Treasury sec-gen denies claim country's fiscal deficit widened

Treasury secretary-general Irwan Serigar Abdullah has denied that the country's fiscal deficit had widened between January to May this year.

"Don't play with the issue that the fiscal deficit (had) widened and so on. (This) is all baseless argumentation.

"We look at the whole year. Wait for December, the figures will show you," he told reporters on the sidelines of the finance ministry's Raya celebrations today.

He was responding to a report by The Edge on Friday which quoted Citi Research as saying that the country’s fiscal deficit widened to RM30.5 billion for the first five months of the year compared to RM26 billion in the previous corresponding period.

This, following a recent surge in public spending.

Irwan, however, explained that the country's deficit can only be determined at the end of the year.

"We have already estimated the revenue in a one-year calculation. For example, the dividends that come in and at which month.

"It may come in June or July and so on. And we also go to the market to raise bonds.

"So some revenue might be less in (certain months). So we cannot use that as fiscal deficit for the whole year. We calculate yearly fiscal deficit, which is at 3 percent (and) it stays," he said.

[More to follow]

-Mkini