Malaysia’s public debt within limit: Finance Minister

Malaysian Finance Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz (Phôt: Bernama)

Kuala Lumpur (VNA) – Malaysian FinanceMinister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz said on July 29 the country’s debtlevel was already at 56.8 percent of GDP at the end of June.

However, it is still below the statutory debt limit of60 percent of the GDP, according to the minister.

The government plans to table a motion to lift the statutorydebt ceiling in the next parliamentary sitting, slated for September,he said.

With limited fiscal space, the government has nochoice but to optimise existing financial resources through rationalisation ofspending, sourcing additional revenue from the government’s ecosystem includingthe utilisation of National Trust Fund (KWAN) as well as the readiness toincrease the ceiling for the Covid-19 Fund (KWC-19), he said.

The government has launched a total of eight stimuluspackages since the pandemic broke out, with an accumulative value of 550billion RM (175 billion USD).

Looking forward, the steps to strengthen thegovernment financial position, especially steps involving revenue, are verycrucial to ensure the government financial position remains strong andresilient in the medium and long term, he said./.

VNA