Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim today defended Putrajaya‘s borrowing strategy, stressing that government loans are being channelled towards long-overdue development needs and not for operational expenditure.
“We are not borrowing for operating expenses. We are borrowing, and at a reduced amount, for development expenditure.
“Why? Because of the condition of our schools, our hospitals, the rural areas, and flood-prone zones,” he told the Dewan Rakyat during Prime Minister’s Question Time today.
Iskandar Dzulkarnain Abdul Khalid (PN-Kuala Kangsar) had asked Anwar whether the government was managing the national debt responsibly, given that it had risen from RM1,079.1 billion in 2022 to RM1,247.6 billion by the end of 2024 – almost 65% of the country’s gross domestic product
Anwar said the development priorities had been listed in the 13th Malaysia Plan (13MP), which he urged all MPs to read before criticising.
“These items have already been outlined in the 13MP and must be read.”
He also dismissed claims that the unity government was favouring certain communities over others in its allocations.
“If they say we are allocating for Chinese new villages, but not for Bumiputeras, it means they haven’t read it,” he said.
“Because if you read the plan, Bumiputera allocations are among the highest – including for Malay reserve land in urban areas. This has never happened before, since independence.”
Criticising previous administrations for making grand claims about defending Malay interests without taking any real action, he urged MPs to fully understand government policies before debating them in Parliament.
Anwar also said that reducing the national fiscal deficit was essential, and warned that continued excessive borrowing would be irresponsible and unfair to future generations.
He also said popular policies without financial discipline would damage the country’s long-term stability.
He said his administration was the first to take concrete steps toward fiscal reform, leading to improved investor confidence both domestically and internationally.
Anwar also touched on the government’s phased plan to reduce the fiscal deficit, saying that failure to do so would cause debt to spiral out of control and public confidence in Putrajaya‘s fiscal policies to erode.
He said the government would continue to provide targeted subsidies, such as for electricity and fuel, to avoid burdening the people.
Anwar also criticised those defending blanket subsidies that benefit foreigners, asking whether they truly represented Malaysians.
