KUALA LUMPUR: The national debt policy must be reviewed, revised and monitored more closely in order to avoid mistakes of the past, according to the Asian Strategy & Leadership Institute (ASLI) Centre of Public Policy Studies.
In making the suggestion, its chairperson Tan Sri Ramon Navaratnam said this must be done to prevent the country from falling into deeper debt.
"There has to be a new debt policy that is comprehensive and transparent for the rakyat (people) to appreciate and approve,” he said in a statement today.
The new Pakatan Harapan (PH) government has revealed that the federal government debt and liabilities amounted to a total of RM1.087 trillion as at Dec 31, 2017.
He said the debt revelation was a welcome tribute to transparency and accountability, and showed a definite move towards greater integrity and more good governance.
“We can only hope that the new PH government will carry on this high commitment to good governance persistently and consistently in the future.
“Otherwise, even the new PH government will face severe criticism as evidenced by the strong and unprecedented reaction against the past Barisan Nasional government's poor performance in and indifference to good governance,” he added. -- BERNAMA