(Aug 12): Putrajaya should focus on resolving the ringgit's free fall instead of preoccupying itself with other matters such as restricting social media, AirAsia group chief executive officer Tan Sri Tony Fernandes said.

He expressed concern over the exchange rate after the ringgit reached a record of 4.0060 to a US dollar in early trade today.

"It's more than what I earn," he told reporters when asked what he suggested Putrajaya could do to tackle the falling ringgit.

"But the government needs to focus on the people, it needs to provide more job opportunities," he said after introducing a new AirAsia ambassador in Kuala Lumpur today.

Fernandes said so far, AirAsia had not been too badly affected by the falling ringgit, adding that the budget carrier was seeing an increase in sales.

"We're taking advantage of the situation to attract travellers," he said.

The AirAsia chief was referring to the suggestion by new Communications and Multimedia Minister Datuk Seri Salleh Said Keruak who said social media had to be restricted and online news portals registered to curb the spread of unreliable information.

Similarly, another Umno minister, Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan, said that Malaysians did not know how to be "disciplined" in handling information on social media, and required the government to intervene with regulations. – The Malaysian Insider