NAJIB: NO TRUTH TO RUMOURS THAT GOVT’S DEBT AT CRITICAL LEVEL

It was at 50.9pc of GDP last year, lower than 55pc threshold and other countries

PRIME Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has reiterated that there is no truth to rumours that the Federal Government’s debt was at a critical level.

He said there had been much confusion as well as slanderous allegations on the matter.

In his latest blog posting yesterday, he said as of the end of June last year, the Federal Government’s debt stood at 50.9 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP). He said this was well below the 55 per cent limit set by the government.

Najib, who is also finance minister, said this showed the government’s current debt remains manageable, and was even lower than the 53.2 per cent recorded as of the end of June 2016.

“This is an achievement we should be proud of,” Najib said.

He also said Malaysia’s debt to GDP ratio was better than some developed countries, such as Singapore, which stood at 112 per cent, the United Kingdom at 89.3 per cent and Canada at 92.3 per cent.

Najib added that Malaysia’s sound economic and financial position could also be seen from the backing it received from international economic organisations, such as the World Bank, which had projected a GDP growth of 5.2 for last year, up 4.9 per cent from the previous projection.

“In fact, it does not make sense to say that we are going bankrupt when there are many countries willing to invest and entering into trade agreements with Malaysia.”

Najib said despite the opposition’s slander, in which it was hoping for Malaysia’s economy to be destroyed, the government would continue to strengthen the economy and strive to put the nation on a par with other global economic powers.