Umno Youth leader claims RM1t debt claim bogus

(MMO) – Umno Youth vice chief Khairul Azwan Harun has disputed Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s assertion that the federal debt level has passed the RM1 trillion mark, saying it was “too good to be true”.

Khairul, a senator, insisted that the national debt level was half the amount or at RM686.8 billion if going by the “proper definition”. He then said Bank Negara had confirmed this in its 2017 report.

“If we follow the definition of national debt by world standards, Malaysia’s national debt is actually RM686.8 billion,” he said in a statement.

“This is confirmed by Bank Negara’s December 2017 Report.”

National debt means the total debt a government owes. However, the debt is divided into two categories: domestic and external.

Bank Negara published February findings showed external debt rose to RM883.4billion (US$215.5billion) or 65.3 per cent of GDP as at end-December 2017.

Dr Mahathir said this morning the country is saddled with over RM1 trillion in debt, blaming it on the alleged abuse of the previous government led by former protege Datuk Seri Najib Razak who now faces domestic graft investigations.

It is uncertain if Dr Mahathir, or Khairul for that matter, had referred to the domestic or external debt.

However, the latter said Dr Mahathir’s assertion suggested a bleak outlook of the economy, which he argued was wrong.

“Bank Negara Report in March 2018 showed that Malaysia’s domestic economy is doing well,” he said.

“Malaysia’s economy is expected to grow at a firm pace of between 5.5 to 6 per cent in 2018.

“Where did the Prime Minister receive the RM1 trillion figure? Did his new advisers fail to provide him with the correct information?

Khairul then asked if the amount was intended as a political blame-game tactic.

“Is it to make the public think that the imminent national debt of the Pakatan Harapan government is the fault of the previous administration?”

The prime minister’s office was not available for comments.