Malaysia's debt still manageable, says Idris Jala

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's debt is still manageable as it is below 55
per cent to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratio, said Minister in
the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Idris Jala.
He
said the 53.8 per cent of national debt for last year is within the
range as the government continues its efforts to bring down the fiscal
deficit level.
"With the implementation of the Economic Transformation Programme,
we are on the right trajectory and continue to reduce the deficit level
every year. For 2012, we aim to narrow further the fiscal deficit to
4.7 per cent from 5.0 per cent of last year's GDP," he told the media
on the sidelines of the GTP Roadmap 2.0 Open Day here on Tuesday.
Citing
the Mass Rapid Transit project, Idris said though the government had to
raise funds for the project, it still managed to keep the debt level
below 55 per cent.
"We borrow for investments (aiming) to grow
our GDP and economy. The debt level will directly reduce. Unlike
Greece, they are borrowing a lot of money but the economy is
shrinking," he added.
Idris, who is also the Chief Executive Officer of the Performance Management and Delivery Unit
(PEMANDU), said Malaysia's GDP at 4.7 per cent in the first quarter was
still growing, whereas Singapore's only grew at 1.4 per cent, due to
the slowdown in the global economy.
"This is good...with more investments coming in and positive indicators, going forward," he added.
The
GTP Roadmap 2.0 Open Day at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre aims to
gather feedback from the public and provide a basis for review for
PEMANDU.
The GTP Roadmap 2.0 was formulated after PEMANDU
conducted a series of labs, held over six weeks in April and May, to
identify key issues and new areas of growth opportunities, which would
work on within the National Key Results Areas. - Bernama