However, in 1997 Malaysia was affected heavily by the Asian financial crisis that started with the currency collapse in neighboring Thailand. Unlike Indonesia and Thailand, Malaysia became the only country in Southeast Asia to reject the International Monetary Fund's package of conditions and financial assistance, blaming international speculators for creating the crisis. The government, led by Prime Minister Dr. Mahathir bin Muhammad, opted for direct state intervention, imposing temporary restrictions on the currency exchange market and introducing various other measures, while his deputy called for further liberalization and economic restructuring . Against the recommendations of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Malaysian government temporarily established tough capital-control measures to contain capital outflow . The Malaysian currency, the Malaysian ringgit, was pegged to the U.S. dollar at a fixed rate of RM3.8 per U.S. dollar (according to the IMF, out of 16 larger emerging market economies, only China and Malaysia have fixed pegs). Although the IMF initially criticized the Malaysian government's imposition of capital control and other restrictive measures, it later recognized their effectiveness.