Anwar: Fiscal Discipline Is Working, New Debt Down To RM77 Billion
Prime Minister and Finance Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim reaffirmed that his administration has successfully reduced the country's annual new debt to RM77 billion in 2024, a significant drop from RM99 billion in 2022, signalling stronger fiscal prudence. Speaking at the monthly gathering of the Prime Minister's Department in Putrajaya today, he clarified that only the interest payments on legacy debt remain burdensome.
'The new debt taken by the government was RM99 billion in 2022, reduced to RM93 billion in 2023, and in 2024, the total is RM77 billion… that's a reduction,' he said.
Criticising misleading claims circulating publicly, Anwar pointed out that some parties continue to accuse the government of increasing debt, despite the data. 'They say the overall debt is higher, including legacy debt and interest payments, but I've stated clearly that the government pledged to reduce new debt, and we've delivered.
'However, what's being spread around suggests that we're increasing the debt, as if we're deceiving the people. If you look at these figures, who's really lying?' he asked.
He also underscored that this debt reduction aligns with efforts to narrow the country's fiscal deficit. The government aims to bring the deficit down to 3.8% in 2025 from 4.1% this year and 5.5% in 2022. Anwar explained that the government opted for a gradual reduction approach to avoid disrupting development and market confidence.
'We took over in 2022, and at the time, the fiscal deficit was 5.5%. What is a deficit? It means spending exceeds the country's revenue, which means we are borrowing,' he said.
'We manage the national economy like a household. If your income is RM5,000 but you spend RM7,000, that's a deficit. So now we're reducing expenses to RM6,500, RM6,000, RM5,500, but if we cut too fast, development would stall.'
The Prime Minister also credited the civil service's efforts, highlighting Malaysia's 11-spot jump in the IMD World Competitiveness Ranking 2025 to 23rd place, up from 34th last year, the country's best showing since 2020. The rise, announced by the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI) in June, was attributed to improvements in economic performance and government efficiency.
He further noted that the International Monetary Fund (IMF), in its Article IV Mission report for 2025, commended Malaysia's fiscal reform agenda, particularly the introduction of the Public Finance and Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA).
'What does that mean? It means the Finance Minister has handed over part of his powers to Parliament to assess if targets are not being met. That's what we've done,' he said. Related
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