Sabah Assistant Finance Minister Ramlee Marahaban said the Pakatan Harapan (PH) leader, in his attempt to discredit his political enemies in the Barisan Nasional (BN) government, had insinuated that Malaysia was facing bankruptcy.
“All the numbers he threw around were illogical because they did not correspond with the official report on the nation’s fiscal health, economy, gross domestic product, national debt and many others.
“Perhaps he forgot that when he was the prime minister, Malaysia almost went bankrupt if not for foreign loans which he took from countries like Singapore.
“Yet, nobody questioned such decisions at the time,” he told FMT.
Compared to Mahathir’s era, Ramlee said the current national economy was in a much better state with growth and revenue at an impressive level.
He said Mahathir’s claim of RM3.3 trillion in government debt would make Malaysia’s debt-to-GDP ratio at close to 300% and make it the highest in the world.
Currently, he said, the country’s debt-to-GDP ratio stood at 50.7%.
The ratio measures the financial leverage of an economy. The lower the ratio, the better the country’s economy.
Ramlee, who is also Sabah Umno deputy information chief, said far from the alleged “huge” debt accumulated by the government, the ratio was considered healthy compared with Mahathir’s era, when it reached 103.4%.
He said Mahathir should not continue to make accusations by plucking numbers from thin air because such actions would threaten the country.
“Everybody knows his intention to become the prime minister again but he should not endanger the country’s economy just because he wants the people to accept recycled politicians.
“Besides, it is public knowledge that Mahathir’s endgame is to make his son Mukhriz the prime minister,” he said.
He hoped Mahathir would never get his wish because if he did, Sabah and its people would suffer again like they did during Mahathir’s 22 years as the prime minister.
“Surely we will suffer because Mahathir will definitely take his revenge on us,” he said.
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