In his winding-up speech on the 12th Malaysia Plan, he also told the Dewan Rakyat that the government’s statutory debt was still below the benchmark of 60% of the GDP, at 59.2% currently.

Shahar added that there was a total of RM300.44 billion in government-guaranteed debts as of June 30, making up 19.84% of the GDP.

These include RM273.93 billion in domestic borrowing and RM26.51 billion in foreign loans.

He said the full list of agencies with government-guaranteed debts would be released on Oct 29 in the ministry’s fiscal report for 2020.

“What’s most important is that all these firms with government guarantees have never failed in fulfilling their debt obligations. Their finances are good,” he said.

In view of the burden Putrajaya faced to service its debts, Shahar said the government had to ensure its expenditures yield a multiplier effect on the economy and the people.

“The government will implement fiscal reforms, including the proposal to enact a Fiscal Responsibility Act, and come up with a mid-term fiscal framework to drive fiscal consolidation efforts.

“Fiscal consolidation efforts will also be supported by a mid-term revenue strategy by studying and improving our current taxation system, expanding the source of revenue and making use of the informal sector’s potential,” he said.

Shahar also said Putrajaya would look to reduce leakages in terms of taxes and improve the administration of taxes through the integration of data among the relevant ministries.