Country's debts to go higher with weakening ringgit, says Dr M

SHAH ALAM - With the country's debt rising, Gerakan Tanah Air (GTA) chairman Dr Mahathir Mohamad has questioned if the Umno government could fulfill its election budget tabled just before Parliament was dissolved.

Mahathir said this is because the government lack funds and there is a lack of efficiency to execute projects due to corruption.

"During Najib Razak's era, the Umno government failed in financial management. Umno borrowed RM42 billion using 1MDB, whereas the government's debt back then was not over a billion.

"Now, (the 1MDB) interest alone costs billions of ringgit every year. Debts are not paid. Allocations for development are rarely used to pay interest on loans," he said in a statement.

As cost of living increases, Mahathir said there are several ways to reverse the trend but it was not implemented. "The value of the Ringgit has also taken a dip. This means our debts will go higher," warns Mahathir.

On Oct 7, the Ismail Sabri administration had tabled RM370 billion budget, the biggest the nation has seen.

Mahathir added Budget 2023 looks good but the allocation may not be delivered the promised due to poor execution.

GTA hopes to capture Putrajaya in the coming elections and hopes to implement policies for the poor, he said.