In a Facebook post, Najib said it was not wrong for the government to take on more debt in its effort to help the people during the pandemic.

“But it is wrong for the government to break its own law and breach the debt limit that it proposed and which was passed by Parliament.”

He was responding to finance minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz’s statement yesterday that Putrajaya had always been consistent in explaining statutory debt after Najib pointed out the administration’s method of calculating debt differed from that of previous governments.

Najib had previously argued that the 60% debt-to-GDP limit had been breached because the present administration did not include foreign, short term and bank borrowings in its debt calculation which, if included, would mean the government’s total debt stood at 62.2% of the gross domestic product (GDP).

“Debt is debt, and future governments and the people would have to deal with it in the end.

“If the debt limit was not important, why did the Perikatan Nasional-led government seek to increase it last year?”

Najib said the government’s estimate that debt will hit RM975 billion this year would bring the debt-to-GDP ratio to 64.5%. Even then, he said, this was if the “very optimistic” 7.5% GDP growth target could be achieved.

He said it would be wrong for the government to deny that the debt limit had been breached when finance ministry reports state that the debt-to-GDP ratio stood at 62.2% as of 2020.

“The government can fool itself and the people but it cannot fool economists and investors who are uneasy with the government’s action of trying to cheat on its fiscal data.”

He warned that if there was a change of government in the future, action could be taken against PN ministers if the issue was not corrected or approved by Parliament.

“This is not a small matter which only affects the government of the day. So the government needs to be honest and correct the situation immediately.”