Federal government debt at RM1.045 trillion

KUALA LUMPUR: The federal government’s debt up until the end of June 2022 stands at RM1.045 trillion, or 63.8 per cent, of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz said.

In a parliamentary written reply yesterday, he said RM43.1 billion, or 18.4 per cent, of Putrajaya’s estimated total revenue was allocated for the federal government’s debt service charges for the year 2022.

“By the end of June 2022, RM19.8 billion was spent to pay off the interests of the government’s outstanding debt.

“The government is always committed to ensuring that interest payments are made according to the set schedule.

“This debt service payment is provided as a liability item T13, which is one of the liability expenses that is given priority over other expenditure items, as stipulated under Article 98 (1) (b) of the Federal Constitution that all debt charges are under the responsibility of the federal government.”

Tengku Zafrul was responding to a question by Karupaiya Mutusami (Pakatan Harapan-Padang Serai), who asked about the latest amount of the country’s debt and how much interest the country had to pay for it.

It was reported recently that as at the end of June, Malaysia’s offshore loans amounted to RM29.4 billion, while statutory debt accounted for more than 60 per cent of the GDP.

Last week, Tengku Zafrul issued a statement stating that Malaysia’s fiscal position was still strong and the federal government’s debt was still under control.

He said the government remained highly disciplined and had never failed to pay interest and mature debts despite having gone through a series of economic and financial recession crises.

NST