PM: NATIONAL DEBT WILL SOAR TO RM416 BILLION IF PAKATAN ABOLISHES TOLL, GST
Younger generation will have to pay if PH’s promises are carried out, says PM
THE country’s debt will surge to RM416 billion if the Goods and Services Tax and toll collections are abolished, said Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
Describing the promises in Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) manifesto as ridiculous, the prime minister said the debt would be shouldered by the people, particularly the younger generation.
Najib said while he disagreed with the toll system inherited from a previous leader, the government could not abolish all toll collection at one go.
“We heard that the other side plans to abolish the GST and if it happens, we will lose billions in revenue. If we are forced to reduce the budget, then we cannot even carry out half the development that we planned.
“I (also) personally disagree with the expressway toll system, but I inherited the system from an old man who introduced it.
“If we include the losses of RM383 billion from abolishing GST and tolls, the national debt will increase to RM416 billion.
“Their (PH) manifesto is so ‘grand’... It is you (students) who will be paying the debt,” Najib said during a 2018 Budget talk at Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP) here yesterday.
Present were his wife, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Azlan Man and UniMAP Vice-Chancellor Professor Datuk Dr Zul Azhar Zahid Jamal.
The one-hour talk was attended by 3,000 students from UniMAP, Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) Arau and Politeknik Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin.
Najib said compared with PH’s promises, the government had taken steps to ease the people’s burden by abolishing toll at four highways and would do so for others in stages.
“The government will never make promises that it is incapable of keeping, but trust me, we always think of the best move and put the people’s interests above everything else.”
Najib told the students that the government had prepared a good economic landscape for future generations with the building of various infrastructure, such as the MRT, LRT, Kuala Lumpur-Singapore high-speed rail, Tun Razak Exchange and Bukit Kayu Hitam Logistics Hub.