Najib unfazed by country’s spiralling debt
Prime Minister says Malaysia still the envy of other countries like the Netherlands.
(Free Malaysia Today) – In a show of confidence, Prime Minister Najib Razak told Parliament today the country’s economic position was still solid and that government and household debt was much lower than other countries like the Netherlands.
According to a Bernama report, Najib said that in a meeting with Mark Rutte yesterday, the Dutch Prime Minister acknowledged that Malaysia’s economy was much better than that of the Netherlands.
“If I may quote Rutte, ‘I envy your economic performance’,” Najib replied in Parliament to a question by Tan Seng Giaw (DAP-Kepong) today.
Najib, who is also finance minister, explained that although Malaysia’s household debt stood at 80 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product, these debts were backed by physical assets that would appreciate in value.
“A large portion of household debt was due to housing loans. This means that the loans are supported by strong asset backing and the value of the assets will continue to rise,” he said.
While acknowledging that household debt was at 80 per cent, Najib did explain that Malaysia’s situation was unlike that of the US which had led to the sub-prime crisis. He did give his assurances say the issue of household debt would be monitored to ensure it did not rise too high.
Another area the PM touched on was income disparity which he said was on the mend.
