MCA to Mahathir: Explain your RM1 trillion debt figure

MCA has called on Dr Mahathir Mohamad's administration to clarify how they calculated the country's national debt to be at RM1 trillion.

In a statement, Wanita MCA vice-chairperson Ong Chong Swen said there was a vast discrepancy between the figures touted by Mahathir and Bank Negara Malaysia.

Explaining that the Pakatan Harapan government's method of calculation was important, she said Malaysia's credit rating would be affected by national debt figures and this, in turn, would affect investor confidence.

"As of May 22, this year, Bank Negara stated the government’s debt to be RM705.104 billion in its report.

"But the prime minister recently claimed that our national debt has exceeded RM1 trillion. I urge the government to clarify these figures, due to the stunning difference in both.

"The national debt figures will affect the country’s credit ratings. If there is confusion, foreign investors will lose confidence and further affect the country’s economic stability," she said.

Mahathir had on Monday claimed the country's debt has passed the RM1 trillion mark, and that Malaysia was facing some trouble repaying its debt.

He said this was in stark contrast to a previous debt value of just RM300 billion at one point.

This was confirmed by Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng yesterday, who also stated the figure would be reviewed as his ministry carried out its discovery exercise.

The Finance Ministry had previously said the government recorded RM687.43 billion in debts as of September 2017.

Meanwhile, The Edge Financial Daily had reported that excessive spending caused the government's debt to balloon at an average of 10 percent a year from RM266.72 billion in 2007 to RM687.43 billion 10 years later. -Mkini