Finance Minister responds to former premier's criticism by saying the new government is willing to call a spade a spade about the country's RM1 trillion government debt.
Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng says the fundamentals of the economy remains strong.
KUALA LUMPUR: Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng said today the new federal government was not afraid of telling the truth about the actual amount of the country’s debts, because it wants to be transparent.
He said the Pakatan Harapan administration wanted to first establish the “true baseline on the state of financial affairs”, before diagnosing the problems and prescribing the remedies.
Lim was replying to a statement by former prime minister Najib Razak that statements by government leaders about the national debt having reached RM1 trillion would unsettle the financial markets, alarm the credit rating agencies and shake the confidence of investors in institutions such as Bank Negara.
Pic tradingeconomics.com
Lim said that the Treasury’s “decision to tell the truth” about the government’s debts might unnerve Najib (who was also finance minister before his government fell). However, recognising the true debt situation today would enable the federal government to take action and strengthen Malaysia’s financial state, Lim said.
“Let me emphasise that the fundamentals of the economy remain strong. The financial sector is stable, the banking sector is well-capitalised and there is sufficient liquidity in the market,” Lim said.
He praised the professionalism of Treasury officials, led by deputy secretary-general Siti Zauyah Mohd Desa in preparing and presenting all the relevant information “without fear or favour”.
“This was done without any interference from politicians attempting to manipulate the figures and hide our real debt and obligations. Having engaged intensively with the Treasury team over the past few days, including listening to various constructive proposals and suggestions to resolve these difficult challenges, I am confident that we can overcome them.” - FMT
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