KUALA LUMPUR: 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 today he said that as of the end of June, 2017 the Federal Government's debt stood at 50.9 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
He said this was still well below the prescribed 55 per cent limit set by the government.
As of June 2017, the debt was recorded at 50.9 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), which is lower than the 55 per cent level set by the government.
Najib who is the Finance Minister said this showed that the Government's current debt remains manageable, and was even lower from the 53.2 percent registered as of the end of June 2016.
“This is an achievement we should be proud of,” Najib said.
The Prime Minister also said that Malaysia’s debt ratio against the GDP is better than some developed countries such as Singapore which stands at 112 per cent, United Kingdom’s at 89.3 per cent and Canada’s at 92.3 per cent.
Najib adds that Malaysia’s sound economic and financial position could also be seen from the backing received from international economic organisations such as the World bank which had projected a GDP growth of 5.2 for 2017, up from the previous projection of 4.9 per cent.
“In fact, it does not make sense to say that we would be bankrupt when there are many countries willing to invest and enter into trade agreements with Malaysia.”
Najib said despite the challenges faced by the government from opposition slander which are hoping for Malaysia’s economy to be destroyed, the government will continue to seek solutions to strengthen the economy as well as putting the nation on par with other global economic powers.