Govt borrowed RM10 billion this month, repaid zero, says Najib

Najib Razak says the government is pushing up national debt and not repaying existing debts.

PETALING JAYA: Najib Razak has again accused the Pakatan Harapan government of pushing up government debts, saying that this month alone it borrowed RM10 billion without repaying existing debts.

The former prime minister cited Bank Negara Malaysia data, which he said showed that in October, the government borrowed RM3 billion through bond issuance on Oct 8, RM2.5 billion on Oct 15 and RM1 billion on Oct 23.

Najib said on Oct 25, the government opened another auction to borrow another RM3.5 billion.

“The amount of new debt the government has incurred on Oct 2019 is RM10 billion.

“The amount of old debt it repaid in October 2019 up till today is RM0.00 (zero),” the Pekan MP wrote on his Facebook.

Yesterday, Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng said the reaffirmation of Malaysia’s sovereign credit ratings would be the “best rebuttal” to critics who accuse the government of increasing debts excessively.

Najib previously said the national debt tose to RM810 billion under PH compared to RM686.8 billion at the end of 2017 under Barisan Nasional. - FMT