FINANCE Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz today announced that the Government will table a motion to increase the country’s statutory debt limit from 60% as a ratio of the economy during the next parliamentary meeting.
According to the minister, the Government was in the process of fiscal consolidation as the debt level was already at 56.8% of the gross domestic product (GDP) as at end-June 2021.
“It is however still below the statutory debt limit of 60% of the GDP.
“With a limited fiscal space, the Government has no choice but to optimise existing financial sources through rationalising expenditure, increasing revenue from the Government ecosystem – including utilising funds from the National Trust Fund (KWAN) – as well as the readiness to increase the COVID-19 Fund (KWC-19),” he elaborated during his ministerial briefing in the Dewan Rakyat.
At the same time, Tengku Zafrul said that the Government is ready to relax the debt limit rules to support economic recovery plans based on the capacity of national indebtedness and will table a motion of amendment in the coming term.
“Looking forward, the steps to strengthen the Government’s financial position, especially steps involving revenue, are very crucial to ensure the Government financial position remains strong and resilient in the medium and long term,” he said.
Meanwhile, Tengku Zafrul in his speech this morning also mentioned that the first payment of i-Citra is expected to be credited to the bank accounts of Employees Provident Fund (EPF) contributors from next week.
“The initiative was expected to benefit a total of four million EPF members, and God willing, the first payment will be credited next Tuesday, Aug 3,” he revealed.
On bank loan moratoriums, Tengku Zafrul said that applications were already open since the beginning of July.
“I would like to urge those who are facing any problems in applying for the moratorium loans to contact Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) tele-link or get advice from the Credit Counselling and Debt Management Agency (AKPK) to manage their financial standing,” he added.
The i-Citra withdrawal was introduced following the previous announcement of the National People’s Well-Being and Economic Recovery Package (Pemulih) by Prime Minister Tan Sri Mahiaddin Yassin on June 28 as a temporary relief measure to help EPF members tide over the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. – July 29, 2021.
