“Hence, debts incurred by 1MDB and other projects related to it do not contribute to the overall federal debt,” it said in a written reply to Teresa Kok (DAP-Seputeh) today.

Kok had asked the ministry to state the ratio of national debt to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for Sept 30, 2015, compared to the same date for this year.

She also questioned the amount of debt contributed by 1MDB and its projects.

“The latest Federal Government’s debt as of June 30, 2016 is RM655.7 billion or 53.2 per cent of the GDP.

“Of that amount, 95.9 per cent or RM628.8 billion is domestic debt (51 per cent of the GDP) while 4.1 per cent or RM26.9 billion (2.2 per cent of the GDP) are offshore loans.

” Compared to June 2015, the federal debt was at RM627.5 billion or 54.2 per cent of the GDP,” the ministry replied.

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) earlier this year revealed that 1MDB’s debt as of Jan 2016 stood at RM50 billion.

A few days ago former Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, who has emerged as one of 1MDB’s latest critics, said debts incurred by the state investment arm would see the ratio of Putrajaya’s debts to GDP exceed the prescribed limit of 55 per cent.