At present, Puput said that Malaysia and Japan are the main contributors to the surge in LCS transactions with Indonesia, with the value reaching US$200 million or around Rp3 trillion.